I don't know how things are nowadays over in the USA and UK where most of you friends live, but something has been a major concern to me.
These last years I've been noticing a distinct change in the taste of most processed foods we buy, especially meat-based products. Frozen hamburgers, sausages, meatballs, and such.
Sure, I know these foods were never really "healthy" as they are fat-laden and made of all sorts of meat (I know my von Bismarck
). But hey, it was actually meat back in the days!
for instance, I am a burger lover and often in a hurry with little time to cook, so I always leaned towards frozen burgers from the nearest supermarket. And they really didn't taste as good as they did when I was a kid/teenager. Not nearly. Even the same brands I used to buy.
Then I started paying attention to the info on the boxes. Hell! There's almost anything BUT real meat in there, let alone the amount of salt and stuff to preserve it. I wonder if a burger made today will ever rot if we leave it outside the fridge. And it's almost completely made of soy protein and mechanically separated animal subproducts.
I started going to the best meat distributor and having my burgers custom made of real fresh beef and green seasonings, with just the right amount of salt. Man, what a difference, tastewise and healthwise. And it is even much cheaper than buying processed burgers. I recommend doing the same, it's worth the wait!
How do you guys see this where you live? I recently read that in the US you have some issues as well...