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Dave
and I just got back from the movie theater and my nerves are still a
little jangled from seeing The Sum of All Fears. Mighty good, and mighty
scary, and mighty loud. It was very hard for me to watch Baltimore being
nuked since I’m a native Baltimorean. It didn’t quite affect Dave as
much since he’s from western New York. Did I say it was scary? Well, go
see for yourself.
And
speaking of scary, I’d just read about a new food item coming to
America. It’s been sold in Europe for more than a decade and it will be
arriving soon to the frozen food section of your supermarket. And this
stuff is also being sold in your local natural foods store. What is it? Do
you really want to know? Be forewarned. This mystery meat substitute is
called “Quorn,” a trademark. Sort of misleading because it sounds like
the word “corn,” except it isn’t corn. Gosh, what will these food
manufacturers think of next?
Well,
it’s a fungus, and despite what the package says, it is not “mushroom
in origin.”
Actually,
it’s found in nature but it was only discovered in the 1960s, hanging
around in British soil. So from the land of scones and afternoon tea, we
now have a delightful little fungus. This lovely food is grown and
fermented-yes, I said that right-in vats. Other ingredients are mixed into
this goo, such as wheat flour, oil, and spices. And egg whites are added,
too. That should really help this stuff along, because it already sounds
pretty vile. This concoction is mixed up and quick-frozen.
One
question I have: Who was the first person who came across this soil sample
and said, “Gee, this stuff ought to be grown in vats, it’d taste
terrific!” I thought scientists weren’t supposed to eat their
experiments. Anyway, back in the 60s, overpopulation and food shortages
were big buzzwords, so there was a push to find a high-quality, low-cost
food to help feed the masses.
Now,
Dave disagrees with me on this one. He says it’s a great idea and that
the Europeans love this stuff. We went online and found all kinds of Quorn
recipes. Well, judging from what some of them eat…chocolate covered
ants, snails, need I go on?
Dave and I downloaded the “Quorn video,” which showed all sorts of
appetizing food and people raving about how great it tastes. The video
ended with the question, “What is Quorn?” The only problem is, they
didn’t answer the question. The video ends there. I thought it would be
cool to see the big fermentation vats, and maybe lower a camera in there
to see what color the fungus really is.
The
new Quorn will be available in chicken nuggets that are breaded, chicken
tenders, and beef-style grounds. The grounds are bits of Quorn that are to
be added to a recipe. According to the manufacturer, Marlow Foods Limited,
a division of AstraZeneca, the Quorn tenders and beef grounds are
nutritionally the same as many soy-based meat products. If you really want
all the details, you can go to www.quorn.com.
Now,
the Quorn meat-like items do have some advantages over real meat items.
They have no cholesterol, more fiber, but less protein and more sodium.
And expect your new Quorn meat-like products to be a little drier tasting
(like grandma’s thanksgiving turkey.)
Vegetarians
should be jumping for joy over this one, because they have an alternative
to soy. We can all expect to see this new food in our freezers by
September.
No
offense-but I am a carnivore, tried and true. I like my chicken to be real
chicken, and I like my beef to be real beef. I don’t like imitations.
But
there seems to be a little problem before Quorn’s launch.
The
Center for Science in the Public Interest has a complaint filed with the
FDA. This group, which deals with health issues, says that Quorn’s
labeling is deceptive and possibly misleading. It is a “mycoprotein,”
but the box labels are saying it is “mushroom in origin.”
CSPI
wants the food to be labeled as what it is, a fungus. All mushrooms are
fungi, but not all fungi are mushrooms. Many fungi are very different from
the mushrooms you find in the supermarket.
They
also want the FDA to review the product and check for allergic reactions
from this fungus among us. They are concerned that, since this food and
its proteins have never been in the U.S. food supply before, it could
cause bad reactions. The company counters by saying they have received
very few reports of adverse reactions in Europe.
Marlow
Foods says allergic reactions tend to be similar to those caused by
mushrooms (even though it is not a mushroom in any way) so that consumers
have something to compare it to. But this has the mushroom growers upset,
since people who don’t like Quorn or have a reaction to it might
unfairly blame mushrooms.
I
guess if Quorn proves to be a hit, McDonald’s will offer their Chicken
McNuggets in regular and Quorn versions. I tend to like my food real,
thank you. I would imagine this product will be sold next to the tofu
burgers, veggie hot dogs, and grain-based sausages.
Oh,
by the way, have any of you seen the movie Soylent Green? Scary!
Rick
Moore is a personal trainer certified by the American Fitness
Professionals & Associates. Visit his club, Rick’s Fitness &
Health, in Milton, Delaware or www.ricksfitness.net,
or call 302-684-3669.
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