Food Consumption Patterns Part 2

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How good for the health are the products is hard to say without some investigation. Bongu’s labels
do not list how much of each ingredient is in a product. Nor do the labels make clear that substitute
ingredients have been added. However, we know that international law requires that ingredients
be at least listed by the order of quantity, thus the most abundant ingredient first, second most
abundant next, and so on. If Bongu has followed the international law then the primary ingredient
in its condensed milk—list first--is “skim milk.” Then comes “soy milk”, then “maltadextrine”--a
sweetless sugar used as a thickening agent--then “vegetable fatty matter” and finally “soy lecithin.”
The other ingredients are an unknown measure of vitamin A and D and chemical preservatives. In
comparison, the main and only food ingredient in the Carnation milk competitor—the one knocked
off the market by Bongu--is milk (Figure 24). Bongu cheese lists palm oil as its primary ingredient.
Then it lists three milk products: milk proteins, powdered milk, and whey. No cheese. In
comparison, the main ingredients in the processed cheese La Vache Qui Rit—also almost
completely knocked out of the popular market by Bongu--are “cheddar, Swiss, and semisoft
cheese” (Figure 25)
Figure 33: Bongu Milk Content Comparison to Carnation
Carnation Milk
Nutritional
information
vs
Bongu Milk
Nutritional
information?
Figure 34: Bongu Cheese Content Comparison to La Vache Qui Rit
vs
Ingredients: 50% Cheese
Ingredients: 0% Cheese