Whole Grain Popcorn?
I was just trying to calculate the number of calories in a bag of Pop-Secret 94% fat free popcorn (the numbers don't match), when I noticed three changes on the ingredients list:
Ingredients
Whole Grain Popcorn, Salt, Fractionated Palm Oil, Natural and Artificial Flavor, Color Added, Nonfat Milk. Freshness Preserved By TBHQ.
1) "Whole Grain" Popcorn
That got me laughing and everyone I showed it to at work chuckled. For the record, a corn kernel for popping is the whole kernel. Always has been always will be (unless you buy pre-popped).
2) Change Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil (Adds A Trivial Amount of Trans Fat to Fractionated Palm Oil.
Note: - FDA says any amount non naturally occurring trans fat is bad
What is Fractionate Palm Oil?
Fractionation is a further phase of palm oil processing, designed to extract and concentrate specific fatty acid fractions. Fractionated palm oil, as found in food products, has a higher concentration of saturated fat than regular palm oil and is used for the convenience of manufacturers who like its stability and melting characteristics. The healthful aspects of natural palm oil are largely lost in the process. I've noticed that fractionated palm oil is a common ingredient in many power bars sold in health-food stores. - Andrew Weil, M.D
3) Freshness Preserved by Propyl Gallate to TBHQ
What is TBHQ?
This change was made because of the change from Trans Fat to Saturate Fat. TBHQ preserves saturated fat.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tert-Butylhydroquinone
Summary: the box is saying Whole Grain to make it sound healthier, then removed Trans Fat and replaced it with Saturated Fat which also required a fat preservative change.
Nice, and delicious.
FTW: the box says 130 calories popped, but if you do the maths it calculates out to 120 calories popped per bag.