Panorama tonight

[BenandBellasMummy]

BBC News - Panorama - The hunt for healthy food for children

What I want to know is what is done to the foods to make them last 3 weeks without freezing, I couldn't make a fish pie or lasagne that would last 3 weeks in a tub in the fridge?!

[kerri-anne]

I've sky+ it, this kind of programme is so interesteing, if not a bit scary

[LauraAK]

hello everyone...hope you're well.

I would like to give you some information from Annabel about why Eat Fussy meals have a long shelf life.

The shelf life of ready meals is restricted to 10 days unless there are controls in place to prevent the growth of Clostridium botulinum. This is a particularly nasty bacterium which is rarely implicated in food poisoning, but when it does, it is often fatal.

There are various control mechanisms (eg high salt) but the only one which is suitable for kids meals is a specific heat process (steam fresh cooking otherwise known as pasteurisation).

So because we pasteurise the Eat Fussy meals, botulinum is eliminated and we can allocate a shelf life of greater than 10 days.

Feel free to ask more questions about the range

Laura xxxx

p.s. We have also added the Process Baby Foods for Infants and Young Children (England) Regulations 2003 on the Eat Fussy pages.

[BenandBellasMummy]

Does that effect the nutritional values of the veg etc? In the same way that mass produced baby food does? AK talks about depletion of vitamins/minerals from overcooking in her books. Thanks for replying though Laura

[dara07]

One to watch definitely! D

[byrnen]

Unfortunately I was unaware that this was being aired this evening and therefore only managed to see a few minutes. What I did see has horrified me. I have a daughter 4 yrs and a son 18 months. I was a huge fan of the Annabel Karmel range, I have the books and bought the meals for my daughter. My husband and myself both work, so I therefore purchased AK meals over M&S children's meals. I as presumed that the brand is sold as caring, nurturing and trustworthy. Annabel Karmel was questioned this evening as to why the salt content is so high and why this was not detailed on the packaging, her response was one of two, first was that an educated mother would be aware of the salt allowance and secondly that a 1 yr old, would only eat half a tray, therefore not taking them over they salt allowance for the day. I feel that I am one of these educated mothers being referred to and unfortunately do not always check the salt and sugar content, as I presumed that they would be within the daily allowance (taking into consideration as well the other meals throughout the day). My daughter and my nephew have always eaten a full tray and I am sure it does not reccommend that a 1 yr old should only eat half a tray for allowance purposes. They also mentioned that the lasagne had high amounts of sugar and that they were aware of this and reviewing the recipe. I am very dissapointed with Annabel Karmel, firstly that these meals have been made/sold, knowingly that some of the sugar/salt content is very high for children and also to her responses this evening.

[BenandBellasMummy]

"An educated mum would know that"

AK does not come across well, I've never bought one of her ready meals but I definitely wouldn't even look now, but I do what the telly tells me

[AnnabelKarmel]

I am very upset by the claims made on the Panorama programme. All our meals comply with the government guidelines for 1 to 4 year old children . We only use very good quality ingredients and there are no colourings, flavourings or preservatives in any of our meals. We make healthy and nutritious meals that children enjoy eating and our best selling meal is our Cod and Salmon Fish Pie which gives children essential fatty acids which are oftne lacking in their diet. I gave a full interview on the programme as I have nothing to hide. However Panorama chose not to show my side . I care very much about the parents and the children who eat my food or use my recipes and take to heart all your posts as I have devoted my life to trying to improve the quality of food for children . I will be putting a full statement on the site tomorrow answering all of the allegations made on the programme .

Annabel Karmel

[byrnen]

Thank-you for your response. I understand that the Media can be one sided and therefore look forward to viewing your statement today.

[Anna07]

i found aspects of the programme quite confusing, on the one hand it was saying often children's meals e.g. at nursery etc weren't balanced and there wasn't enough carbohydrates and fats as everyone was so conscious of giving them their five a day that they gave too much veg and fruit etc at nursery but then it was saying that the healthiest snacks were a piece of fruit (which i do know) but what is an alternative snack to a piece of fruit that isn't laden with either sugar or salt?

i have to admit that it seemed unfair that it just focussed on AK's meals as I am sure all the other manufacturers of toddler's ready meals (M&S, Little Dish etc) are guilty of the same things and I have to admit that I could understand what she was saying that the meals had to be tasty in order for a child to eat them and she said that was why salt and sugar were added but there must be other ways. I have to admit though having never used one of the meals i probably would think twice now having seen the programme.

If ready meals were used in the way they were intended i.e. occasional convenience foods then it wouldn't be such an issue that they had a higher salt or sugar content than a homemade meal would, the problem is there are lots of parents out there that only give these to their children so clearly in these instances they will be blowing the daily salt allowance out of the water.