On the Intermarché shelf in Paris’s 20th arrondissement, Alexandra, 38 years old and mother of two children aged 5 and 8, moves with certainty, in conquered territory. “I don’t wander around. I always buy the same or almost the same things. Organic milk for my kids, natural organic yogurt. Ham – nitrite-free. And if I don’t find it, I don’t drink it, he says. And although I would like to say that they eat vegetables at every meal, the truth is that it’s mostly pasta. But pasta is OK, isn’t it? If someone tells me that wheat is adulterated, I’m screwed. » On the other hand, he stops using grated cheese: “I read that there are additional ingredients. It’s a shame, I bought Emmental and we grated it,” he assured us.
To eat vegetables year-round, she stops at the frozen section and picks up packages whose ingredient lists are reduced to a strict minimum: the line indicates vegetables only.
The mother, who works as an accountant, took the product out of her refrigerator. “I no longer buy fish, unless we go on holiday to the beach for example and go to the market. I’m afraid of heavy metals, mercury, seabed pollution…” he said.
“It’s budgetary to pay attention to the composition of everything! »
How can we be sure about what we give our children? This is what also worries Florence, 47 years old. “When I was little, my mother was very careful about what she bought. It was almost obsessive. When we opened a juice it had written on it should be consumed within three dayshe labeled it with the opening date. “But I feel like it was easier in the 1980s, now everything looks processed or the ingredient list is longer than before,” he said.
It was her pregnancy ten years ago that made him panic. “My gynecologist told me to be careful of pesticides, of the creams I put on my skin… I threw away my pot to buy a new one, but I couldn’t get rid of it all. I love surimi, I buy it from time to time turning a blind eye to the label,” admits the forty-year-old, who comes from Saint-Brieuc (Côtes-d’Armor).
In the baking department, Gabriel released the Yuka app that allows you to scan products and get detailed information. “Before, for my daughter’s snacks, we only bought Gerblé without added sugar. But in kindergarten, she discovered industrial cakes. In some, I noticed there were too many additives. Do all snacks have to be made at home? Frankly, I don’t have the time and courage. It’s a lot of logistics and budget to pay attention to the composition of everything! » she sighs.
