Is it possible to live supermarket-free?

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Is it possible to live supermarket-free?
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Treacodactyl
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Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 12 8:46 am Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

Small scale producers of cheese & meat are less likely than supermarkets to contain traces as they're dealing with smaller batches and hence far less chance of cross contamination. Artisan cheesemakers, as opposed to large factories or cheesemongers, tend to only have a select few speciality cheeses that they produce and rarely blend fruit & nuts the way the big factories do.

While there's plenty of benefits of using local suppliers I wouldn't say labeling and knowledge of ingredients is one of their strongest hands, certainly not at the places I use. We regularly buy cheese and sausages now from two producers and both tend to experiment a fair bit with other ingredients and neither list anything on the packaging.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 12 10:13 am Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Rob R wrote:

Sausages are fair game, as there are a few nut sausages out there, but they are manufacturered meat products, I don't think you'd get the same for meat in general. From all the different cheeses I've bought, apart from the blends, I can't think of any nut cheeses.

The whole point of using local producers is supposed to be about food provenance & traceability. I think if you have a producer who can't tell you what has gone into a product then I'd be very wary about using them at all.

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 12 11:00 am Post subject:

Rob R wrote:

From all the different cheeses I've bought, apart from the blends, I can't think of any nut cheeses.

The whole point of using local producers is supposed to be about food provenance & traceability. I think if you have a producer who can't tell you what has gone into a product then I'd be very wary about using them at all.

The main cheese producer now makes her cheeses in her kitchen, so technically I expect not guaranteed nut free.

I know provenance and traceability is often touted but we've found it very rare to find. Even suppliers we know personally don't bother to differentiate stuff they grow themselves from stuff they buy in - there doesn't seem to be much demand from people to know.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 12 1:36 pm Post subject:
Just as bloke off the telly now makes his nut butter in the same space he makes jerky, fruit scrolls and vegan cheeses as well as the rest of his range it would be very very hard to certify stuff nut free for Tue purpose of people with serious allergies and he is one of the best I know at knowing the provenance of his ingredients.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 12 2:07 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

Rob R wrote:

Perhaps we're talking about different scales of production if you're buying from people producing dairy produce in their kitchen. I didn't know that was even allowed nevermind practical. There's a long way between cottage industries & supermarkets though.

Rob R

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 31902
Location: York

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 12 2:20 pm Post subject:

Pilsbury wrote:

Just as bloke off the telly now makes his nut butter in the same space he makes jerky, fruit scrolls and vegan cheeses as well as the rest of his range it would be very very hard to certify stuff nut free for Tue purpose of people with serious allergies and he is one of the best I know at knowing the provenance of his ingredients.

I'd put him in the same category as food manfacturers rather than producers, his provenance would mean he wouldn't tell people it was nut-free or label it as such if he was handling nuts. That's the advantage of small producers - you can usually speak to the very person that handles the food.

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