Happy Meal Banned

[Banjo]

so they say, in fact, Japan they make world quality buns, and french breads there too, as often said by visitors (re NZers going to Japan) says their bakery is out of this world...its true...Id like to go there too, and meet my uncle and cousins one day...

HFCS is in almost everything, the idea of it, is to block your brain from saying "i'm full' and hence gets eating, no wonder alot of people are broke and fat...

The problem with HFCS is that it's cheaper than using cane sugar. So of course, they'll go with HFCS.

 

[TXgolfer]

I find it interesting that they would put HFCS in buns. Myself, I don't like to buy buns from big names like Wonder and others. I find the taste in these buns to be of poor quality. I prefer to buy buns from a local bakery. They make the world's best buns.

HFCS in buns is pretty common actually. Best to check the label or buy fresh and organic.

 

[Banjo]

HFCS in buns is pretty common actually. Best to check the label or buy fresh and organic.

The local bakery here don't use them, they use real sugar. It's an Italian bakery, the people there wouldn't even consider the idea of using HFCS. It's probably why it tastes so good compared to what you buy in the stores.

 

[kokonut]

Sugar or HFCS is used to help speed up the dough making process. Adds flavor, too. You can make bread without sugar or HFCS but it takes a little longer for yeast to do its job to help make the bread dough by using the flour as an energy source. It'll just take longer for bread to rise. Adding sugar help speed up that process.

I think it could be a matter of large bread companies looking to get the best deal between sugar and HFCS. Both corn and sugar prices have gone up over the years. Who knows why they specifically use HFCS. Because it's cheaper, the taste factor or the needed final bread product they would want? Has anyone ever sat down and did a taste test on different breads made with sugar and HFCS?

 

[KristinaB]

Sugar or HFCS is used to help speed up the dough making process. Adds flavor, too. You can make bread without sugar or HFCS but it takes a little longer for yeast to do its job to help make the bread dough by using the flour as an energy source. It'll just take longer for bread to rise. Adding sugar help speed up that process.

I think it could be a matter of large bread companies looking to get the best deal between sugar and HFCS. Both corn and sugar prices have gone up over the years. Who knows why they specifically use HFCS. Because it's cheaper, the taste factor or the needed final bread product they would want? Has anyone ever sat down and did a taste test on different breads made with sugar and HFCS?

In fact, I have just recently. My local Whole Foods did one, but they had breads made with sugar, HFCS, Splenda and agave syrup. I personally liked the agave syrup the best.

 

[Jazzberry]

I've read that the problem of HFCS vs. cane sugar isn't that one is healthier than the other (IIRC, it's not) but that food manufacturers tend to use more added sugar if they use HFCS instead of cane sugar because it is so much less expensive. Having a larger quanitity of added sugar is what make the processed foods less healthy -- not necc. the source of the added sugar *.

The nutritional label doesn't tell us how much sugar was added to the product. We can't go by the sugar grams listed because most fruits, vegetables and dairy products (perhaps all?) include sugar.

I avoid HFCS also, but the reason is only because I'm trying to do my best to cut back on added sugars and I assume that food manufacturers will add more if the source is cheap vs. more expensive.

I hate having to guess but that information isn't provided on the nutritional label. I hope that someday it will be required. That will be a very difficult battle to win against the food lobbyists.

IIRC, the food manufacturers claim that there is no difference health wise between the sugar they add to the foods and the sugar already present in the food and that is why they have so far suceeded in preventing that information from being part of the nutritional label.

I doubt that their claim is true.


--

* I have read that some sugars are less healthy than others for example white sugar is more refined and has no trace minerals left in it. The trace minerals are suppose to make it easier for us to metabolize it. Other sugars like:

Demerara
Muscavado
Rapadurma
Sucanat
Turbinado

are suppose to retain more of the trace minerals and therefore are suppose to be easier for us to metabolize. But, as far as I know, food manufacturers don't use them in processed foods. They are basically only available as alternatives to packaged white sugar which is not significantly different than HFCS.

 

[Speedy Hawk]

Toy banned in Happy Meal? Bit silly I think. Thankfully UK McDonald Happy Meal still have toys. Most kids I know have it as treat.

 

[TXgolfer]

The local bakery here don't use them, they use real sugar. It's an Italian bakery, the people there wouldn't even consider the idea of using HFCS. It's probably why it tastes so good compared to what you buy in the stores.

No doubt

 

[dogmom]

I avoid breads with HFCS or added sugar in them, including brown sugar.
The bread I usually buy for myself is this: https://thesproutedbakehouse.com/products/menu/
sometimes I get this: http://www.foodforlife.com/

or, other local whole-grain bread <not sprouted though then> from area bakeries where the ingredients read more like this: INGREDIENTS: WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, SOUR CULTURE, SALT, YEAST.

 

[Jazzberry]

I avoid breads with HFCS or added sugar in them, including brown sugar.
The bread I usually buy for myself is this: https://thesproutedbakehouse.com/products/menu/
sometimes I get this: Food For Life | Home of the world famous organic sprouted whole grain foods!

or, other local whole-grain bread <not sprouted though then> from area bakeries where the ingredients read more like this: INGREDIENTS: WHOLE WHEAT FLOUR, WATER, SOUR CULTURE, SALT, YEAST.

Cool. I didn't know it was possible to buy commercial bread without sugar. I will have to look harder in my neighborhood (I don't want to mail order bread.)

But ... at least one of the breads at foodforlife does include sugar in the form of malted barley (Ezekiel 4:9 Sprouted Grain Bread | Food For Life ).

But it seems to be a healthier form of sugar than white cane sugar or HFCS. The brand I currently buy, Matthews also uses it, that's why I recognized the ingredient. Avoiding sugar is hard -- there are innumerable different types and names for sugar.

 

[dogmom]

Jazz, true malted barley is a form of sugar...this was one of the things I found about barley malt in general when I was looking:

" Barley malt syrup is considered to be one of the healthiest sweeteners in the natural food industry. Barley malt is made by soaking and sprouting barley to make malt, then combining it with more barley and cooking this mixture until the starch is converted to sugar. The mash is then strained and cooked down to syrup or dried into powder" quote from this page: Healthy Sugar Alternatives with their Glycemic Index

yeah, avoiding any kind of added sugar form can be difficult in industrialized societies.

hope you can have some luck in sourcing something from a local bakery. There are so many wonderful local bakeries that still sell only highly refined and sugary breads along with the typical cakes and cookies.
If they advertise or announce anything like: " whole-grain" <has to have the word "whole" in ingredient panel to be whole-grain>, or "no hydrogenated oils" or "minimal ingredients" or anything that implies more of an awareness of nutrition - that bakery may be more likely to have some kind of bread like what I described.