Wow if you took all this pointless fury about a name (??????????????) and directed it towards slightly more important issues the consumer might actually be able to change things that would make a real difference to their lives. Who cares what name is on the label, I couldn’t tell you what is on the front of most products I buy – perhaps start pushing more for information about what is in the products you consume, not what it is called! Kraft dumps cheesy name – industries – business | Stuff.co.nz
Foreign Frozen Veges
Having just read this article Pot luck on frozen veges – Consumer information – NZ Herald News I have to admit I don’t think I’ve ever looked at where my frozen veges come from. I suppose I naively thought that exporting frozen veges from thousands of miles away made no sense! Just checked my freezer – McCain Corn is grown and produced in NZ as are my Pam’s peas. My Watties chopped frozen spinach is a different story. Packaged for Watties NZ, distributed by Auric Pacifc Marketing in Singapore, Lucky Frozen in Kuala Lumpur, product of USA. Not quite sure how that works? Grown in USA, shipped to Kuala Lumpur and frozen, transported to Singapore (or just distributed by a Singapore owned company), sent to NZ? It was sort of a one off purchase, I bought it because I felt like Spanakopita My Greek Kitchen – Spanakopita. Feeling a bit guilty now over so many carbon miles for one meal!!
Aunt Betty’s Rice Pudding – I made a difference!
I had a craving the other day for tinned rice pudding. On my British OE I used to eat a lot of it as it was really cheap and you can eat it right out of a tin without cooking it. I picked up a tin of Aunt Betty’s rice pudding at the supermarket to find it is made in Thailand from Thai rice and New Zealand milk. Aunt Betty’s is owned by The Old Fashioned Food Group who have product labels such as Hansells, VitaFresh, Real Yogurt etc. On their website it states it has three manufacturing sites – Penrose, New Lynn and Masterton. I don’t see Thailand on that list? So I emailed them to find out why they are implying that their products are made in New Zealand as opposed to overseas.
Today I promptly got a reply from The Old Fashioned Food Group saying that those three NZ sites were the sites they owned and their website would be adjusted in view of receiving my email. Sure enough their website now states “A majority of our products are manufactured at our 3 sites across NZ ……. and the remainder sourced from third parties throughout the world”.
OK it’s not exactly front page news but it’s my first triumph as an informed consumer!
Positive cleaning experience
I think one of the things that stands out for me using vinegar/water to clean is that I feel positive about cleaning! I hate cleaning but if I have to clean I like to be able to do it in a low key casual way. Using my vinegar/water cleaner I can clean with the cats roaming around underneath my feet or touch things or eat/drink while cleaning without having to worry as vinegar isn’t going to do anyone any harm. I even cleaned my kitchen bench the other day with a visitor right there beside me at the bench. I didn’t have to worry about the spray fumes getting near my visitor or the problem of sitting at a bench that still had cleaner residue on it.
In contrast if I clean my appliances with my store bought stainless steel towelettes there is a list of encouraging instructions regarding my health – ‘avoid breathing vapour, avoid contact with eyes, avoid contact with food and food preparation surfaces’. After that comes all the first aid instructions including calling the Poisons Information Centre!
In addition to these wonderful ‘safety instructions’ there are no ingredients listed on the towelette packaging or the box itself. It is difficult for consumers to become better informed about the products they are using when companies provide no product information. I guess it’s another good reason to try and produce things at home where you know what the ingredients are.
My mirrors came up really well today so I can give the vinegar cleaner the thumbs up C for mirrors – it evaporated really quickly after wiping leaving no smudges. It was just as good to use as my normal Mr Muscle glass cleaner.