Is it rude to serve guests something ‘shelf safe’

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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.

Had you never been down the correct aisle in Sainsbury?

https://www.bettycrocker.co.uk/product/devils-food-cake-mix/

+1
Come on. Packet foods? Spag bol packet mix? Custard powder and M&S curry kits? Brits feigning surprise and these guests are taking the piss.

THIS. Lecturing Americans on food quality as a brit is hilarious.

Have you noticed that there are no restaurants (besides the pasty place in Vienna) that serve "British food?" It's because British food is bad. They had to invade half the world to get some good food on their plates.

I genuinely like beans at breakfast though. Presumably they are made fresh each morning.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We have guests visiting from the uk (I am also from the uk originally) and for desert the kids had made brownies from a mix, mainly just so they could be involved in making the dinner. Guests refused the dessert and said it’s bc it was ‘shelf safe’ and America does not regulate such products like Europe (eg emulsifiers). I am aware of this fact but genuinely open to being told that making anything from a prepared mix is no longer ok - I guess I didn’t realize?

Am also a US resident from another country that regulates food and make up more Are they worried about the preservatives or GMO ? In my experience, people from EU and Australia worry more about GMO and additives in food products. I think your guests over-reacted though and showed very little grace.

FYI

Brownie mixes may contain preservatives like potassium sorbate to extend their shelf life and prevent mold and bacteria growth: common additives in brownie shelf safe mixes are:
Potassium sorbate
Sodium propionate
Calcium propionate

Potassium sorbet
May cause allergic reactions, headaches, migraines, asthma, gastrointestinal upset, and hyperactivity.

Sodium propionate
Inhaling sodium propionate can cause coughing and a sore throat. Contact with the skin can cause irritation, and contact with the eyes can cause pain and redness.

Calcium propionate
May cause headaches, migraines, allergic reactions, and skin rashes. One study found that children who ate bread containing calcium propionate daily experienced irritability, restlessness, poor attention, and sleep issues.


I doubt eating the brownies once would have caused severe symptoms. Though I suppose they may be more sensitive to additives if they don’t eat foods containing then often.

I wouldn’t worry about your friends being (uncharacteristically for the British) rather blunt and rude. They may have food sensitivities and life is too short. Enjoy your guests.

Most PPs seem to have misinterpreted OP’s question as to being whether the guests were rude rather than the host for serving potentially unsafe food product.

I think OP responded that one of the guests lives in US and they are not that picky

I think Americans just don’t worry about food additives and food supply issues as much as many Europeans and Aussies/ Kiwis. The laxer US food chain oversight also gets a lot of bad press in other countries so many non Americans western folks worry about what they consume when they are here.

However many poorer countries have even laxer food chain oversight so everything is relative.

OP it is not rude in the US to serve desserts made from shelf safe packet mixes. However, guests from other countries may be much more concerned about the additives. So I think the question is off - it more a mismatch of food quality expectations between US and most other Western countries.

https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/us-food-additives-banned-europe-making-americans-sick-expert-says/

“London — From baguettes to focaccia, Europe is famous for its bread. But there's one ingredient conspicuously missing: Potassium bromate. It's a suspected carcinogen that's banned for human consumption in Europe, China and India, but not in the United States.”

https://foodrevolution.org/blog/banned-ingredients-in-other-countries/amp/

Banned Ingredients
#1 — Dough Conditioners
#2 — Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)
#3 — Propylparaben
#4 — BHA and BHT
#5 — Synthetic Food Dye's
#6 — GMOs
#7 — Roxarsone
#8 — Ractopamine
#9 — Herbicides, Insecticides, Fungicides
#10 — Olestra
#11 — Synthetic Hormones

Potassium bromate, bvo, some parabens, red #3 will be banned in 2027.

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/10/1204839281/california-ban-food-additives-red-dye-3-propylparaben-candy

[Anonymous]

California is also restricting other artificial food dyes in school food:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/30/health/california-food-dye-ban-schools-wellness/index.html

Locally, FCPS also bans artificial food dyes from school food and food companies are voluntarily phasing them out of many popular foods.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm French. It's true that coming from the EU, where food and supplements (even make-up!) are regulated much better than here, some anxious worriers can get into a tizzy. I shop at Whole Foods and pay a lot of attention to ingredients.

But they were irrational and rude. One boxed brownie from the supermarket won't cause any issues (since apparently a real allergy isn't the issue).

Op - they then proceeded to lecture me about what was ‘shelf safe’ as if it was so obvious. Should it be? I do understand ultra processed food but I suppose I don’t understand it as deeply as I thought I did where to them, brownies from a mix was the same as being given like - Lunchables? I felt v dumb

PP you replied to. What did they say exactly? Now I'm curious. Is it the artificial preservatives and coloring? The fact it's a little (not a lot) processed, instead of being made from scratch? Would they have been fine with an organic brownie mix? I buy a lot of organic produce, I avoid artificial sweeteners, preservatives and coloring, and try to limit the ultraprocessed chips that I love to eat (ha). But I would NEVER lecture my host on any of it! Très gauche!

