Not really surprised by any of this have heard them all ages ago. However the fact that such claims are still able to be made is very disappointing. I wish the minister in charge would get a move on and actually instigate some clamping down on these and other fictional food claims.
I don’t think (m)any of the claims are fictional, as such. The issue is the marketing spin, which is partially down to the companies but equally to people’s willingness to accept those claims uncritically – that yoghurt drink may very well have 8 million ‘good’ bacteria in it (or, 8 million of one particular species of bacteria that has been lablelled ‘good’ by the marketing team), but its usefulness to your digestive system/immune system/happiness, by itself and in the quantities and format provided by the bottles, is another thing entirely.
Does anyone really think that these products are sold to aid our health rather than to make money? If some of them happen to aid our health, that’ll be because there’s a market for them and not because the manufacturer is taking a loss for our benefit.
Thursday 29 October, 2009 at 11:44 pm
Not really surprised by any of this have heard them all ages ago. However the fact that such claims are still able to be made is very disappointing. I wish the minister in charge would get a move on and actually instigate some clamping down on these and other fictional food claims.
Friday 30 October, 2009 at 1:34 am
I don’t think (m)any of the claims are fictional, as such. The issue is the marketing spin, which is partially down to the companies but equally to people’s willingness to accept those claims uncritically – that yoghurt drink may very well have 8 million ‘good’ bacteria in it (or, 8 million of one particular species of bacteria that has been lablelled ‘good’ by the marketing team), but its usefulness to your digestive system/immune system/happiness, by itself and in the quantities and format provided by the bottles, is another thing entirely.
Does anyone really think that these products are sold to aid our health rather than to make money? If some of them happen to aid our health, that’ll be because there’s a market for them and not because the manufacturer is taking a loss for our benefit.