The following are hot topics currently in terms of the supply of food products. Please see our Brands for all the nutritional information relating to the specific ingredients.
ORGANIC
Consumers want "natural" foods. Free of pesticides, hormones, additives, preservatives, colourants and synthetic ingredients. This is a good thing. The food industry will have to adapt and give consumers what they want.
The Organic industry is still in relatively early stages, and supplied by smaller and more boutique stores. The industry is largely self regulated, and still a very small part of the food we eat. In the market which we service we do not come across organic products, as they are out priced in terms of their value for the consumer.
In order for a product to be classified as organic, it must be an organic seed, the farmer cannot use pesticides, he must manually manage weeds, he cannot use industrial fertilisers, can't make excess use of animal sewerage, can't plant too close or risk contamination from non-organic crops, needs to use crop rotations to maintain the nutrient in the soil, to convert previously fertilised soils the farmer needs to farm organically for three years before his crop can be called organic. Organic maize costs between 1.5 and 2 times more than other maize.
Organic food trend has been growing internationally and locally, with positive repercussions. Lower pesticides, hormones, additives, preservatives, colourants and sythentic ingredeinces. However there is very little research to date that provides emphircal proof that organic foods are significally healthier or more nutricious.
GMO raw materials are not available in enough supply to meet our raw material demand, so currently in order for us to meet our primary goal of quality and value for the consumer, so possible in the future if the supply side changes and our consumers want it it may be the future, but currently we do not have organic produce.
We do not use any animal products in our production process so in terms of “free range” it does not apply to our products at any appropriate level.
GMO
Another emotional topic in food is Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO’s). Lots of people have strong views on GMO’s.
Every food we eat has been modified through human intervention,. When it comes to Maize, it would never had occurred in the wild without the intervention of man, this has been mainly done through selective breeding. With the advent of genetics scientist were able to target specific genetics of plants in order to give agricultural produce specific characeristics. The most common GMO is Maize which is our core ingredient.
The GMO tag comes with a lot of negative connotations and we certainly don’t advocate GMO foods. The tinkering of humans with Gods creation is always a scary thought, and the pervasiveness of GMO in our food market frightens the consumer understability.
The South African maize crop was at last count more than 80% GMO. Every chicken, every cow, practically everything we eat contains or contained GMO maize. It is also difficult and expensive to source non GMO maize, once again in the same case as organic we would struggle for supply of our raw materials and it would significant increase our price point.
PALM OIL
Apart from Maize, our other big ingredient is vegetable oil.
We use Palm Kernel Oil, which is a very stable oil.
FLAVOURS
We have partnered with the South African leaders in flavor technology and development. Consistently in development to ensure that we provide the most unique and innovative flavor profiles on our snack foods produced.
Exploding with flavor and inspiring eduring spirit of selling towards success for the hawkers and hustlers who partner with our incredible products.
MSG
What is MSG?
MSG stands for Mono Sodium Glutamate. It is the name given to synthetically manufactured glutamate, MSG was first introduced more than 100 years ago. It is used as a flavour enhancer, much like the use of salt in an ordinary meal. Glutamate provides a flavour sensation called Umami which is described as a “pleasant savoury taste”, Umami is a taste point that is designated on the human tongue.
What is Glutamate?
Glutamate is naturally produced by human body. It is found in all protein containing foods and especially in mother’s milk, cheese, tomatoes, yeast and some green vegetables. Mother milk has 10 times more glutamate then that of cows milk, so if you have been breast fed as a child you have consumed MSG.
Is MSG bad for you?
The answer to this only you can decide for yourself, we can give you all the information to allow you to make an informed decision on the topic. There is some recent “research” that claims MSG/Glutamate affects and excites the brain in a way that may be detrimental. This may or may not be true and has mostly been rejected my mainstream science.
Both the US Federal Drug Administration and the Australian and New Zealand Health Authority, conclude that MSG is completely safe for human consumption.
Generally foods that are lower in MSG will be higher in salt, as 1 gram of MSG is the equivalent in taste profile change to 10 grams of salt. Now with the regulation of salt content in food by the South African government, it is likely to see a rise in the MSG content of foods.
We encourage you to make up your own mind. There are many websites that knock MSG. We think that the link below is independent well researched and a good starting point, and please read what the US FDA has to say on this subject. http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/jul/10/foodanddrink.features3
US FDA link on MSG: http://www.fda.gov/food/ingredientspackaginglabeling/foodadditivesingredients/ucm328728.htm