Consumer Affairs
Posted by terrepruitt on March 27, 2010
I actually received a response to my feedback . . . or actually I received a response to the feedback form being completed.
I had asked Lea & Perrins about their Worcestershire Sauce and explained that it has been a staple so long in my house that it was not something I had checked the ingredients on. Since I noticed it has High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) in it I would be on the path of moving from Lea & Perrins to a Worcestershire Sauce without HFCS.
The response from the Heinz company told me that recently the media has brought to light HFCS and its “role in the U.S. diet”.
You see, they say U.S. Diet because a lot of companies don’t put HFCS in foods that are made for other markets. It is primarily the U.S. that is subjected to HFCS.
The response also stated that a lot of the articles attempted to link the consumption of HFCS to obesity.
Ok . . . . thanks for that information. But I still am wondering why they are telling me this. Do they automatically or defensively assume that the reason I don’t want to consume HFCS is because of “attempted links to obesity”?
Then they reminded me that excess calories without exercise is the reason for weight gain. They feel it is incorrect to focus on a specific food or ingredient when talking about obesity. Like the HFCS manufacturers the e-mail from Heinz said that “moderation” is the key.
The way I have chosen to moderate my intake of HFCS is by not consuming Lea & Perrins Worcestershire Sauce. Since HFCS is in so many foods, I have to eliminate as many as I can so that I can achieve this wonderful thing that manufacturers and users of HFCS call “moderation”.
Then the e-mail ended by telling me about the various Ketchup products they are coming out with. Including one without HFCS. (Because I asked about Ketchup?)
A lot of products have HFCS in them. I can only control what is purchased and brought in our home. When I go out to a restaurant, even if I order a salad, the dressing could have HFCS in it. The bread on my sandwich could have HFCS in it. The BBQ sauce, the ketchup, the mayonnaise, I don’t know, so I can only keep from purchasing products that I can read the ingredients of.
I do not eat a totally healthy diet, but I try to eat healthy. I am trying to really cut down on OVERLY processed foods. All of our food is processed, but I think it is the OVERLY processed, really chemically altered food, that is not very healthy. I know it is not easy, but I am going to do what I can and that is all that I can do.
I wanted to share that I did get a response, as odd as I thought the response was, I wanted to let you know that they responded.
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
niachick said
Sounds like they were being defensive to me. I would think companies would want to sell healthier choices. So what that the US is the only country that is concerned with HFCS…so that makes it okay to sell products with it to other countries? Sheesh.
Thanks for what you do Terre. Enlightening.
Love,
Jill
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terrepruitt said
I feel as if they were being defensive too. Considering I didn’t mention neither obesity NOR ketchup. Would you REALLY think that, Jill? Do you REALLY think companies are interested in spending more money just to make a healthier product? REALLY?!???
The US is not the only country concerned about HFCS. We are the country where the government subsidizes the corn farmers so it makes it cheaper to grow corn and use it in multiple products AND make it into HFCS. So the US is the country in which HFCS is used in products. But the SAME companies make products WITHOUT HFCS for OTHER countries.
Hugs to you!!!
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John Pruitt said
Filling out their form and getting a form letter in return is pretty automatic for most companies residing in the 20th century. Use twitter and find them. Either you will or you won’t but if they have auto alerts on Google, sooner or later your statement will make an impact on the right people.
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terrepruitt said
Ha. Do you really believe that? You are like Jill in thinking that companies care about people’s health. Hmmm. Good for both of you. I am not of that same faith. I have to be responsible for what I eat (and what you eat — tee hee). We are going to try Annie’s, that is why I was looking for it the other day. If we don’t like it . . . . it will give me reason to learn some new ways to marinade.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. I know you are busy so it is very nice to have you visit.
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suzicate said
At least they responded even if it wasn’t the info you wanted. My hubby is getting good at continuing until he gets the info he wants. Me? I’m too lazy.
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terrepruitt said
I think it was a canned response. Not sure they even read my feedback.
I received information that I wanted from NiaChick. She pointed me in the direction of some HFCS-free sauce. I have to find it now.
Good for your hubby.
We KNOW that you can be persistent when you want something. 😉
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Angelia Sims said
It’s really hard for me to eat healthy. I am definitely lacking non processed choices. Your quest inspires me to do better! Good for you at least adding your voice to others against these companies. If enough people speak up maybe they will listen. 🙂
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terrepruitt said
I don’t know your reason it is hard for you to eat healthy, but when I read that MY first thought was, “Well, yeah, YOU have kids.” I mean, I don’t have kids, but I can imagine that it is difficult to eat healthy when you do because sometimes eating healthy is a little time consuming AND kids get bombarded with the ads from fast food and junk food so they think they want that stuff and sometimes I would think a mom just wants quiet sometimes. 😉
It is a “quest” as you said. It is not going to happen overnight. For one, I am not going to waste the products that I have, I am not throwing them out. We will finish what we have and our NEXT purchase will be products with out HFCS. And two, I have to FIND Annie’s Sauce and then make the switch. This is just one thing, one step to take.
I am sure there are little steps that you can take too. Start with one thing then after a few weeks if it is still “working”, then take another step. Keep stepping and adjusting the path and then in six months you could look back and say, “Wow! We eat a lot healthier than we did six months ago.” I believe that we live very processed lives. And some of us can’t “home make” things, but maybe just choosing options that are LESS processed (or with less ingredients we don’t recognize) might help.
Thank you so much for stopping by and commenting! (Yay! Makes me happy!)
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