(Again from Jack at www.ForkandBottle.com)

I was in Safeway yesterday (cub reporter, taking notes) and came across what I think is a new product: Weight Watchers Chocolate Cake w/Chocolate Icing. On the box it states in a good-sized pt font “Real Food, Real Life, Real Results.” Reading the ingredients, #4 is: Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (transfat). PHO! Just amazing, huh? No wonder the Weight Watchers website doesn’t list the ingredients of their own food products.

Oh, and let us not forget Newman’s Own “Virgin” Lemonade. Apparently Virgin is Newman-ish for High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS), as it’s the first ingredient after water.

Walking through the Frozen Food aisle, I checked more than a half-dozen unfamiliar products at random. Every one had PHO in them. Except for the frozen vegetables, I wouldn't have been surprised every single item in that aisle had some amount of transfat. You have to wonder if their buyer refuses to buy products that lack PHO? What other explanation can there be?

Not one cheese in their sizeable cheese section was something I would buy. I can’t recall the last time I found a cheese section that didn’t have even five that I would be happy to eat. This is just inexplicable to me – I guess industrial cheeses really rule the day at Safeway.

There was no milk from either of the main local suppliers, Clover Stornetta and the small one, Straus Family Creamery. I was quite surprised to see the Safeway in-house brand as the only milk you could buy.

Stouffer’s French Bread Pizzas – I remember eating them long ago. A double: HFCS and PHO.

Nestea Ice Tea (half gallon carton): Tea is the fourth ingredient. Glad they put some in. HFCS is #2.

The cereal aisle is divided (labeled) into two parts: “Family Cereal” and “Adult Cereal”. The Adult part has only about 20 cereals, many of which you can find at Whole Foods, etc. The Family part has all of the HFCS/sugared cereals…are they saying that kids don’t get enough HFCS/sweeteners already? Apparently, too, “families” can’t live without having chocolate chips in their cereal.

There’s a sizable section for kids drinks that come in Tetra Paks near the checkout area. Every single one of them, from a bunch of different companies, contained HFCS as the second ingredient (water being the first). Just what are parents thinking giving this to their kids to drink?! And yes, kid-friendly beverages in Tetra Paks exist, but not here (…Whole Foods stocks them. So do our local independent supermarkets.).

And the funniest thing: It’s toward the end of Heirloom tomato season here. Still, there’s at least two food weeks to go. I found the heirloom section – 11 tomatoes really well hidden. (Yes, 11 – I’ve never even seen a farm stand with that few.) The funny part: They’re labeled “Emeril’s” brand – yes, that Emeril!