Walkers S&V crisps

[Copper]

I have been eating half a small packet of these crisps on a Saturday and then the other half on a Sunday. For the last few weeks they have been repeating on me and I did think I should stop eating them. Two weeks ago I ate them as usual and ending up feeling rather ill :(

I must be allergic to something in the crisps but I have no idea what. Maybe it is the MSG. I will have to make a note of the ingredients and see if it happens with anything else and compare ingredients. I think I am allergic to a preservative but again I have no idea which one. The list of things I can't eat is growing again :(

[Pam]

I don't think MSG does me any good. Vinegar makes my face flush, the sulphite in dried apricots has an unpleasant effect and I'm sure there are many more things that my body doesn't like. I don't think Walkers S&V have milk in but I know that some S&V flavoured crisps do, including the square crisps. You have to be eagle eyed when reading those labels and keep on checking them for ingredient changes.

On the subject of additives and flavourings, the Sudan1 chilli powder thing is frightening. Having checked through the list of products containing it we were fortunate not to have any of them but came close with some Branston Pickle. We decided to chuck out quite a lot of stuff that was likely to contain chilli powder just in case. We don't eat ready meals which are the biggest culprit but we do use various sauces (curry, chinese, condiments etc) that are likely suspects.

It makes you wish sometimes that things hadn't progressed so far with the food industry and that more basic and natural ingredients were used instead of all the additives. I'm sure we would all have a lot less health problems and the kids would probably be better behaved without all the E's too.

[lyndamc]

Hear Hear Pam.
Back to basics it should be!
The only crisps I dare eat are plain, those that haven't got milk products have MSG which is a problem for me.
As a child I remember my mum only bought plain crisps and can remember as a last resort I used to sprinkle vinegar in the bag and shake - home made salt and vinegar!!! Although if you didn't eat them quick they went a bit soggy!!

[Pam]

It is just so easy to be lazy and take the quick option rather than cook from scratch. I think our palates have got too used to processed foods and the "real" food just doesn't taste the same after all the modified stuff. We (hubby and I) have decided we need to re-educate our children and wean them off processed foods. The middle one is particularly bad, eats hardly any fruit and veg and is (in my opinion) quite badly affected by additives. We should all go back to war time food availability for a few weeks and be grateful for what we can get (and learn to make a meal out of it).

[matt]

tottally agree with the get rid of processed food argument but this sudan1 thing is well out of control!

the rats involved ate huge amount for their entire lives and some of them got cancer. no definite link to humans getting cancer. the amounts involved in the food are almost impossible to detect. the chances of someone getting cancer from a ready meal from sudan1 damn near zero..

yet on the way out of the supermarkets you can still buy a packet of 20!!

the pesticides they spray on the veg is far more potent and nasty. seriously.

seems damn odd that this has provoked such a publicity explosion yet other stuff is ignored.