Is it rude to serve guests something ‘shelf safe’

[Anonymous]

People are freaking out about boxed brownie mix yet anytime someone asks about a dessert people say to pick something up from Costco, Whole Foods, or another store bought place.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your guests were rude. But I do also think it’s poor taste to serve boxed mix brownies to guests. Brownies are quite possibly the easiest thing to bake from scratch and uses just one bowl. Or just serve fruit if you can’t bake.

I know plenty of people who think this way. I will eat your homemade from scratch brownies to be polite but they really aren't very good. I won't tell you that. But someone should.

I think you just like boxed brownie mix because you're used to it. Scratch is better. Anything that's not Duncan Hines or Betty Crocker is better--how anyone can claim otherwise with a straight face is beyond me. I suppose you like Aunt Jemima pancake mix, too?

Brownies from scratch are dense. They just don't have a good texture.

Professional bakers use cake mixes for the superior texture and add to it for the particular flavor they want. But they don't make cakes from scratch. They know better.

[Anonymous]

It's not rude to make brownies from a box. That said, I don't eat anything made by children. Maybe they were trying to think of another reason to decline without offending the children. Personally I would have just said I wasn't hungry anymore, but you never know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally rude but also… why do you need a boxed mix? It’s not that much harder to make from scratch. And it’s good for the kids to see real ingredients and measure them.

Op - bc I was making a sh*t ton of other food and ds2 is 8 so wanted him to have a recipe he could be pretty independent about while I was busy. I plonked him down with bowl and mix and eggs and oil and measuring cup and some extra chocolates to add in.

Unless your 8 year old has taken extensive food safety courses, you are going to find that few here eat brownies made by a child.

. How many adults have taken a food safety course? What is your concern..the kid sneezed on the bowl or took a lick. The 325 degree oven should be pretty effective. I would like to see you as a grandparent turning you little ones cookie down due to hygiene concerns.

Regarer https://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/745220.page

Personally, it wouldn't bother me. However, there are a lot of people with food anxiety that seem to post here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"America does not regulate such products like Europe"

hows that?

DP

EU has stronger rules for regulating both food additives and GMO in food chain.

EU regulating GMOs is just one the more insane regulations in that bizarre confederation. GMOs are safe and moreover, nothing about GMOs are, with solid scientific footing, theoretically unsafe. The basis for this ban in Europe originally wasn’t even safety.

They regulate food completely differently and only part of those regulations have to do with safety.

Au contraire

Many countries have strict rules for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) because of their controversial use and the perceived risks to human health, animal welfare, and the environment. Many believe that GMOs offer little to no advantage to agriculture and food production while carrying substantial risks. The main concerns about adverse effects of GM foods on health are the transfer of antibiotic resistance, toxicity and allergenicity. Practical concerns around GM crops include the rise of insect pests and weeds that are resistant to pesticides.

Many countries have banned or restricted the cultivation and importation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including: 

Russia
 bans both the cultivation and importation of GMOs, except for scientific research. Russia is the most populated country to ban GMOs. 


Mexico
 bans GMOs, citing the precautionary principle to protect the health of the Mexican people and environment. 



European Union (EU)
EU countries have the right to block farmers from growing GMOs. Some countries that have banned GMO cultivation in the EU include Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, and Poland. 


Other countries
 Algeria, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Peru, and Venezuela have banned both GMO imports and GMO cultivation. 


In addition to countries that have banned GMOs, about 60 other countries have significant restrictions on GMOs

Au contraire nothing.

GMOs are safe and moreover, nothing about GMOs are, with solid scientific footing, theoretically unsafe.

Most of the world disagrees with you and most scientists who are not funded by Monsanto concede that there is not enough long term research to understand likely long term impacts of GMO on people, the food chain and the environment. There is insufficient evidence that the benefits outweigh the many risks. It is impossible to reverse once unleashed.

Also, when farmers purchase GMO seed, they enter into contracts with seed companies and sign an agreement to purchase new seed each year and not save seed from their crops to plant the following year. So once GMO crops are started, farmers are trapped into financial dependence with seed companies such as Monsanto. Monsanto was the world’s largest seed company and owned over 80% of all the genetically modified (GM, also called genetically engineered) seeds planted around the world. Bayer, the second largest agrochemical company in the world, bought Monsanto for $63 billion. Bayer now owns 33% of the global seed market and 23% of the agrochemical market.

