Blog - Food Reality Check

Monk Fruit: The New “Natural” Sweetener Explained

Monk fruit extract—marketed as a "natural" zero-calorie sweetener—comes from a small melon native to southern China. Understanding its extraction process, sweetness profile, health claims, and limitations reveals why it's more…

Sweets & Baking

Artificial Sweeteners Explained: Aspartame, Sucralose, Stevia & Beyond

Artificial sweeteners encompass multiple distinct compounds with different chemical structures, taste profiles, and metabolic fates. Understanding their individual properties, how they're synthesized, and their respective advantages/disadvantages provides clarity beyond the…

Meat & Seafood

Vacuum Packing Fish: How Oxygen Removal Preserves Seafood

Vacuum packing removes oxygen, creating an environment where oxidation slows dramatically and anaerobic bacteria dominate. Understanding this preservation method explains why vacuum-sealed fish maintains quality far longer than unwrapped alternatives.…

Meat & Seafood

Frozen Fish vs. Fresh: What the Science Says About Quality Loss

The myth that frozen fish is inferior to fresh ignores the science of preservation. Properly frozen fish maintains quality better than "fresh" fish that has degraded during transport and storage.…

Meat & Seafood

The Smoking Process: How Heat & Smoke Preserve Fish

Smoking is simultaneously a preservation method, cooking process, and flavor-development technique. Understanding how temperature, smoke compounds, and time interact reveals why smoked fish represents one of humanity's most sophisticated preservation…

Meat & Seafood

Shellfish Safety: Processing, Testing & Contamination Risks

Shellfish filter-feed, concentrating both nutrients and toxins from surrounding waters. Understanding biotoxin risks, proper processing, and testing requirements is essential for safe consumption. Biotoxin Contamination Risks Shellfish are filter-feeders that…

Meat & Seafood

Food Reality Check

Monk Fruit: The New “Natural” Sweetener Explained

Artificial Sweeteners Explained: Aspartame, Sucralose, Stevia & Beyond

Vacuum Packing Fish: How Oxygen Removal Preserves Seafood

Frozen Fish vs. Fresh: What the Science Says About Quality Loss

The Smoking Process: How Heat & Smoke Preserve Fish

Shellfish Safety: Processing, Testing & Contamination Risks

How to Know If Seafood Is Fresh: Beyond the Smell Test

How Fish is Preserved: Freezing, Smoking, Salting & Beyond

What is E217? – Complete guide to understanding Sodium Propyl p-Hydroxybenzoate/Sodium Propylparaben in your food

What is E542? – Complete guide to understanding Edible Bone Phosphate