Not Your Father's Frozen Vegetables - New Green Giant Brand products

[Toliver]

I recently saw the television commercials for these new frozen veggies and couldn't figure out what they were.

It turns out that Green Giant has created a new kind of frozen vegetable "tot". You can see more of their products listed on their web site (click here). (Look! They have variations on mashed cauliflower and even have riced veggies as well as roasted veggies.)

The "magic" ingredient that makes the "tot-ified" veggies possible is modified food starch. 

As for what the hell is "modified food starch", you can read a simple description on the Bob's Red Mill web site (click here).

Quote

Modified Food Starch is made by physically, enzymatically or chemically altering starch to change its inherent properties. In this instance, modified does not necessarily mean genetically modified, however some modified starches are likely made from genetically modified ingredients. 

Some modified food starch can contain wheat so these new veggie products may not be gluten-free.

The other big question is are there GMO veggies in these products? Once a GMO product gets refined/processed, according to current U.S. labeling laws, the manufacturer may or may not reveal that their product contains GMO ingredients. The FDA seems to be currently leaving the question of GMO labeling up to the manufacturers.

From the Modern Farmer web site (click):

Quote

The most ubiquitous genetically-modified agricultural crops—corn, soy, canola, and sugar beets—would require labeling in their unrefined state. But as the FDA points out, many highly-refined products that come from genetically-modified sources, such as oil made from soy or canola, will not have to be labeled because they don’t fit the law’s definition of “bioengineering” and don’t necessarily contain genetic material.

 

So now my amazement over these new frozen vegetables has been tempered by wondering what the hell is in them and should I really be eating them? And please don't say "Just eat fresh vegetables and you won't have to worry" (and I won't bring up country-of-origin issues and foreign pesticide usage). I posted this in the Ready to Eat forum because these are a product of convenience. It used to be that frozen veggies were considered just as "good for you" as fresh vegetables but now there are new questions to consider.

I would love any SSB's to weigh in with your opinions on these products.

Let the discussion begin...

[GlorifiedRice]

Toliver they put rice flour in the cauliflower tots.

Green Giant doesnt get that the reason people invented cauliflower tots and riced cauliflower and mashed cauliflower etc was to reduce carbs. Adding rice flour does not reduce carbs.

 

 

[blue_dolphin]

3 hours ago, Toliver said:

I would love any SSB's to weigh in with your opinions on these products.

What are SSB's?

 

3 hours ago, Toliver said:

should I really be eating them? 

They have quite a bit of sodium but not as much as Tater Tots do 

 

3 hours ago, Toliver said:

It used to be that frozen veggies were considered just as "good for you" as fresh vegetables but now there are new questions to consider.

They may be frozen and contain vegetables but they are a highly processed product.  

As are potato chips.  I eat them but don't consider them a vegetable.

[Alex]

19 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

What are SSB's?

 

Super-Sagacious Biochemists.

 

Nah, I don't know. I make stuff up.

[munchymom]

The "tots" are certainly not gluten free, they list wheat gluten in the ingredients. The broccoli ones have a good amount of vitamin C. All of them have a good amount of fiber. I wouldn't eat them believing I was getting especially good nutrition, but I might try them anyway. They sound tasty to me.

[quiet1]

They seem like they'd be best as part of a blend of tots to reduce the overall potato intake - same serving size, but some are broccoli or whatever. Then you'd still have a normal vegetable or salad along side.

[Anna N]

8 hours ago, Alex said:

 

Super-Sagacious Biochemists.

 

Nah, I don't know. I make stuff up.

On eG  they have always been Smug Scientific Bastards.

[sparrowgrass]

There aren't any GMO vegetables currently in the market.  Not to mention the fact that GMOs have been extensively tested for more than 20 years, and NO harmful effects have been found.  

[rotuts]

these might be terrific , or not.

 

I had a couple of packets of something similar in the sense that the product was trying to imitate the potato :

 

organic ( even ! )  [ green veg here ]  fries  :  a processed veg  ( I think they had 4 types ) that looked like a potato french fry

 

which you bought frozen and baked them in the oven.   they touted them as healthier that a potato french fry

 

and intimated you could get that delicious potato french fried effect in a healthier manner.  

 

you can't.

 

you may like these or not for various reasons.  but a 'Tot is a potato 'Tot or its not a 'Tot.

