Dole Whips - Not so Non-Dairy as we think !

[lashbear]

Bugger !

In researching Dole whips for a thread on Micechat, I found out the following information:

Ingredients are:

Dole Pineapple Soft Serve Frozen Dessert
INGREDIENTS: Sugar, Dextrose, Pineapple Crystals, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Stabilizers (Cellulose, Locust Bean, Guar, Xanthan, Karaya Gum, Pectin), Sodium Silico Aluminate, Vegetable Fiber, Citric Acid, Artificial Flavor, Sodium Caseinate (A Milk Derivative), Mono & Diglycerides, Sodium Citrate, Salt, Dipotassium Phosphate, Articial Color Including F.D. & C. Yellow #6.


(From http://www.precisionfoods.com/branded/doleindex.asp# )

Just a note on that Sodium Caseinate:

Savvy consumers reading the label on this product would quickly realize that many non-dairy creamers (and dole whips - Rob) are not non-dairy because the labels clearly indicate the product contains sodium caseinate (a milk derivative).

Dairy scientists and the Food and Drug Administration agree that these are non-dairy creamers because the caseinate has been so altered it can no longer be considered dairy. According to the information on the Coffee-mate website,

"When sodium caseinate is processed, it is so materially altered that both dairy scientists and government regulators no longer regard it as a true dairy substance. This is why sodium caseinate can be an ingredient in non-dairy products according to FDA's regulation 21 CFR101.4 (d). Sodium caseinate also is not a source of lactose."

Title 21 of the Code of Federal Regulations Part 101 deals with food labeling. Section 101.4 presents the rules for designation of ingredients in foods. Section 101.4 (d) reads as follows: When foods characterized on the label as "nondairy" contain a caseinate ingredient, the caseinate ingredient shall be followed by a parenthetical statement identifying its source. For example, if the manufacturer uses the term "nondairy" on a creamer that contains sodium caseinate, it shall include a parenthetical term such as "a milk derivative" after the listing of sodium caseinate in the ingredient list.

Full page can be read here

I just checked, and the creamer I use also has this in it !!

and the WORST thing for me is this news:

The principal ingredients in all of these nondairy creamers are sugars and vegetable oils. The three brands contain partially hydrogenated oils loaded with trans fats. The Coffee-mate label indicates the oil could be any of the following: coconut, palm kernel, soybean, cottonseed, or safflower. The sugars are a combination of corn syrup, maltodextrin, and sugar.




Well, I'm still going to have one (or three) cos I don't get to eat them all that often, but I'm looking out for those true non-dairy creamers mentioned in the article all the same.

Cheers,
Rob.