Monsanto funds much of the pro GMO propaganda in the US and lobbies against serious discussions around the many risks and ethics of GMO that takes place in most other countries. Contrary to the Monsanto GMO gospel, being pro science does not make one automatically pro GMO.


Opinion: I Was Lured Into Monsanto’s GMO Crusade. Here’s What I Learned.
As a once-vocal supporter of the company’s GMO push, I learned that debates about science are never just about science.
https://undark.org/2019/06/27/monsanto-gmo-crusade/


You'll Never Guess How Much Bayer and Monsanto Spend on Lobbying
https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/youll-never-guess-how-much-bayer-and-monsanto-spend-lobbying-2016-09-16#


Genetic Literacy Project: PR front for Monsanto, Bayer and the chemical industry

https://usrtk.org/industry-pr/jon-entine-genetic-literacy-project/

Genetic Literacy Project is an influential front group that partners with Bayer and other chemical companies to promote GMO foods and pesticides and argue for deregulation. Bayer paid the Genetic Literacy Project $100,000 from July 2020 to June 2021 for its work “to prevent legislative overreach in genetic engineering,” according to the group’s IRS form 990. Donor’s Trust, the secretive funding vehicle that funds attacks on climate science, is also a donor.

All of this is one absurd conspiracy theory.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"America does not regulate such products like Europe"

hows that?

DP

EU has stronger rules for regulating both food additives and GMO in food chain.

EU regulating GMOs is just one the more insane regulations in that bizarre confederation. GMOs are safe and moreover, nothing about GMOs are, with solid scientific footing, theoretically unsafe. The basis for this ban in Europe originally wasn’t even safety.

They regulate food completely differently and only part of those regulations have to do with safety.

Au contraire

Many countries have strict rules for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) because of their controversial use and the perceived risks to human health, animal welfare, and the environment. Many believe that GMOs offer little to no advantage to agriculture and food production while carrying substantial risks. The main concerns about adverse effects of GM foods on health are the transfer of antibiotic resistance, toxicity and allergenicity. Practical concerns around GM crops include the rise of insect pests and weeds that are resistant to pesticides.

Many countries have banned or restricted the cultivation and importation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including: 

Russia
 bans both the cultivation and importation of GMOs, except for scientific research. Russia is the most populated country to ban GMOs. 


Mexico
 bans GMOs, citing the precautionary principle to protect the health of the Mexican people and environment. 



European Union (EU)
EU countries have the right to block farmers from growing GMOs. Some countries that have banned GMO cultivation in the EU include Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, and Poland. 


Other countries
 Algeria, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Peru, and Venezuela have banned both GMO imports and GMO cultivation. 


In addition to countries that have banned GMOs, about 60 other countries have significant restrictions on GMOs

Au contraire nothing.

GMOs are safe and moreover, nothing about GMOs are, with solid scientific footing, theoretically unsafe.

This message was brought to you by Monsanto

Just because there is no evidence (yet) proving that they are unsafe does not mean they are safe.

There’s no evidence yet proving water is unsafe either, you buffoon.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Totally rude but also… why do you need a boxed mix? It’s not that much harder to make from scratch. And it’s good for the kids to see real ingredients and measure them.

Op - bc I was making a sh*t ton of other food and ds2 is 8 so wanted him to have a recipe he could be pretty independent about while I was busy. I plonked him down with bowl and mix and eggs and oil and measuring cup and some extra chocolates to add in.

Unless your 8 year old has taken extensive food safety courses, you are going to find that few here eat brownies made by a child.

. How many adults have taken a food safety course? What is your concern..the kid sneezed on the bowl or took a lick. The 325 degree oven should be pretty effective. I would like to see you as a grandparent turning you little ones cookie down due to hygiene concerns.

Yeah, the food safety course probably taught them that you can sneeze on anything you’re going to cook at 325 for 15 minutes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I mean, I think there's a difference between boxed Duncan Hines vs Trader Joe's boxed brownies, because of dyes and such. But I could suck it up for half a brownie.

