More Land Mines - turkey ham

[Polly]

Geesh is it hard to get info on the ingredients in processed foods!

Recently I emailed Shady Brook Farms to find out how the "natural smoke flavoring" in their turkey ham is made. Since I reacted to pork on MRT, I thought maybe I could tolerate turkey ham - it would be a nice addition to soups on occasion.

Here is the response I received:

Dear Polly,
I did confirm that the retail Shady Brook Farms Turkey Ham natural flavoring is made from real wood smoke and has a carrier of polysorbate 80.

I hope this will help.

Most Sincerely,
Tammy Posey


HUH?????? Whatever is "real wood smoke"?????? And polysorbate 80 is NOT listed on the product label. I looked it up - it is an emulsifier that is not supposed to be harmful in small amounts, but I did read that it can be harmful if one has Crohn's. I am angry now - how are we ever to be able to know that the hell we are eating? I know, I know.....it's all the more reason for us to eat only pure foods and leave the processed ones in the store where they can't make us sick .

Hugs,

Polly

[sarkin]

Oh, Polly, I'm sorry.

It's starting to amaze me how most people don't think twice about putting very mysterious things in their mouths.

I hope you find a lovely soup addition that works for you, soon.

Sara

[Pat]

Polly,

Polysorbate 80 is one of the things tested for in the MRT. Basically anything with sorb at the beginning like sorbitol. It was red for me. I could have told them that, but was nice to have confirmation and written proof.

Pat

[MBombardier]

Real wood smoke flavoring is made in a retort. I get the impression that the smoke from the wood (hickory? apple? mesquite?) lands on the inside of the glass, similar to the carbon from a lamp wick inside a glass shade. Apparently the polysorbate 80 is what carries the flavor in a liquid state. Some liquid smokes have caramel color.