They're a little extra, OP. Please don't feel bad.

[Anonymous]

What’s rude is lecturing your host in their own home. Doesn’t matter whether it’s about the food or the set up. If someone is gracious enough to host you, be respectful and gracious. If you don’t want to eat something simply say no thank you. It’s really not hard to be polite.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:California is also restricting other artificial food dyes in school food:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/30/health/california-food-dye-ban-schools-wellness/index.html

Locally, FCPS also bans artificial food dyes from school food and food companies are voluntarily phasing them out of many popular foods.

^ This shows that Americans care about this and companies respond, voluntarily or when regulated.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:California is also restricting other artificial food dyes in school food:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/30/health/california-food-dye-ban-schools-wellness/index.html

Locally, FCPS also bans artificial food dyes from school food and food companies are voluntarily phasing them out of many popular foods.

^ This shows that Americans care about this and companies respond, voluntarily or when regulated.

Thank you. Yes we do care and we shop with our wallets. Thank goodness for California too. I know everyone makes fun of them but they really are a leader and a catalyst and they get things done. And they have a gdp larger than many countries.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What’s rude is lecturing your host in their own home. Doesn’t matter whether it’s about the food or the set up. If someone is gracious enough to host you, be respectful and gracious. If you don’t want to eat something simply say no thank you. It’s really not hard to be polite.

+1

I've seen some crazy stories about the food, or "food", in other countries. But other than real issues such as tap water in some countries or food allergies, I would be gracious about anything a host served me. Those people were either crazy rude or just crazy. If they are family or very close friends, maybe they were being informal? If so, they just came across as rude.

[Anonymous]

I have European family. Your guests were right about the lack of regulation, but they were also rude. They could have eaten two bites, said yum, and pretended to be full.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:California is also restricting other artificial food dyes in school food:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/08/30/health/california-food-dye-ban-schools-wellness/index.html

Locally, FCPS also bans artificial food dyes from school food and food companies are voluntarily phasing them out of many popular foods.

^ This shows that Americans care about this and companies respond, voluntarily or when regulated.

Yes that is good news but still way behind on the world bell curve for banning harmful additives - the bans are still 3 years away and other products banned in the EU that are allowed here will remain.

Many of people who use DCIM are highly educated and have good jobs so they will probably shop much more selectively. The US general public has many people who work very hard/ have multiple minimum wage jobs with no health insurance and probably can’t afford to buy organic from Whole Foods/ Moms.

Many Americans care for sure, but in my experience no where near to the degree that people in other countries worry about what they are consuming.

The answers in this post reflected that - Most PPs expressed outage with the picky rude guests rather than try to understand why they were so alarmed about shelf safe bake products that contain a known carcinogen that can also cause other health problems.

I personally would have eaten the brownies with a smile and thanked the kids —/ but I do understand why some guests from other countries might decline.

[Anonymous]

Do they not realize that even homemade brownies contain “shelf-safe” ingredients: sugar, cocoa powder or baker’s chocolate, etc.?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do they not realize that even homemade brownies contain “shelf-safe” ingredients: sugar, cocoa powder or baker’s chocolate, etc.?

Yeah those are not the ingredients that would be worrying them - Potassium bromate and several other harmful additives that are banned elsewhere would be the concern. Even China and Indian ban potassium bromate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they not realize that even homemade brownies contain “shelf-safe” ingredients: sugar, cocoa powder or baker’s chocolate, etc.?

Yeah those are not the ingredients that would be worrying them - Potassium bromate and several other harmful additives that are banned elsewhere would be the concern. Even China and Indian ban potassium bromate.

Look at the ingredient list: those aren't in the brownies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they not realize that even homemade brownies contain “shelf-safe” ingredients: sugar, cocoa powder or baker’s chocolate, etc.?

Yeah those are not the ingredients that would be worrying them - Potassium bromate and several other harmful additives that are banned elsewhere would be the concern. Even China and Indian ban potassium bromate.

Look at the ingredient list: those aren't in the brownies.

What is the ingredient that makes it shelf safe in the US?

Whether the extra food additives are there, the valid concern of many Europeans visiting the US is that non fresh long life products do contain additives that are banned elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do they not realize that even homemade brownies contain “shelf-safe” ingredients: sugar, cocoa powder or baker’s chocolate, etc.?

Yeah those are not the ingredients that would be worrying them - Potassium bromate and several other harmful additives that are banned elsewhere would be the concern. Even China and Indian ban potassium bromate.

Look at the ingredient list: those aren't in the brownies.

What is the ingredient that makes it shelf safe in the US?

Whether the extra food additives are there, the valid concern of many Europeans visiting the US is that non fresh long life products do contain additives that are banned elsewhere.

It's the plastic sealed bag