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By: Keith
Some packages of food do not come with nutritional information. Spices are some that don’t, which I didn’t realize until I found it out last week while shopping for cinnamon. The FDA does not require certain foods to have nutritional information displayed on the packaging. Most spices fall under that exemption. Here’s a list from the FDA of the types of foods that get exceptions.
The FDA is a wealth of information. For instance, did you know that any food with less than 5 calories per serving can be advertised as a no calorie food? If you’re curious about other interesting exemptions and rules, go peruse the FDA website. They do a pretty good job of explaining their reasonings. Anyway, back to cinnamon.
Safeway brand cinnamon is quite a bit cheaper than McCormick’s other competitors. So much cheaper in fact that I was curious if perhaps Safeway had added ingredients to the cinnamon in order to keep costs down. I bought a bottle of the Safeway stuff and decided to investigate when I got home. I wrote them a letter (because they said I could right on the bottle) via e-mail, and they wrote back in less than 24 hours. This is what I got:
Thank you for contacting us regarding your inquiry on our Cinnamon.
Cinnamon contains 28 mg of calcium, almost one mg of iron, over a gram of fiber, and quite a lot of vitamins C, K, and manganese. It also contains about half a gram of “usable” (non-fiber) carbohydrate. Cinnamon is also gluten free.
If you have any additional questions please feel free to reply to this e-mail, or contact our customer service center at 1-888-723-3929 and one of our associates will be happy to assist you. Thank you for shopping at Safeway.
Sincerely,
Safeway Customer Service Team
Well, that’s pretty awesome. According to the FDA Safeway would need to disclose to me if there were any added ingredients (I could have saved myself a letter if I had checked with the FDA first). I take this to mean that the Safeway brand cinnamon is the same as the McCormick stuff except much cheaper. Good for me!
Cinnamon is one of those spices that health nuts have long claimed possesses curative properties. There have been studies that suggest it lowers blood sugar and is beneficial to Type 2 diabetes sufferers. Other claims state that it’s an anti-microbial and that it boosts brain function. Whatever. It’s tasty in coffee and in smoothies; that’s all I know. What I also know is that the Safeway brand cinnamon is just as good as McCormick . That’s pretty much good enough for me.
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Kudos to Safeway for responding so promptly and professionally! I love stores that offer top-rate customer service.
Another thing I appreciate about Safeway is their O Organics line. Lots of great options for people who prefer to buy organic (like me).
P.S. Safeway – if you’re reading – I’d love to see you implement some of these family-friendly services/amenities: http://metropolitanmama.net/2009/01/how-grocery-stores-can-market-to-moms-more-effectively/.
.-= Stephanie´s last blog ..A Mom 2.0 Story {why I’m opting out this year} =-.
Stephanie, I was impressed by their responsiveness also. I wasn’t expecting it from Safeway. And, you’re right. their o-organics stuff is normally a pretty good deal as organic food goes.