Are you unknowingly adding these to your cart?

What's in your trolley? Image: iStockSource:BodyAndSoul

You don't have to sacrifice what you love to make cleaner choices.

Have you ever stood in the supermarket aisle staring at the shelf wondering what is the best product to buy? Have you given up reading the ingredient list because you are time-poor and they have become so confusing to understand?

Well, you are not alone.

With over 80,000 ultra-processed foods lining our supermarket shelves in 2022, the choice has become overwhelming for thousands of busy Australians; resulting in consumers unknowingly consuming multiple additives and preservatives daily.

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“Our bodies are not designed to consume an excessive amount of additives and other chemicals at the load that they are now found in our modern world and our kids' bodies have even less tolerance to cope with the array of artificial ingredients they are exposed to,” says Clinical Nutritionist Maria Harpas.

On a mission to find products that are free from additive and preservatives, the team at Supermarket Swap has found some popular trolley items that only contain REAL ingredients:

Do you know what you are spreading on your toast in the morning?

One tub of margarine can be made up of over 60% vegetable oil, contain multiple additives and preservatives including food colouring and artificial flavours.

Mainland Butter Soft, Allowrie Unsalted Butter, Macro Certified Organic Butter.

A cracker is a just cracker? They look innocent enough, but the fact is the ingredients can vary dramatically between brands and many crackers can include over 10 different additives per cracker.

Whether it is salt and vinegar or BBQ, many of these flavours are made up of chemicals, often created in a lab. “There is little substantive difference in the chemical compositions of natural and artificial flavourings. They are both made in a laboratory by a trained professional,” says Gary Reineccius, professor in the department of food science and nutrition at the University of Minnesota.

Mary’s Gone Crackers, Ceres Organics Rice Bites (Woolworths), Eat Rite Rice Crackers Tamari Seaweed, Back to Basics Veggies Crackers.

Image: Nyana Stoica via Unsplash.Source:BodyAndSoul

‘90% of cereals on the supermarket shelf contain additives such as food colourings, emulsifiers, flavours, artificial sweeteners, plus cheap vegetable oils’ says Accredited Paediatric Dietitian Anna Ritan.

As cereal is starts the day for many children in Australia, Anna recommends swapping to an additive free cereal, made from wholegrains, loads of fibre and low sodium and sugar.

Uncle Toby Traditional Oats, Woolworths Wheat Biscuits, Carman’s Porridge Sachets or Uncle Toby’s Weeties.

We know cordial is high in sugar, but have you considered it can contain artificial sweeteners, flavours, preservatives and artificial colours too?

Belvoir Farm Elderflower & Rose Cordial (Woolworths)

Wraps can contain over 15 additives to extend shelf life, increase the flavour and texture and reduce cost for manufacturers. Did you know a popular ‘spinach’ wrap includes artificial colours 102 Tartrazine and 133 Brilliant Blue to make the wraps green?

Did you know in the European Union, most foods containing artificial food dyes are legally required to display a warning label, “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.”

Mountain Bread Natural Wraps, Meb Lebanese Wraps.

If you find yourself lost in the aisle, you could try the Supermarket Swap App, which lists over 850 additive-free products available at Coles, Woolworths and Aldi.

A mother on a mission, Nabula Brdar founded Supermarket Swap to share additive and preservative free options available in Australian Supermarkets. It lead to working with a team of qualified health professionals to launch the Supermarket Swap app in 2021. Follow on Instagram here.

Any products featured in this article are selected by our editors, who don’t play favourites. If you buy something, we may get a cut of the sale. Learn more.

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