Author Topic: Restaurants lie to you  (Read 5986 times)

forummm

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Restaurants lie to you
« on: May 17, 2016, 06:07:35 PM »
http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/restaurants/

A Tampa Bay writer discovers that basically every restaurant in the area claiming to have some kind of special food (local, organic, non-GMO, etc) was lying extensively about the food. Veal was actually pork (oops, sorry Jews/Muslims). Alaska wild-caught fish was actually Chinese and preservative-laden. Etc.

Other things I've seen are that food in grocery stores isn't much better. Fish is mislabeled (i.e. the wrong species of fish is named), some grated cheese didn't contain any cheese, EVOO from Italy is actually from some other country, and may not be from olives. Etc.

Johnez

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #1 on: May 17, 2016, 06:37:53 PM »
Another good reason to not eat out. I read up to the the totally in house pizzeria guy who literally makes everything by hand, working 80 hours a week-talk about dedication.  It gets kind of depressing seeing this type of BS everywhere one turns. In sports with steroids, in business with fraud everywhere, in food....list goes on.

DeltaBond

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #2 on: May 18, 2016, 06:13:53 AM »
I don't read any articles about food unless its an actual scientific papers written by scientists of some kind.  There is so much bad information put out there these days.  I buy what I feel like paying for, what I feel like eating, and I try and be as healthy as I can otherwise to counteract what might be in the food.  I drink a lot of water, exercise and try not to hold on to extra stress.  That's my defense.

justajane

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #3 on: May 18, 2016, 06:27:00 AM »
Thanks for the link. I don't eat at Farm to Table restaurants (and my hipster community has oodles of them) because they are too expensive. Thanks for more ammunition! I'll stick with my prosaic pubs and such that don't pretend their food is anything other than what it is.

CLB

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #4 on: May 18, 2016, 06:39:56 AM »
I've seen a few of these joints pop up in my neck of the woods and have thought about this article. Since I don't eat out much (once every other month maybe), this trend doesn't matter much to me. It kinda reminds me of the early days of "natural" and "organic" foods -- back when they didn't really have much legal meaning (not sure if they even have much legal meaning now).

I'd bet that there'll be a rush to add "farm-to-table" to most restaurant advertising. My crystal ball is a little cracked and hazy, but I see McD's and other fast food fooderies doing this eventually. And the so-called "fast causual" places will probably jump on it sooner. 

Meanwhile, I'm working on "garden-to-table" by growing my own veggies and putting them on my table.

brett2k07

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #5 on: May 18, 2016, 07:02:25 AM »
It kinda reminds me of the early days of "natural" and "organic" foods -- back when they didn't really have much legal meaning (not sure if they even have much legal meaning now).

They don't, but they're probably going to soon.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/05/17/is-your-food-natural-f-d-a-to-weigh-in/

Kitsune

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #6 on: May 18, 2016, 07:27:14 AM »
Thanks for the link. I don't eat at Farm to Table restaurants (and my hipster community has oodles of them) because they are too expensive. Thanks for more ammunition! I'll stick with my prosaic pubs and such that don't pretend their food is anything other than what it is.

What you said.

Also, when I eat 'organic', 'local', and 'fresh', it's because it's either from the back yard or because I know the farmer and popped by the farm on my way home to buy a dozen eggs and help him bring the cows in.

I've bought 'free-range' eggs in the city, and, like... dude, the yolks are light yellow, you are LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH. grrr.

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Rezdent

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #8 on: May 18, 2016, 08:10:36 AM »
Thanks for the link. I don't eat at Farm to Table restaurants (and my hipster community has oodles of them) because they are too expensive. Thanks for more ammunition! I'll stick with my prosaic pubs and such that don't pretend their food is anything other than what it is.

What you said.

Also, when I eat 'organic', 'local', and 'fresh', it's because it's either from the back yard or because I know the farmer and popped by the farm on my way home to buy a dozen eggs and help him bring the cows in.

I've bought 'free-range' eggs in the city, and, like... dude, the yolks are light yellow, you are LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH. grrr.
Well, to defend the honor of our hens, the color of the yolks depends a lot on their diet and the climate.  Our fall eggs are often lighter in color just because there is less tender green forage and fewer bugs to eat, and we supplement their diet with more grain.  Late spring, the yolks are deep orange.

