Reading labels is an essential aspect to maintaining a healthy diet and lifestyle. An important part of this trend includes the simple act of reading labels.

The better we get at reading labels as consumers, the more sneaky the food manufacturers are becoming. While labels might claim one thing about a product, it is important t put on your investigation hat and dig a little deeper. Here are common food frauds.

Some of these fraudulent foods might surprise you.

Refined Coffee

Coffee is supposed to made from regular coffee beans that have been roasted, simple enough right? Unfortunately, not all coffee is created the same. In some food fraud cases, ground coffee beans have been “refined” with products such as figs, glucose, starch, ground parchment, twigs, and roasted barley. It’s best to spend a little more money and truly get real reliable coffee.

Oil from Olives?

Olive oil is one of the best oils for your health. But in many cases, the oil that is sold is not what is labeled; it could be as simple as a non-Italian oil that’s clearly labeled as Italian, or one we see a lot id Extra Virgin that, in fact, is not extra anything. The oil itself could also be diluted with any variety of other oils, including peanut, soybean, vegetable or corn. Read the labels carefully.

Milk Not From Cows

It’s sad and scary but true, some milk can be part of the food fraud industry, and has been found to be “refined” with melamine, starch, cow tallow, and detergent, to name a few. Buy organic if you can from a reputable source.

Pure Honey

Honey is one often one of the most commonly mislabeled foods. Cheaper varieties are often passed off as more expensive and “refinements” added. Much of these are mislabeled. If you can, buy honey from local farmers market straight from the source.

Juiced Together

We aren’t talking about green juice you whip up at him. We mean the juice combined together found in he grocery store. Juice is a common offender. Look closely. It may contain sugar and most juice has been imported from China. The same can be said for pomegranate and orange juice, which often contain pear juice, grape juice, or just plain high fructose corn syrup, yuck avoid it with all cost.

Food fraud is a real thing and it can be avoided through shopping locally and eating unprocessed, healthy whole foods.

It’s important to protect yourself and your family in order to maintain good overall dental health! says Dr. Todd L. Beck a Dentist in Portland.

Written by Shannon Kaiser 

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