Things you always wanted to know the answer to [Vol. 3]

[Roofless Toothless]

Mrs Toothless keeps going on at me for not buying fat free yoghurt and other dairy stuff.

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

But it says it is fat free on the carton, she says. And it does, in big letters.

So how does this square up? How can a yoghurt legally be advertised as being fat free if it is made of milk?

[bigandclever]

Dr Jekyll said:

Has any otherwise viable species ever been completely wiped out by a plague?

The native Christmas Island rats were binned off by 'hyper disease'.

[schmunk]

Roofless Toothless said:

Mrs Toothless keeps going on at me for not buying fat free yoghurt and other dairy stuff.

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

But it says it is fat free on the carton, she says. And it does, in big letters.

So how does this square up? How can a yoghurt legally be advertised as being fat free if it is made of milk?

It is, apparently, fat free...

http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?...

Nutrition

Typical values per 100g per cup (170g)
Energy 243kJ 413 kJ
Energy 57kcal 97 kcal
Fat 0g 0 g
Of which
- Saturates 0g 0 g
Carbohydrate 4g 6.8 g
Of which
- Sugars 4g 6.8 g
Protein 10.3g 17.5 g
Salt 0.1g 0.17 g
Calcium 120mg 204 mg

(formatting be damned)

[Aggymon]

Dr Jekyll said:

Does anyone make an instant porridge containing caffeine? It would save time on a cold morning.

I have considered stirring Nescafe into my porridge but suspect it would taste odd.

Just sprinkle Pro Plus over it instead of sugar....

[Roofless Toothless]

schmunk said:

Roofless Toothless said:

Mrs Toothless keeps going on at me for not buying fat free yoghurt and other dairy stuff.

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

But it says it is fat free on the carton, she says. And it does, in big letters.

So how does this square up? How can a yoghurt legally be advertised as being fat free if it is made of milk?

It is, apparently, fat free...

http://www.waitrose.com/shop/DisplayProductFlyout?...

Nutrition

Typical values per 100g per cup (170g)
Energy 243kJ 413 kJ
Energy 57kcal 97 kcal
Fat 0g 0 g
Of which
- Saturates 0g 0 g
Carbohydrate 4g 6.8 g
Of which
- Sugars 4g 6.8 g
Protein 10.3g 17.5 g
Salt 0.1g 0.17 g
Calcium 120mg 204 mg

(formatting be damned)

Then are they simply reclassifying the butterfat as carbohydrates, sugars and protein in order not to use the F word? I mean, they can't make the fat go away because that's what milk is in the first place. Rather deceptive if this is so.

[schmunk]

Roofless Toothless said:

Then are they simply reclassifying the butterfat as carbohydrates, sugars and protein in order not to use the F word? I mean, they can't make the fat go away because that's what milk is in the first place. Rather deceptive if this is so.

Errr, no.

[TheLordJohn]

Johnspex said:

If I needed a vehicle like that I'd definitely be interested but a 3 series estate, anMX5 and a Honda CRV seem to cover all my bases.

I run a 3 series estate, 911 and a CR-V... Lol.

[Bluedot]

Is it my imagination or are there loads more acorns than usual this year ?

[talksthetorque]

Bluedot said:

Is it my imagination or are there loads more acorns than usual this year ?

I can confirm it's conker fest in our local church yard. Normally the kids collect them up, but there's hundreds littering the floor this year. And I have seen them being collected by the kids the same as usual.

[98elise]

Roofless Toothless said:

Mrs Toothless keeps going on at me for not buying fat free yoghurt and other dairy stuff.

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

But it says it is fat free on the carton, she says. And it does, in big letters.

So how does this square up? How can a yoghurt legally be advertised as being fat free if it is made of milk?

I used to own a frozen yogurt business, and we had the words ice cream in our promotional stuff (ie fat free ice cream)

We were regularly checked by trading standards, and during one visit we were told to remove any reference to ice cream as the frozen yogurt had been tested and it not have enough fat in it to be referred to as ice cream.

[Ayahuasca]

98elise said:

Roofless Toothless said:

Mrs Toothless keeps going on at me for not buying fat free yoghurt and other dairy stuff.

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

But it says it is fat free on the carton, she says. And it does, in big letters.

So how does this square up? How can a yoghurt legally be advertised as being fat free if it is made of milk?

I used to own a frozen yogurt business, and we had the words ice cream in our promotional stuff (ie fat free ice cream)

We were regularly checked by trading standards, and during one visit we were told to remove any reference to ice cream as the frozen yogurt had been tested and it not have enough fat in it to be referred to as ice cream.

It won't be made of only milk.

[Johnspex]

TheLordJohn said:

Johnspex said:

If I needed a vehicle like that I'd definitely be interested but a 3 series estate, anMX5 and a Honda CRV seem to cover all my bases.