 

the roasted veg seem interesting for those who don't have the time or inclination to Roast their Own.

Edited February 8, 2017 by rotuts (log)

[lindag]

I will probably try a sample of the riced veg just because i'm always in the market for something new and or different. 

[rotuts]

the problem w the items I mentioned above is that they never really crisped up

 

which FF and 'Tots should do

 

should anyone try these V.Tots    Id like to know if they crisp up like P.Tots.

[GlorifiedRice]

1 hour ago, sparrowgrass said:

There aren't any GMO vegetables currently in the market.  Not to mention the fact that GMOs have been extensively tested for more than 20 years, and NO harmful effects have been found.  

 

Huh?

Corn has fish genes!

GMOs have been found to have harmful effects, when genetically modified and an allergic response in part of the population is found. Then they retool them.

And before GMO wheat hit the mkts gluten allergies were unheard of.

[chromedome]

There is zero GMO wheat commercially grown at present in the United States or elsewhere. 

 

The "wheat belly" argument hangs on some very shaky assumptions, but in any case it refers to normal hybridization and selective breeding rather than genetic modification. 

[rob1234]

15 minutes ago, GlorifiedRice said:

GMOs have been found to have harmful effects, when genetically modified and an allergic response in part of the population is found. Then they retool them.

 

Which GMO was this?

 

15 minutes ago, GlorifiedRice said:

And before GMO wheat hit the mkts gluten allergies were unheard of.

 

GMO wheat hasn't hit the market so not sure where you got that from.

Edited February 8, 2017 by rob1234 (log)

[GlorifiedRice]

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/allergies-and-gmos/

Nothing to Sneeze at: the Allergenicity of GMOs

 

 

 

[Toliver]

6 hours ago, Anna N said:

On eG  they have always been Smug Scientific Bastards.

Yes. This. Thank you, Anna. My apologies for not explaining the infamous eG acronym (actually, it's an initialism).

 

14 hours ago, munchymom said:

The "tots" are certainly not gluten free, they list wheat gluten in the ingredients. The broccoli ones have a good amount of vitamin C. All of them have a good amount of fiber. I wouldn't eat them believing I was getting especially good nutrition, but I might try them anyway. They sound tasty to me.

Except that they CAN be gluten free if the company doesn't use wheat starch in their "modified food starch". It's just that Green Giant, in this case, is either using wheat starch/products in their ingredients or the product might be processed in a factory/processing plant where other products containing wheat may be manufactured (guilt by association). In the latter example, the declaration of gluten in the ingredient list is just a wise CYA (cover your ass) move by the company.

 

10 hours ago, quiet1 said:

They seem like they'd be best as part of a blend of tots to reduce the overall potato intake - same serving size, but some are broccoli or whatever. Then you'd still have a normal vegetable or salad along side.

So eliminate potatoes but turn around and add starch to the veggies? Kinda counter-intuitive logic.

 

I got the "heebie jeebies" back when companies started added cellulose to processed foods (like in a McDonald's Filet o' Fish sandwich). The SSB's at the time basically said "Relax, you may call cellulose "wood pulp", but it's a benign ingredient when added to food. There's nothing to see here...move along". 

The issue I am having with the possibility of GMO ingredients (see the Modern Farmer's quote above) is that once a GMO product is processed and used to make something else, it sounds like companies aren't being held to claim its presence any longer. 

 

And as for the added "modified food starch", I'm guessing it's the "glue" to help shape the product into a "tot". Except they could have used another binder like egg whites, right? Or is "modified food starch" the most cost-effective way of making tots out of the ingredients?

[rob1234]

26 minutes ago, GlorifiedRice said:

http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2015/allergies-and-gmos/

Nothing to Sneeze at: the Allergenicity of GMOs

This just says there's a potential unproven risk if farmers ignore the established guidelines and plant unapproved GMOs beside non-GMO counterparts and they cross-pollinate.

 

From the blog

"It was not possible to prove a direct link between the Cry protein and the allergic reaction "

"the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) did not find a direct link between Cry9C and allergic reactions in the consumers who claimed to have ingested StarLink corn"

"the technology used for making GMO crops does not necessarily make us more vulnerable than conventional breeding"

"there is no evidence that GMOs are any more or less allergenic than their non-modified counterparts."

"To date, no allergens have been found in GMO products approved for human consumption."

