Over the Christmas holiday we received a gift of Andes Peppermint Crunch wafers. I was so excited because many, many years ago my dad used to buy peppermint crunch wafers from Fannie May Candy based out out Chicago. They were so pretty - a little pink rectangle with peppermint crunch bits - and so delicious. It was a very special Christmas treat. On a trip to Chicago to visit our daughters, Todd and I went to Fannie May with the plan of buying the Mint Meltaways and Peppermint Crunch to have at our house for Christmas. The nice lady behind the counter gave us the bad news. No more Peppermint Crunch. It had been discontinued. We bought the Mint Meltaways but the picture wasn't complete.
Fast forward to this past Christmas. A friend gave us a box of Andes Peppermint Crunch. I was so excited. A new replacement for my beloved Fannie May! When I opened the box the top was the beautiful light pink with crunchy bits but the bottom was a layer of bright red. All I could think of the news about discontinuing the use of Red No. 3 dye in foods. Was this Red No. 3? No, it's Red No. 40 which can cause inflammation of the colon. The taste is reminiscent of Fannie May but the visual and the health concerns are disappointing. Too many UPFs (ultra-processed foods) in the American diet.
It is painful when beloved brands discontinue beloved lines. The color may shift, but there are safer and natural red dies.
ReplyDeleteAs I'm in this stage of life, aware of my mom's life with Alzheimer's and my dad's battle with cancer, I'm trying to stay away from the ultra-processed foods. They're everywhere and there's so much junk in them
DeleteI get Andes mint chocolates every year but I've never seen these peppermint ones. I make chocolate chip cookies with the Andes mints. I unwrap each one and them chop them into pieces and use them in the cookie recipe instead of chocolate chips. It makes a delicious cookie.
ReplyDeleteOhhhhh...your cookies sound heavenly!
DeleteI read somewhere that the brighter the colours in food the more toxic it is!
ReplyDeleteI believe that, too. That bright red is not a natural food color.
DeleteI used to have a friend in the news business who would say "Don't let the truth stand in the way of a good story."
ReplyDeleteMark Twain had a similar quote, too.
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