ReAL FOOD BLOG
Explore the latest product breakdowns, food label red flags, and clean eating tips — straight from Mandy Sacher and the Real Food Rating team.
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What’s Hiding in Your Family’s Sausages?
Your family’s sausages may contain far less meat than you think. Some are made mostly from meat, herbs and spices. Others are padded out with starches, fillers, sweeteners, flavours, colours and preservatives. Real Food Rating is not here to take sausages off the family menu. I has been created to show you how to turn…
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Check the Label: 7 Preservatives Hiding in Everyday Foods and How to Spot Them!
They’re hiding in everyday foods, from bread and wraps to yoghurt, snacks and processed meats. While some preservatives play an important role in food safety, others are primarily used to keep highly processed products looking fresher and lasting longer. The problem? Certain preservatives have been linked to adverse reactions or raised concerns in emerging research,…
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HOW TO CHOOSE A REAL FOOD BREAD
Before we start, let me be honest. Truly simple, traditionally made bread is not always easy to find in an Australian supermarket. Many packaged loaves contain refined flour, added gluten, modified starches, emulsifiers, preservatives and refined oils. The good news is that you do not need to find a perfect loaf. You just need to…
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Isocycloseram Berry Residue Limits — Take Action Now!
A decision is currently being considered in Australia that could significantly increase the legal pesticide residue limits permitted on berries for the insecticide isocycloseram. For some berry crops, the proposed increase is around 500 times higher than the current limit. Before this decision is finalised, thousands of Australians are asking one simple question: Can we…
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1st Birthday Celebration: Discount Codes for Your Favourite Brands
It’s our first birthday! To celebrate, we’re saying thank you with exclusive offers from a collection of trusted Australian brands that help support a healthier lifestyle, from low-tox home essentials and healthier cookware to cleaner water, practical nutrition resources and a little luxury. Discover the offers, celebrate everything we’ve achieved together, and be the first…
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Updated: The Best and Worst Spreads for Families: A Real Food Rating Guide
Spreads are one of the biggest contributors of hidden sugar, sodium and ultra-processed ingredients in the family diet. From Vegemite and jam to peanut butter and chocolate spreads, these products are often eaten every day, making them one of the easiest places to improve nutrition without changing the entire family’s diet. Here are the simple…
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Microplastics in Your Food: 7 Simple Ways Families Can Reduce Exposure!
Microplastics are no longer just an environmental issue; they’re increasingly becoming a food and public health concern. Researchers are now detecting microplastics throughout the environment, including oceans, waterways, agricultural soil and even the human body. While science is still evolving, growing research is linking microplastic exposure to concerns around inflammation, hormone disruption, gut health and…
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The Ultimate Australian Rice Guide: What to Buy, Where to Buy It, and How to Make It Work for Your Family!
Let’s settle this once and for all. Rice is one of the most contested foods in the modern wellness conversation, simultaneously celebrated as a clean whole food and criticised as a blood sugar spike waiting to happen. Parents are confused about which type to buy, whether to worry about arsenic, what to do with a…
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Real Food Advice: Where to Start When Your Child Won’t Eat Their Lunchbox Meals!
If your child’s lunchbox keeps coming home untouched, you are not doing anything wrong. You have just never been shown how fussy eating and lunchbox struggles are actually connected. I hear this from parents at almost every workshop I run. They have tried switching snacks, cutting sandwiches into different shapes, sending notes in the lunchbox.…