By Tamara Brown, MPH, L.D., R.D.
When life gets busy and time is short, it is wonderful to be able to grab a quick and easy pre-made meal from the store, but do you know the ingredients of the foods you choose?

Often times food items are not clearly labeled with the ingredients: think hot soups or cold salads at the deli bar. Other times you are in such a rush you may not have time to bother checking the label, so I decided to do the label reading work for you!

I visited five local grocery stores and compared a similar pre-made meal from each location. I was shocked by some of the hidden ingredients in brand names I trusted and always thought to be high quality. The chart below highlights some of the questionable and/or acceptable ingredients in each store's products.

	Rainbow Foods	Lunds	Kowalski's	Whole Foods	Mississippi Market Co-op
Rotisserie Chicken	Sodium phosphate, dextrose, natural flavor, carrageenan	Sodium phosphate, natural flavor	citric acid, natural flavor (in seasoning rub)	Plain flavor is just chicken! No oil or seasoning, but Traditional Plain has canola oil	Plain flavor is salt pepper and locally- sourced chicken
Mashed Potato	butter flavor, dextrose, potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate	potassium sorbate, mono and diglycerides, sodium acid pyrophosphate	annatto added for color in butter	potatoes, butter, milk, salt, pepper	potatoes, garlic, butter, milk, salt, pepper
Green Beans	Not offered at deli	corn oil, citric acid, phosphoric acid	olive oil blend(75% canola oil, 25% olive oil)	beans, garlic, shoyu, garlic, expeller- pressed canola oil	beans, garlic, almonds, lemon juice, expeller- pressed canola oil

As you can see, most store-bought deli foods are hiding some ingredients that are not so good. Let's start with the chicken. Although none of the companies use organic meat for their rotisserie chickens, Kowalski's, Whole Foods, and Mississippi Market use chickens that are free of antibiotics. Mississippi Market is the only one using locally sourced free-range chicken. Unfortunately, Rainbow and Lunds do not use antibiotic- free meats, and both companies' products list the mysterious "natural flavor" on their ingredient labels. Sometimes this natural flavor is a hidden term for MSG, which can cause reactions like migraines or difficulty sleeping for some people.  At Lunds, the same rotisserie chicken is also packaged and sold already pulled from the bone. This pre-pulled, packaged chicken label includes hydrolyzed soy protein, another possible form of hidden MSG. Interestingly, at Kowalski's, all rotisserie chickens are coated with their signature seasoning rub, which also contains natural flavor, leaving me concerned about consuming any of the rotisserie meats. Whole Foods offers a pure plain chicken, but be aware that their Traditional Plain chicken also contains canola oil. Mississippi Market offers a pure plain chicken as well.

Unfortunately the mashed potatoes arenot as pure as expected. Both Rainbow Foods and Lunds add preservatives for increased shelf life, color retention, and flavor. Lunds sells mashed potatoes in both the deli case and pre-packaged to go. The same potatoes are used in each product, yet those in a big bowl behind the glass case contain: potatoes, skim milk, and margarine, while the prepackaged label reads: potatoes, skim milk, butter, as well as all the additives mentioned in the above chart. No way to know which label represents the actual mashed potato ingredients, yet neither label represents a very good product. Kowalski's potatoes seem okay except for the added color in the butter. Whole Foods and Mississippi Market's mashed potatoes read pure on the label.

Green beans are the vegetable of choice because I figured most stores would carry this item. However, the only deli vegetable option I found at Rainbow Foods was a creamy coleslaw, containing high fructose corn syrup and a list of other additives. The green beans at Lunds are packaged under their new "Modern Plate" label, which is advertised as "nutritionist approved" dishes.  The front label reads: "tender green beans braised with fresh garlic and tossed with toasted almonds." Sounds great, right? Turn the package over to find corn oil and phosphoric acid added to the mix. Kowalski's green bean almandine deli label reads: "green beans steamed and mixed with garlic, almonds, salt and pepper", but one must look at the label to find an olive oil blend, rather than pure olive oil, used in the beans. When I asked at the deli what kind of canola oil is used in the beans, I was unable to get an answer. Whole Foods and Mississippi Market green beans are made with high quality expeller-pressed canola oil which makes then okay choices. 

Overall, Whole Foods and Mississippi Market Co-op produce items closest to home- cooked real food. In truth, nothing compares to making food in your own home. When you must eat out, the key to choosing high quality, health-promoting prepared foods is to be sure you know the ingredients. If they are not posted in clear view, or you are unsure of what may be hiding inside the product, ask someone. If they cannot provide a clear answer, steer clear of that option, and choose another. Being a safe and savvy shopper takes time and energy, which is why the Deli Detective is on the case helping to discover what may be hiding in your dinner tonight.