What we won't sell on Greenspoon - Greenspoon

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What we won’t sell on Greenspoon

What we won’t sell on Greenspoon

There are some things we won’t sell on Greenspoon… why? We sometimes get requests from you to list certain products, or feedback to say that because we don’t sell XXX then we can’t be your weekly shop. We get it – there are some foodie things that we all love, that you wish Greenspoon had! But there are also products that we simply won’t sell, and we thought it would be worth discussing why!

Things with crazy ingredients that we don’t recognise

When you look at the back of a packet, most of the ingredients you see listed there should be recognisable. We’re all in favour of 100% natural, with zero preservatives, but if we only did that, it would be a bit unrealistic. Most food needs some help with preservation, but we’ve learnt which preservatives are OK, and which are best avoided. What ingredients make sense, which one’s don’t, and which have a better healthier alternative. 

Anything with high levels of aflatoxin

Looking after our health means looking after yours too. High levels of aflatoxins are not good for your liver, or your general health.

So it’s something we take seriously and look into with products that are liable to have high aflatoxin levels – this includes maize flour, tomatoes, rice and nuts to name a few.

In the first instance, we work with our suppliers to ensure testing is carried out on the raw ingredients, and where this isn’t possible, we work with a testing facility to test ourselves. 

Fruit & veggies with chemical residues

This one’s a toughie because there are so many chemicals out there, and we know that Kenya has a problem with regulating farm produce. Because of that, we are constantly working to establish direct-to-farmer relationships where we know and trust the farmer, and can monitor how they are growing their crops. We have a great network of farmers through KOAN, and we also work with export growers which means that the veggies meet export quality standards established by the EU. At Greenspoon, we want to change the landscape for farmers by offering a route to market for really good quality, chemical free, fruit and veggies, so the more you support these farmers, the more they will see what is possible! And that taking the step to farm without chemicals can be worthwhile!

Things with mad food colouring

We had this situation where a whole lot of flavoured popcorn was delivered to us. It was yummy, sure, but it was also luminous with food colouring. When we asked what was in the food colouring, we were told it was natural, but when we really pressed for the exact raw ingredients, the supplier came and took the products back. We’re sad we couldn’t support this supplier, but your health comes first!Many food colourings are completely synthetic, and made from chemicals that can affect your mood and brain health.

Kids especially. So watch out for those!

Palm Oil

We are not huge fans of palm oil because of the damage it’s wrecking across Indonesia. Huge areas of rainforest have been felled for palm oil plantations and whilst we hear there is some sustainably grown palm oil out there, we try our best to ask our suppliers if they know where their palm oil has come from and whether it’s sustainable. We won’t sell pure palm oil because we don’t believe it’s sustainable, and we try to avoid things like compound chocolate, which basically has no real cocoa in it at all and is not going to do any of us (or the planet) any favours in the long term! 

Products that we don’t think are great for human health

Like margarine. Or that brown sticky drink that people love. Most margarines contain trans fats, which raises your bad cholesterol levels, lowers good cholesterol and makes blood platelets stickier, increasing heart disease risk. 

The brown sticky drink… well that’s basically sugar + water + plastic. Like most mainstream sodas.

Sorry guys, but these products don’t add anything to your lifespan, or to your daily health, and they certainly aren’t good for the planet. 

Unnecessary Packaging

We know we have a long way to go with this because there’s more we could do around plastic, however there’s also a lot to be said for food safety and the use of plastic.

It’s just one of those realities! So we work closely with Taka Taka and our suppliers to try and always pick products that have recyclable or recycled packaging, or even better biodegradable packaging. It’s a big challenge that so many face around the world, and rest assured we are doing our best to try and move the needle to better solutions for packaging. 

We believe in supporting products and systems that are going to have a positive impact on the planet, and that starts with you – your health – and it includes social impact, as well as environmental. 

Send us a message if you think we’ve forgotten some things on this list! And always know that you can point out if we’re making an error listing something.

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