Did you know? Water is a vegetable and Heinz ketchup is grown.

My husband Rich did the shopping this week.  His contributions make me wonder at his motives when he shops.  Are they nostalgic or spontaneous?  Regardless, the items that appear this week are good for discussion and scrutiny.Today it is V-8.How can water be in the list of ingredients?If it is reconstituted, there is added water, but does that make it 100% vegetable juice?By the time these fruits and vegetables go through the process of being heated and constituted and reconstituted, could there really be anything left in there that is good for you?Oren claims we should make our own. My son heads to the pantry to grab another label to scrutinize.He brings out the Heinz ketchup.The label says: “Grown Not Made”

Really?

I ask Oren, “What the hell do you suppose that means?”Oren notes that he has never seen a plastic container of ketchup grown!

How can they say that?  It makes no sense and there is no explanation.

“Labels Lie” is Oren’s conclusion.Let’s look at the ingredients (as I question them):

• tomato concentrate from ripe tomatoes (“how ripe?”)
• distilled vinegar
• high fructose corn syrup (of course)
• salt
• spice
• onion powder
• natural flavorings (a.k.a. “poison”)

Our pantry does have a few questionable labels.  Although I do try to stick to 100% “clean labels”, there is certainly lots to learn and deliberate over while our ingredient labels continue to provide some entertainment at the dinner table.

Image Credit:  misterjt