Duncan Hines brownie mix is a food of "low ingredient concern" according to the Environmental Working Group. It ranks lower for nutrition
https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/products/644209311316-DuncanHinesBrownieMixChewyFudgeBrowniesChewyFudgeBrownies/#:~:text=SUGAR%2C%20ENRICHED%20BLEACHED%20WHEAT%20FLOUR,%2C%20ARTIFICIAL%20FLAVOR%2C%20WHEAT%20STARCH.

SUGAR, ENRICHED BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), COCOA POWDER (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), PALM OIL, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: DEXTROSE, SALT, SODIUM BICARBONATE, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, WHEAT STARCH.

This is not a big deal...

Trader Joe's: Ingredients
SUGAR
SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT)
UNBLEACHED ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID)
COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI)
WHEAT STARCH
SOYBEAN OIL
SALT
LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:"America does not regulate such products like Europe"

hows that?

DP

EU has stronger rules for regulating both food additives and GMO in food chain.

EU regulating GMOs is just one the more insane regulations in that bizarre confederation. GMOs are safe and moreover, nothing about GMOs are, with solid scientific footing, theoretically unsafe. The basis for this ban in Europe originally wasn’t even safety.

They regulate food completely differently and only part of those regulations have to do with safety.

Au contraire

Many countries have strict rules for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) because of their controversial use and the perceived risks to human health, animal welfare, and the environment. Many believe that GMOs offer little to no advantage to agriculture and food production while carrying substantial risks. The main concerns about adverse effects of GM foods on health are the transfer of antibiotic resistance, toxicity and allergenicity. Practical concerns around GM crops include the rise of insect pests and weeds that are resistant to pesticides.

Many countries have banned or restricted the cultivation and importation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), including: 

Russia
 bans both the cultivation and importation of GMOs, except for scientific research. Russia is the most populated country to ban GMOs. 


Mexico
 bans GMOs, citing the precautionary principle to protect the health of the Mexican people and environment. 



European Union (EU)
EU countries have the right to block farmers from growing GMOs. Some countries that have banned GMO cultivation in the EU include Austria, Bulgaria, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, and Poland. 


Other countries
 Algeria, Bhutan, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Peru, and Venezuela have banned both GMO imports and GMO cultivation. 


In addition to countries that have banned GMOs, about 60 other countries have significant restrictions on GMOs

Yes, I loved getting “non-gmo” bottled water in some of these countries. It looks like “non-gmo” gets slapped on products left and right.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not rude to make brownies from a box. That said, I don't eat anything made by children. Maybe they were trying to think of another reason to decline without offending the children. Personally I would have just said I wasn't hungry anymore, but you never know.

Why are you so worried about a kid mixing 3 ingredients in a bowl? At what age would you be comfortable?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, I think there's a difference between boxed Duncan Hines vs Trader Joe's boxed brownies, because of dyes and such. But I could suck it up for half a brownie.

Duncan Hines brownie mix is a food of "low ingredient concern" according to the Environmental Working Group. It ranks lower for nutrition
https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/products/644209311316-DuncanHinesBrownieMixChewyFudgeBrowniesChewyFudgeBrownies/#:~:text=SUGAR%2C%20ENRICHED%20BLEACHED%20WHEAT%20FLOUR,%2C%20ARTIFICIAL%20FLAVOR%2C%20WHEAT%20STARCH.

SUGAR, ENRICHED BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), COCOA POWDER (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), PALM OIL, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: DEXTROSE, SALT, SODIUM BICARBONATE, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, WHEAT STARCH.

This is not a big deal...

Trader Joe's: Ingredients
SUGAR
SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT)
UNBLEACHED ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID)
COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI)
WHEAT STARCH
SOYBEAN OIL
SALT
LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE)

Huh? What’s your point?

[Anonymous]

How do you know these guests, OP?? So rude! I haven’t been in this situation, but I have a neighbor whose home I know isn’t quite up to my standards (I’m not picky but I don’t like pets on kitchen counters, and I found cat hair in my last cupcake from her.).

