I had an opportunity to undertake unusual role of going shopping for a porridge flour in a local supermarket.
First, I must admit that our supermarkets are coming of age. There are quite a range of products to choose from. Some products not so good but others are close premium.
I wanted a good flour for preparing baby porridge. The only way to tell a product is good nutritionally is from the label. Ok, as a keen buyer, I started checking labels. One product caught my attention. That is the porridge flour from Proctor ε Allan. The company had two different products; Proctor ε Allan porridge flour for the family, marketed with slogan of high nutrition porridge and the other product is flour for baby porridge.
The Proctor ε Allan baby porridge flour is marketed as a high protein porridge flour. Surprisingly the two flours have similar levels of protein content as indicated on the label, which is a minimum of 14% although the baby porridge flour is marketed as high protein flour.
Probably, the indication of 14% minimum protein content could mean the flour might have higher protein content than 14%. But then, shouldn’t the company indicate the actual amount? Whey are they suggesting one is high protein product while it is comparable to an alternative?
The only difference between the two types of flour is the micro-nutrients, specifically vitamins. The baby porridge flour has slightly high amounts of some vitamins and minerals compared to family porridge flour as indicated on the label. Based on the labeling, the baby porridge can not be categorised as high protein. The 14% protein is not high as some products like meat or fish hav over 20 % protein, soy protein and egg white have over 75% protein. Maybe they should call it high in vitamins!
Next time check if the product has what it claims to offer!