September 4, 2012 (Tuesday)
The television program, “60 Minutes,” recently ran a segment on something that has been somewhat of a secret concerning processed foods. We all know that fat, sugar and salt are the items that make food taste good. When they are not added to foods that end up in a box, can or package in the grocery store, the foods lack taste. So the processors have been adding flavors to them, to make the products taste good, thereby encouraging people to buy them. And, it must be said, if I understood what they were saying, smaller amounts of fat, sugar and salt are still being added. Seems that we, the consumers, like the tasty stuff.
During the course of the program, it was said that the aim of the producer is to make the food taste great with the first sip or bite, but also to insure that it always leaves the eater (or drinker) wanting more. The food is designed to make the first taste great, but also to make each morsel less satisfying. After eating enough, the person still wants more. The reporter commented that the process sounds like addiction, and to that the product makers readily agreed.
What? We are addicted to foods because of additives? I knew I was addicted to food, but did not know that anyone but myself was involved. Now it appears that these processed foods are designed to make me want more. If we are not addicted to alcohol or tobacco, we should know that we have become addicts anyway..to food.
As Gilda Radner used to say often, “It’s always somethin’.”