But yes, "free-range" is mostly meaningless.  They could be given access outside in a tiny plot of barren earth and called free range.

justajane

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #9 on: May 18, 2016, 08:40:22 AM »
I've bought 'free-range' eggs in the city, and, like... dude, the yolks are light yellow, you are LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH. grrr.

I've literally watched an egg drop out of a free range chicken that was (I shit you not) laying eggs in the baby stroller on my porch, grabbed it while it was still pliable (awesome feeling by the way), and cooked it, and the yolk had that light color you're talking about. I wonder if it depends on the chicken? Because I have had eggs like you mean with a deep mustard colored yolk, and they were incredible.

forummm

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #10 on: May 18, 2016, 10:01:44 AM »
I don't read any articles about food unless its an actual scientific papers written by scientists of some kind.  There is so much bad information put out there these days. 

Your standard may be a bit too high. The original investigative reporting in this article was fantastic. They conducted lab experiments on the food as well as getting the restaurant owners to admit that they were lying or made a "mistake", etc. Scientists have a role, but they are not the only sources of reliable and useful information.

Kitsune

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #11 on: May 18, 2016, 10:12:01 AM »
I've bought 'free-range' eggs in the city, and, like... dude, the yolks are light yellow, you are LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH. grrr.

I've literally watched an egg drop out of a free range chicken that was (I shit you not) laying eggs in the baby stroller on my porch, grabbed it while it was still pliable (awesome feeling by the way), and cooked it, and the yolk had that light color you're talking about. I wonder if it depends on the chicken? Because I have had eggs like you mean with a deep mustard colored yolk, and they were incredible.

Maybe? Also potentially on the season - I've found grain-fed chickens (which, in winter, most tend to be) have yellow-yolked eggs more than chickens who eat a fair quantity of bugs and greenery. Maybe I'm just lucky, but the eggs I get from the farm down the road are FANTASTIC.

And I'm stubborn - my chicken coop is going up this fall, which chicks arriving in the spring. Like hell am I going back to costco eggs. (Plus, frankly, it'd be worth keeping chickens just for the savings on garden compost. The eggs and meat are a great side-benefit though.)

serpentstooth

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #12 on: May 18, 2016, 10:15:54 AM »
I've bought 'free-range' eggs in the city, and, like... dude, the yolks are light yellow, you are LYING THROUGH YOUR TEETH. grrr.

I've literally watched an egg drop out of a free range chicken that was (I shit you not) laying eggs in the baby stroller on my porch, grabbed it while it was still pliable (awesome feeling by the way), and cooked it, and the yolk had that light color you're talking about. I wonder if it depends on the chicken? Because I have had eggs like you mean with a deep mustard colored yolk, and they were incredible.

Maybe? Also potentially on the season - I've found grain-fed chickens (which, in winter, most tend to be) have yellow-yolked eggs more than chickens who eat a fair quantity of bugs and greenery. Maybe I'm just lucky, but the eggs I get from the farm down the road are FANTASTIC.

And I'm stubborn - my chicken coop is going up this fall, which chicks arriving in the spring. Like hell am I going back to costco eggs. (Plus, frankly, it'd be worth keeping chickens just for the savings on garden compost. The eggs and meat are a great side-benefit though.)

I think that free range just means your animals need access to the outdoors. It doesn't have to be a big or particularly high quality space either. People imagine it means the chickens providing their eggs are clucking about in green meadows, but that's not what the law requires, at least in the US.

GuitarStv

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #13 on: May 18, 2016, 11:27:20 AM »
I'm not sure why this story is surprising.  Restaurants are businesses.  The goal of any business is to make money, not tell the truth.  If they can make more money by lying and there is no regulation enforced that prevents it, they will lie.

serpentstooth

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #14 on: May 18, 2016, 11:30:23 AM »
I'm not sure why this story is surprising.  Restaurants are businesses.  The goal of any business is to make money, not tell the truth.  If they can make more money by lying and there is no regulation enforced that prevents it, they will lie.

Kosher dietary laws require a restaurant owner to hire an outside inspector for this reason. The rabbis say business owners have perverse incentives to sell non-kosher food due to the profit motive.

RetiredAt63

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #15 on: May 18, 2016, 04:25:56 PM »
Is that true for halal as well?

