WHAT'S FOR DINNER AT BATES COLLEGE?
Part of an ongoing series on ingredients served at U.S. Colleges and Universities
Information updated February 2024
At Bates College in Maine, there are only a couple of items available for Dinner which are Closest To Homemade® >> they are made with the ingredients we might use at home to make the item. Unfortunately, the majority of offerings for Dinner at Bates College are Far From Homemade. (Source for ingredients: Bates College Dining Web site 2/24)
Many of the options available for Dinner at Bates College contain added sweetener(s) in items which we would likely not add sweeteners if we were making this from scratch at home. Shown below are three examples and sweeteners are noted elsewhere in other items reviewed.
Seen below, TRANS FATS IN THE CHEESE FRENCH BREAD PIZZA: This pizza contains 8 ingredients banned at Whole Foods including Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil and Partially Hydrogenated Cottonseed Oil, the cheapest oils available. (Source for banned ingredients: Amazon Whole Foods Web site 2/24)
Partially Hydrogenated Oils = Trans Fats which are a known health hazard contributing to an increased risk of heart disease. (Source: Mayo Clinic 2024)
Q: Have you ever had Soybean Oil or Cottonseed Oil in your home kitchen? Since when is Cotton a vegetable?
Benzoyl Peroxide, Azodicarbonamide, Potassium Bromate, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate . . . these sound more like terms a Bates student would find in the Chem lab vs. in the Bates Cafeteria.
MACARONI & CHEESE: Seen below, there are ten ingredients banned at Whole Foods in the Macaroni & Cheese at Bates College including MSG, Partially Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Artificial Color, Bleached Flour and Artificial Flavor x2.
Shown below, GREEK SALAD DRESSING: The Greek Dressing at Bates College is way beyond anything we would make at home. Soybean Oil is the primary ingredient >> ingredients are always listed in descending order of amount.
11 of the ingredients in this salad dressing at Bates College are commercial items, three of which are banned at Whole Foods. Of the banned ingredients, one is a chemical preservative (Potassium Sorbate) and two are chemical Flavor Enhancers (Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate).
Natural Flavor and Autolyzed Yeast Extract are also Flavor Enhancers, so there are four commercial Flavor Enhancers in this Greek Dressing. The USDA does not allow products which contain Autolyzed Yeast Extract to say “No MSG” because, similar to MSG, Autolyzed Yeast Extract contains potentially harmful glutamates. (Source: U.S. FDA 2024)
Seen below, BATES HOUSEMADE BREAD and BATES CROUTONS: These items contain multiple ingredients banned at Whole Foods.
FINAL EXAMPLE: Broccoli with Cannellini Bean Sauce at Bates College contains Corn Syrup + Caramel Color + two inclusions of Sugar plus two Chemical Preservatives banned at Whole Foods:
CHEMICAL PRESERVATIVES CAN BE AVOIDED: The Cannellini Beans used at Bates College — below left — compared to 8 Track Foods Organic White Cannellini Beans which are Closest To Homemade® with only added Water + Sea Salt.
See what’s on the menu at some other U.S. colleges and universities:
Discover food + beverages whose ingredients are Closest To Homemade in 275+ categories >> manufactured food + beverages whose ingredients are closest to those we would use at home to make the item. Neither money nor products are ever accepted to appear on the Closest To Homemade list.
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