Originally published December 5 2009
Slim-Fast warning: Bacterial contamination leads to nationwide recall of processed "junk" beverage
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
(NaturalNews) If you drink Slim-Fast and suffer from diarrhea, cramps and vomiting, now there's a new reason for such effects, beyond the simple fact that Slim-Fast is made primarily from processed milk and sugar water: All Slim-Fast beverages have just been recalled by the manufacturer due to possible contamination by Bacillus cereus.
A recall notice posted on the FDA website explains, "The recall involves all Slim-Fast RTD products in cans, regardless of flavor, Best-By date, lot code or UPC number." (http://www.fda.gov/Safety/Recalls/ucm192978....)
"The probability of serious adverse health consequences is remote," says the FDA. But they mean from the bacteria. The possibility of serious adverse health consequences from the other ingredients in Slim-Fast is a whole different matter (see below).
Why Slim-Fast is such a dishonest product even when it's not contaminated
Of course, in my opinion Slim-Fast should have been recalled long ago for false advertising. Any drink positioned as a weight loss beverage that's made primarily with sugar water should probably be banned from being sold even when it's not contaminated with bacteria.
Of course, the Slim-Fast maker (Unilever) is careful not to technically make any specific claims of weight loss or even "slimming effects," but the drink is clearly positioned as a weight-loss beverage in the minds of consumers (and that's no coincidence).
Beverages like Slim-Fast and Ensure are only really consumed by the most uninformed, nutritionally-ignorant consumers -- people who don't read ingredients and probably wouldn't understand them even if they did. Primarily, these drinks are sugar water and milk proteins, combined with a few synthetic vitamins and low-grade minerals. They are, in every way, "junk food beverages" that offer absolutely no slimming or weight loss benefits whatsoever. They're really more like a warm milkshake in a can than any kind of health beverage.
If we could all lose weight by drinking milkshakes and sugar water, America would already be the fittest country in the world!
Dead foods lead to dead people
By the way, if you do own some Slim-Fast (and please tell me you don't), and if there is some Bacillus cereus swimming around in those cans, you might find it interesting to note the bacteria is the only thing alive in Slim-Fast!
That's because Slim-Fast is a dead food. Every one of its ingredients has been pasteurized, processed, refined, cooked or otherwise destroyed of any living properties, making Slim-Fast just like all the other processed dead foods sold in grocery stores -- dead and devoid of any real phytonutrients, but loaded with cheap, dead ingredients like milk and sugar.
The bottom line is that there are lots of reasons to take Slim-Fast back to the store where you bought it and demand your money back, but the possible contamination with bacteria is probably the least of those reasons. I can think of at least ten reasons to return Slim-Fast to the store right now:
The top 10 reasons to demand your money back on Slim-Fast
#1 Because it doesn't make you slim.
#2 Because it's loaded with processed, refined sugar.
#3) Because it uses synthetic, artificial vitamins.
#4) Because it's made by the same company (Unilever) that makes processed partially-hydrogenated oil margarine products.
#5) Because it's loaded with processed milk proteins.
#6) Because it's sold in a can that's probably coated with plastics containing Bisphenol-A.
#7) Because it's DEAD (unless it's contaminated with bacteria, of course, in which case it's "probiotic.")
#8) Because it's a total rip-off in terms of the nutrition you get for your dollar.
#9) Because only the most uninformed, ignorant consumers actually drink this stuff.
#10 Because the product is so deceptively marketed, instead of calling it "Slim-Fast" we should call it "Flim-Flam."
Or, instead of taking it back to the store, you could just flush it down the toilet. But please think about all the fish downstream -- what will happen to them if they're swimming around in a cesspool of contaminated Slim-Fast and human sewage? Not a pretty sight...
By the way, Unilever, the company that makes Slim-Fast, has a lot more "nutrition" to offer the world. Its brands include CountryCrock partially-hydrogenated oils (sold as "butter"), and the company's "nutrition" page claims Univlever is engaged in, "helping people understand the nutritional benefits of our products." (http://www.unilever.com/brands/nutrition/)
When I read that, I laughed so hard that Slim-Fast came out my nose!
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