Читать книгу The Savvy Shopper - Rose Prince - Страница 17

Read the labels of everything you buy. They tell you nothing and they tell you a lot. When they say little, that says a great deal; missing information is an indication of poor production standards or dubious origins. Ingredients must be listed on labels by law, in descending order of quantity, and most labels also include nutritional information – the place to spot the presence of salt, saturated fat, sugar and sometimes hydrogenated fat.

Logos say something about the food. Watch for the five British organic logos (the Soil Association one is the best known). The Demeter logo indicates biodynamic food – delightful stuff that has been grown in accordance with lunar cycles but which is basically organic. The red Lion Quality mark stamped on eggs means they came from hens that have been vaccinated against salmonella. The Fairtrade logo tells you the producer received a fair price, and the fishy-patterned Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) mark is a sign of fish from a certified sustainable source.

Other logos are more ambiguous in what they say about the food in the pack. The Red Tractor covers a wide range of production assurance but allows for intensive production. The same can be said for ‘Farm Assured’ and the British Quality marks for beef, pork and lamb. LEAF allows pesticide use (though under stricter controls, but I have visited LEAF farms and been impressed with successful schemes boosting wildlife). The RSPCA’s Freedom Food logo indicates a vast improvement in animal welfare in intensive farming, but it does not come anywhere near the Soil Association standard of animal welfare.

I hate logos, but we need them. I would prefer to read an epistle on a label that tells me all there is to know about the food in a pack, linked through to websites with contact details. But none of this would be necessary if shops employed knowledgeable staff and trained them to talk to you about the food they sell.