I run a 3 series estate, 911 and a CR-V... Lol.

Well, that's nice for you. Do they, like mine, have an aggregate value of about £7k?

[Cliftonite]

Bluedot said:

Is it my imagination or are there loads more acorns than usual this year ?

This is my view, too.

[otolith]

Roofless Toothless said:

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

Milk is a suspension of fat in water with protein and carbohydrates. You can remove the fat, to the extent that it is classifiable as fat free, and still have a useful foodstuff. Or you can remove most of the water, protein and carbohydrate and spread it on your bread.

[Hunter T]

Two things here...Why dont we have curly cats? ( you get dogs with curly hair)
Why if evolution is correct have moths remained nocturnal when they are attracted to the light?

[Roofless Toothless]

otolith said:

Roofless Toothless said:

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

Milk is a suspension of fat in water with protein and carbohydrates. You can remove the fat, to the extent that it is classifiable as fat free, and still have a useful foodstuff. Or you can remove most of the water, protein and carbohydrate and spread it on your bread.

Thanks to your posts and a bit of googling I think I am on top of this now. It seems there is more in the liquid left behind after skimming than I realised. However, what impresses me now is that in order to make up for what they have taken out, manufacturers of fat free yoghurt put other stuff in, especially sugar. So much so that, although nominally fat free, it is actually quite fattening. There seems to be a hidden wonderland of unsubstantiated claims, naive assumptions and misleading marketing behind the whole business.

Boy, is my Mrs in for an informative lecture next time she catches me in the dairy produce aisle.

[Halmyre]

Roofless Toothless said:

otolith said:

Roofless Toothless said:

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

Milk is a suspension of fat in water with protein and carbohydrates. You can remove the fat, to the extent that it is classifiable as fat free, and still have a useful foodstuff. Or you can remove most of the water, protein and carbohydrate and spread it on your bread.

Thanks to your posts and a bit of googling I think I am on top of this now. It seems there is more in the liquid left behind after skimming than I realised. However, what impresses me now is that in order to make up for what they have taken out, manufacturers of fat free yoghurt put other stuff in, especially sugar. So much so that, although nominally fat free, it is actually quite fattening. There seems to be a hidden wonderland of unsubstantiated claims, naive assumptions and misleading marketing behind the whole business.

Boy, is my Mrs in for an informative lecture next time she catches me in the dairy produce aisle.

The long winter nights must fly by.

[StevieBee]

Hunter T said:

Why if evolution is correct have moths remained nocturnal when they are attracted to the light?

Moths don't like light - they are confused by it. They navigate by referencing distant constant light sources (such as the moon). Artificial light isn't constant, it flickers (imperceptibly to us) so they can't work out where they need to go and end up getting knackered so just hang out near to where the light is.

[Dr Jekyll]

StevieBee said:

Moths don't like light - they are confused by it. They navigate by referencing distant constant light sources (such as the moon). Artificial light isn't constant, it flickers (imperceptibly to us) so they can't work out where they need to go and end up getting knackered so just hang out near to where the light is.

Not sure how true this is, but I did read that Moths try to keep a light source on a constant bearing as they fly. If it's the moon that keeps them flying in a straight line but if it's close they end up circling it or even homing in. It's a technique familiar to Battlestar Galactica fans ('Oh no, the Cylons are Constant Bearing Decreasing Range, we're in trouble') and also used by air to air missiles. Not quite sure about the moths though.

[Roofless Toothless]

Halmyre said:

Roofless Toothless said:

otolith said:

Roofless Toothless said:

I reply that if it is made of milk, then milk is a suspension of fat in water, so how the devil can it be fat free? Reduced fat I could understand, but fat free, no.

Milk is a suspension of fat in water with protein and carbohydrates. You can remove the fat, to the extent that it is classifiable as fat free, and still have a useful foodstuff. Or you can remove most of the water, protein and carbohydrate and spread it on your bread.

Thanks to your posts and a bit of googling I think I am on top of this now. It seems there is more in the liquid left behind after skimming than I realised. However, what impresses me now is that in order to make up for what they have taken out, manufacturers of fat free yoghurt put other stuff in, especially sugar. So much so that, although nominally fat free, it is actually quite fattening. There seems to be a hidden wonderland of unsubstantiated claims, naive assumptions and misleading marketing behind the whole business.

Boy, is my Mrs in for an informative lecture next time she catches me in the dairy produce aisle.

The long winter nights must fly by.

I take it this discussion doesn't enthrall you. Never mind, there'll be another one along in a minute.

Actually, I find the subject of nutrition interesting in this highly commercialised society. I remember hearing a food scientist interviewed on the radio some years ago, and something he said about buying food stuck with me:

"If it's fresh, it's good for you - if it's processed it possibly isn't good for you - and if it's advertised it will probably kill you."