Most recently, Earth Balance has changed the formula for their natural shortening sticks. These are the ones that come in the green and light yellow box, and work marvelously as a replacement for butter when baking. Until now, the sticks were a blend of palm fruit, canola, soybean, and olive oils – all non-GMO. Now, they have added flax oil to the mix.
This means that the parents of kids with allergies to flax or other seeds may no longer be able to use this as their shortening. I say “may” because the product consists of oils – fats – rather than proteins; most allergies are to the protein in food, and oils are usually refined well enough that no protein remains. However, seeds are tricky things, and anyone with a flax or seed allergy will want to check with their doctor before continuing to use this product.
That said, when I called Earth Balance to check on the ingredients, they were very excited about the change, noting that the addition of flax means greater nutrition in the form of Omega-3 fatty acid, and for many of us that is a good thing. It is also a good thing that the product continues with all non-GMO ingredients – including the canola oil.
I can also tell you that the new formula works equally well as the prior version when baking, and remains a favorite of mine for replacing butter. If flax is not a concern for your family, you will want to continue to use it too. However, this is a great reminder that ingredients change, and you must always check the labels – every time.
3 comments:
yes, very good point Colette. Thanks for the informative post.
Good catch! My son used to be allergic to flax seed, but thankfully is fine now. Another reminder of how we read labels...always!
Thanks for the update, Colette. As GratefulFoodie mentioned, this is another reminder of the importance of reading every label every time...although that now means I need to bring my new reading glasses to the grocery store every time....sigh!
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