Fake Bread Crumbs

I’ve been practicing healthy cooking and eating for years. I’m not perfect, and I do slip occasionally. I also sometimes let things slide, like eating yummy crusty Italian white bread, or stopping at Chick Fil-A because I’m starving and I can’t resist their french fries.

But today I was stopped in my tracks when I read the ingredients on the label of a package of Progresso Bread Crumbs. In fact I was left thinking “where’s the bread?”

“Ingredients: Bread Crumbs (enriched flour [wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid], high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil [soybean and/or cottonseed and/or corn and/or canola], water, salt. Contains 2% or less of: yeast, honey, molasses, sugar, wheat gluten, whey, soy flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, corn flour, oat bran, corn meal, rice flour, potato flour, butter, dough conditioners [mono- and diglyerides, sodium and/or calcium, stearoyl lactylate, soy lecithin,, calcium carbonate], yeast nutrients [ammonium sulfate, calcium sulfate, monocalcium phosphate], vinegar, nonfat milk, buttermilk, lactic acid, calcium proponate and potassium sorbate [preservatives], sesame seeds), oat flour, salt, garlic powder, spice, dried parsley, onion powder, natural flavor, egg, sunflower seeds.”

Here are just a few interesting facts if you read carefully.

10 ingredients ending in “ate” (meaning synthetically produced)
8 preservatives
6 kinds of sugar
5 items made from corn

This is not even to mention the high fructose corn syrup or the partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, two of the top ingredients that should make you put that item back on grocery shelf like a hot potato.

What is this package of “bread crumbs that aren’t really bread crumbs” doing in my pantry? MY pantry? I’m disgusted with myself.

I used to make my own breadcrumbs.  I saved the heels of loaves of bread in the freezer and every few months made bread crumbs from them.  Just plain old unseasoned bread crumbs made from really good bread.  I kept a container in my freezer, although I don’t actually use bread crumbs much any more.  Still… I think I’ll go back to making my own.

And I don’t think I’ll buy anything made by Progresso again. Ever.

One thought on “Fake Bread Crumbs

  1. Lisa P says:

    I was at Whole Foods the other day and noticed their store brand (“365”) packaged bread crumbs. The ingredients? “Whole wheat flour, yeast.”

    Thanks Whole Foods.

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