I would never say anything, just eat around it, say it was delicious if asked even if I haven’t eaten it etc. Not sure why they could not do that?? So so rude to embarrass you and your children like that. Your kids were sweet to make something!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think they were very rude (surely they could have just said “no thanks I’m full” or something?!) but I have also experienced that sometimes people from other countries have heard things about food here and are genuinely scared of it, maybe rightly or wrongly. I had friends visit from Germany and they asked me a million questions about milk (they have toddlers who would be drinking it) and were really scared about hormones and antibiotics and the various different labels. I’m also from the UK and as I’m sure OP knows, box mixes are really uncommon there so I guess they were just thrown by it. I know it sounds odd, but I also found the concept of box mixes extremely strange when I first moved here.

I agree— they were extremely rude. One brownie won’t kill you.

But, having lived in several other countries, people everywhere are rightly or wrongly very concerned about American food. Sometimes they’re right (a lot of our food is crap), sometimes they just perceive their cultural food as superior to everywhere else. It was funny to have people in place, for instance, go on and on to me about how Americans eat McDonald’s every day and are so unhealthy, but they themselves smoked and drank heavily from young ages— and all McDonald’s in the country were absolutely packed!

Anyway, your guests were super rude, and I don’t think it matters that maybe they’re right, save you trying to serve them arsenic or something. But I’ve experienced similar lectures/concern about American food everywhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think they were very rude (surely they could have just said “no thanks I’m full” or something?!) but I have also experienced that sometimes people from other countries have heard things about food here and are genuinely scared of it, maybe rightly or wrongly. I had friends visit from Germany and they asked me a million questions about milk (they have toddlers who would be drinking it) and were really scared about hormones and antibiotics and the various different labels. I’m also from the UK and as I’m sure OP knows, box mixes are really uncommon there so I guess they were just thrown by it. I know it sounds odd, but I also found the concept of box mixes extremely strange when I first moved here.

I mean, box mixes are gross. But these guests were rude beyond belief.

Box mix brownies have a better texture than from scratch. Same for cakes. To each their own.

They also have a bunch of awful ingredients that no one would ever add to their food. The guests were rude but they weren’t wrong. Enjoy your chemicals.

I already posted the ingredients in Duncan Hines Chewy Brownie mix - they don't have a bunch of awful ingredients.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean, I think there's a difference between boxed Duncan Hines vs Trader Joe's boxed brownies, because of dyes and such. But I could suck it up for half a brownie.

Duncan Hines brownie mix is a food of "low ingredient concern" according to the Environmental Working Group. It ranks lower for nutrition
https://www.ewg.org/foodscores/products/644209311316-DuncanHinesBrownieMixChewyFudgeBrowniesChewyFudgeBrownies/#:~:text=SUGAR%2C%20ENRICHED%20BLEACHED%20WHEAT%20FLOUR,%2C%20ARTIFICIAL%20FLAVOR%2C%20WHEAT%20STARCH.

SUGAR, ENRICHED BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR (BLEACHED WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID), COCOA POWDER (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI), PALM OIL, CONTAINS LESS THAN 2% OF: DEXTROSE, SALT, SODIUM BICARBONATE, ARTIFICIAL FLAVOR, WHEAT STARCH.

This is not a big deal...

Trader Joe's: Ingredients
SUGAR
SEMISWEET CHOCOLATE CHIPS (SUGAR, UNSWEETENED CHOCOLATE, COCOA BUTTER, SOY LECITHIN, VANILLA EXTRACT)
UNBLEACHED ENRICHED WHEAT FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE, RIBOFLAVIN, FOLIC ACID)
COCOA (PROCESSED WITH ALKALI)
WHEAT STARCH
SOYBEAN OIL
SALT
LEAVENING (BAKING SODA, SODIUM ACID PYROPHOSPHATE, MONOCALCIUM PHOSPHATE)

Huh? What’s your point?

I'm replying to the poster directly above mine that thinks that Trader Joe's is somehow more pure than straight up Duncan Hines. And that the ingredients in Duncan Hines are not believed to be problematic by at least one pure food advocacy group. I thought it was pretty understandable.