[rotuts]

since the Great Ship eGullet is sailing pretty close to the wind here Ill offer this on GMO:

 

""  GMO plants can spread their genes to conventional crops through cross-pollination ""

 

this for me is a very big deal.

 

what ever your intentions , motivations , etc being for GMO

 

at this point after TheBigBang   stuff is surely gong to happen that is unintended , for any sort of reason.

 

GMO cannot ever be put back into The Bottle.  its forever and forever.  not llke you or me.

[Dave the Cook]

45 minutes ago, Toliver said:

And as for the added "modified food starch", I'm guessing it's the "glue" to help shape the product into a "tot". Except they could have used another binder like egg whites, right? Or is "modified food starch" the most cost-effective way of making tots out of the ingredients?

 

Most likely, it's a combination of applicability and cost. To quote Modernist Cuisine:

 

Quote

Modified starches are modern inventions that use starch molecules as their building blocks but take them to places that natural starches cannot go. The term "modified" means that the starches are processed in various ways—usually reacted with acid or alkaline solutions or with enzymes . . . Almost every weakness or problem of natural starches can be addressed (at least in part) by using an appropriate modified starch. (v4, p20)

 

Egg whites might work, but then you have to deal with the additional moisture. Most tot recipes for home use employ corn starch, which is okay, but if you could swap that out for something that, say, increased crunchiness (or fiber, or pick a characteristic or characteristics), you'd probably consider a modified starch. In fact, you'd probably be foolish not to.

[quiet1]

1 hour ago, Toliver said:

 

So eliminate potatoes but turn around and add starch to the veggies? Kinda counter-intuitive logic.

 

 

Well, but starch isn't the only thing in potatoes, or other vegetables for that matter. Yes, you have starch, but you also have the nutritional profile otherwise of the potato or the broccoli or... So it is a way to add variety there. Especially with kids probably.

[HungryChris]

Green Giant was recently acquired by B&G Foods (Symbol BGS) and is a stock I hold in an income portfolio so I like to read about how they are doing. When I read about these products it did peak my interest and I will be listening to the earnings call on Feb 23 for any news on how these products are doing. Frankly, I am skeptical, however.

HC

[rotuts]

Love to hear what they say if they break this down.

 

I have small holdings in AAPL     I used to love to listen to their earnings calls and followed their Yearly Events presentations on the web.

 

Ill never forget Job's introduction of the first iPhone.

[Toliver]

22 hours ago, HungryChris said:

Green Giant was recently acquired by B&G Foods (Symbol BGS) and is a stock I hold in an income portfolio so I like to read about how they are doing. When I read about these products it did peak my interest and I will be listening to the earnings call on Feb 23 for any news on how these products are doing. Frankly, I am skeptical, however.

HC

That's interesting. Please let us know if these products are mentioned. 

They've really intrigued me because the last thing my mom would ever do when grocery shopping would be to buy frozen roasted veggies. All she knows is boiling or steaming veggies. It's a generational thing for her. eGullet's well known discussion of roasted cauliflower certainly gave me a new perspective on veggies and how to cook them. Eye-opening to say the least...

[HungryChris]

On 2/9/2017 at 3:38 PM, HungryChris said:

Green Giant was recently acquired by B&G Foods (Symbol BGS) and is a stock I hold in an income portfolio so I like to read about how they are doing. When I read about these products it did peak my interest and I will be listening to the earnings call on Feb 23 for any news on how these products are doing. Frankly, I am skeptical, however.

HC

 

On 2/10/2017 at 2:43 PM, Toliver said:

That's interesting. Please let us know if these products are mentioned. 

They've really intrigued me because the last thing my mom would ever do when grocery shopping would be to buy frozen roasted veggies. All she knows is boiling or steaming veggies. It's a generational thing for her. eGullet's well known discussion of roasted cauliflower certainly gave me a new perspective on veggies and how to cook them. Eye-opening to say the least...

Apparently those Veggie Tots, riced veggies and roasted cauliflower were very well received "exceeded expectations" . They will be ramping up production as well as distribution and will introduce them to Canada. Based on November and December sales, they expect Green Giant to grow from sales of 507 million in 2016 to 530 to 540 million in 2017. I would say they seem to have gone over well.

HC

[ElsieD]

@HungryChris. Did they say when they would be selling them in Canada?