I'm not sure why this story is surprising.  Restaurants are businesses.  The goal of any business is to make money, not tell the truth.  If they can make more money by lying and there is no regulation enforced that prevents it, they will lie.

Kosher dietary laws require a restaurant owner to hire an outside inspector for this reason. The rabbis say business owners have perverse incentives to sell non-kosher food due to the profit motive.

tomsang

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #16 on: May 18, 2016, 05:47:51 PM »
I'm not sure why this story is surprising.  Restaurants are businesses.  The goal of any business is to make money, not tell the truth.  If they can make more money by lying and there is no regulation enforced that prevents it, they will lie.

Those who hate "Big Government", don't fully understand this concept. Having a health department and other agencies as a threat, stops the most blatant crimes.  It is not efficient for everyone to be doing their own testing to ensure that the package contains everything that it says it does.  Also, that it clean, etc.

Mrs. S

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #17 on: May 19, 2016, 06:33:33 AM »
Something similar came up in news here a last year or so. One of the more loved street food in India these days is an Indian version of Chinese, it is spicy tangy and over all delicious. But rarely anything good can be said about the kiosks that sell it.

Chicken is consumed in huge amounts and it was reported that a lot of chicken sold to these small shops were birds that die on their own usually for one disease or unnatural reason or the other. Not sure if anybody paid heed to the news. On the other hand streets are filled with small butcher shops. Apparently same for a lot of bigger places as well.
For a long time I thought being vegetarian saves me from all these hassles. Guess not that much since vendors are known to wash and grow veggies using not so good water.
Local produce here is not something that is usually publicized, people still pay a premium for imported stuff.
I guess growing yourself is the final way forward.

Rollin

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #18 on: June 02, 2016, 09:04:19 AM »
I live in this area and find this interesting. I do like the "pull no punches" approach from the writer/critic. Somewhat like our face punches!

stoaX

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #19 on: June 02, 2016, 10:06:20 AM »
Whatever restaurants say...take it with a grain of salt!

Random Hangers

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #20 on: June 02, 2016, 10:30:23 AM »
That was a great read, thanks for the link. Really interesting. The reporter/critic also did a follow-up relating to farmer's markets. http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/farmers-markets/ I remember hearing something about how most farmer's markets don't have actual farmers a few years ago, but didn't realize that they too, were apt to just straight up lie about it. Ugh. So frustrating (and I don't even shop at them!).

She also breaks down the exchange from the first article here: http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/cases/
And advises on how to make sure something is local here: http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/consumers/
Impressive stuff.

golden1

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #21 on: June 02, 2016, 11:57:45 AM »
After eating real veal in italy one time, I would not be surprised if most of the veal I ate in the US isn't real.  They weren't even in the same ballpark. 

Rollin

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #22 on: June 02, 2016, 02:20:03 PM »
That was a great read, thanks for the link. Really interesting. The reporter/critic also did a follow-up relating to farmer's markets. http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/farmers-markets/ I remember hearing something about how most farmer's markets don't have actual farmers a few years ago, but didn't realize that they too, were apt to just straight up lie about it. Ugh. So frustrating (and I don't even shop at them!).

She also breaks down the exchange from the first article here: http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/cases/
And advises on how to make sure something is local here: http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2016/food/farm-to-fable/consumers/
Impressive stuff.

Vast majority of the vendors at our FM get their stuff same place that grocery stores get theirs.

merula

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #23 on: June 02, 2016, 03:07:59 PM »
Vast majority of the vendors at our FM get their stuff same place that grocery stores get theirs.

My city's farmers market has a requirement that all produce sold has to be planted, maintained, harvested and marketed by the same person (or under their direction) and must be grown within 50 miles of the city.

ooeei

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Re: Restaurants lie to you
« Reply #24 on: June 03, 2016, 06:15:46 AM »
http://www.seriouseats.com/2010/08/what-are-the-best-eggs-cage-free-organic-omega-3s-grocery-store-brand-the-food-lab.html

Interesting article I read awhile back about pastured eggs.  Turns out when they're dyed green, nobody in their test could tell the difference between the deep golden pastured eggs and pale feedlot eggs. 

The pastured eggs still win ethically and nutritionally, but an interesting article nonetheless.

 

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