KEY POINTS:
Food-conscious Simon Bainbridge grows his own chillies but he reckons he'll start growing his own garlic too after going shopping with a Green Party MP.
Mr Bainbridge was one of about 20 consumers to take a wander around the New World supermarket at Orakei with Sue Kedgley on
Friday.
The Meadowbank resident wanted to know more about the food he buys so joined in one of Ms Kedgley's "shopping with Sue" tours that she has taken up and down the country in the past few years.
Mr Bainbridge was surprised to discover some children's cereals were 50 per cent sugar, and in cases contained colour additives banned overseas.
He also learned there were huge variations in what was claimed to be in the cereals compared with what was found in overseas studies.
A psychiatrist, he found suggestions of links with children's behaviour and their consumption interesting, and was also amazed to discover that Coca-Cola was the biggest-selling supermarket item.
Mr Bainbridge was perturbed to discover that most bacons were cured with nitrites, toxic chemicals which made the meat look pink.
"I'll buy the one with a natural preservative."
Mr Bainbridge said he didn't mind spending more on quality food and purchased organic produce.
Because he rented he did not have a big garden but grew chilli plants in pots.
After learning that the bulk of garlic in New Zealand came from China he has decided to source some New Zealand bulbs and grow his own.
Ms Kedgley said she had taken many supermarket tours where up to 40 people would turn up, mostly interested in deciphering labels and what "baddies" to watch out for.
"You almost need a magnifying glass, a chemistry degree, and a code breaker to go shopping ... it is almost like a modern detective story."
Ms Kedgley said the basic advice was to buy local goods, organic where possible, and avoid items with five or more listed ingredients such as additives.
She said about 2.8 million tonnes of food were imported into New Zealand, including even lamb and beef. "Not many tinned goods contain New Zealand product."
About half our pork was imported, often in processed products, and the pork from Australia and Canada contained pig growth hormone. About 75 per cent of the wheat used in our bread was also imported.
Ms Kedgley was critical there was no monitoring of food labels in New Zealand to ensure they accurately described the contents of packets and tins.
But she was impressed that New World had adopted a voluntary labelling to identify the country of origin for fruit and vegetables, and to a lesser degree meat.
New Zealand was one of the few countries that did not require such point-of-origin labelling, she said.
"It is a requirement to know where our footwear and clothing is made but not food."
Frozen foods were often sourced from overseas, like spinach from the Netherlands and peas from England.
As for garlic, Ms Kedgley said New Zealand growers had struggled to stay in business after cheap Chinese imports began flooding in. On Friday bags of garlic were on special for just 50c, compared with $19.95 per kilogram for New Zealand-grown.
Ms Kedgley urged New Zealanders to plant New Zealand garlic bulbs, easily identified because they had roots, and now was the ideal time.
In the meantime, they should support the New Zealand growers, of whom only a handful were left, in Marlborough, she said.
* WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Bad
Nitrites - in bacon to make meat look pink.
Sugar - check on label how much per 100g of product.
Colour additives - some banned overseas.
Good
Organic - chemical-free produce.
Quality Mark - no growth-promoting hormones in meat.
Wholemeal bread - from 100 per cent wholemeal flour containing vitamins, minerals and fibre.