Food Unwrapped (2012) s06e09 Episode Script

Crabs, Greens, Gummy Sweets

1 Let's go.
'Us Brits love our grub 'and our shops and supermarkets are stacked high with food 'from all over the world.
' Whoa! 'But how do we really know about where our food comes from?' I've come to ask you how dangerous my nuts are.
'We'll be travelling far and wide' Whoohoo! Just look how high up we are.
[SHE GASPS.]
'.
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to reveal the truth about the food we eat.
' Oh, my word! Whoa! 'Coming up, the days of wrestling the meat out of a crustacean 'could be a thing of the past' That is insane.
'.
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as I reveal an amazing solution.
' I have never seen anything quite like it.
'I look at the age-old parenting problem of the fussy eater 'and learn the tricks 'to get them munching their greens.
' I'm really shocked that she's eaten the entire bowl.
- 'And I go behind the scenes' - ALARM BLARES What's that? '.
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into the wonderful world of gummy sweets.
' I'm sure they'll be thrilled.
One day maybe I'll get presents.
First up -- seafood.
What a faff.
OK, let's see how quickly I can get the meat out of this crab.
Start the clock.
[HE GROANS.]
'I'm cracking on with this crab' It is very, very tricky.
'.
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and Kate's tackling a lobster.
' Euuurgh! How do you get all these little bits out? God, I ballsed that right up.
Look at that.
I'm going to be here for a lifetime! Hang on.
Just the last little bit.
Stop the clock.
What are we doing? Eight minutes, 23 seconds.
Kate's given up on the tricky bits, so I want to know, how do they officially get the meat out of seafood and onto our supermarket shelves? How do they get the crab meat out the crab? Do they do it by hand? PHONE: I think they would have machines.
Everything's done by machines these days.
How on earth do you shell your shellfish so quickly? PHONE: It's just one of our general packaged products.
They'll all be done in a factory by a machine.
PHONE: Mass produced, so I would imagine that they would do it in a machine.
Who would I talk to? A sailor or a fisherman or someone? I believe so.
I'm at the fishing port of Newlyn in Cornwall, where a new catch of brown crabs has just arrived.
- Hi, there! You must be Neville.
- Oh, hello, Jimmy.
Good to see you.
I hear you've got crabs.
- I have got crabs.
I've got loads of crabs.
- Oh, blimey, they're heavy! 'Neville Pittman supplies fresh crab meat to one of the big supermarkets.
' So, what happens to the crabs next? Now they go through the electronic stunner to put them to sleep before they go and get cooked.
OK, but if you got a fresh crab and just popped it straight in boiling water, what it would happen? It'd tense up as it went into the boiling water, stressing the meat and it just tastes tougher.
'Whole shellfish can harbour bacteria, 'so the way the crabs are killed and processed is extremely important.
' So, this is where it all happens -- the production room.
That's incredible, it's all done by hand.
I thought there'd be some sort of machine here.
'After being cooked in boiling water, most of the bacteria are killed.
'It's then pulled apart by hand.
'There's hundreds of crabs and 16 crab processors 'working at breakneck speed, but not a machine in sight.
' The best way to keep the texture and flavour in the crab meat is to do it purely by hand, all delicately.
'Davila's been a processing crabs here for two years 'and, boy, is she fast.
' They generally do a tray of 30 crabs - in about an hour, an hour and a half.
- That is insane.
'That's three times quicker than I could manage.
' It is so fiddly.
Look at that, "Whrrrrr" like a woodpecker.
'This crab will end up being sold fresh, rather than in a can.
'Labour costs in the UK mean that the majority of tinned crab 'sold in British stores is produced overseas.
' Tell me why it's still done by hand.
It's really the only way.
You can see it's such a delicate operation.
It's the only way to keep the textures and the flavours of the crab.
Various machines have been developed to separate the shell from the crab meat but it ends up all breaking the tendons up and you end up with a mushy Is that the key, separating the meat from the shell? - That's the big problem? - Yes, that's what you need delicate fingers for.
There's no machine that can emulate that.
- So, that's the finished product? - Not quite finished yet.
It has to go through one more process.
'To make absolutely sure that any remaining bacteria is killed 'and the shelf life is maximised, the crab needs to be cooked again.
' How many days extra does it give you on the shelf life? We get 14 days shelf life on this as a pasteurised product.
As a fresh product, you've got four days, so up to ten days longer.
- Right.
- Grab a tray and follow me.
- So, straight in here? 'This time it's pasteurised at 69 degrees Celsius 'for about five minutes.
' - There we go.
Can I push your button? - Certainly, sir.
There you go.
I love pushing buttons.
Here we go.
'Coming up' Wow! 'Truly revolutionary technology -- 'a machine that promises we can safely eat shellfish raw.
' A monster of a machine, isn't it? 'And it can strip a lobster naked.
' I've never seen anything quite like it.
If you're a parent of young children, you'll be familiar with the age-old battle of wills to get them to eat their veg.
Is it just fussy eating or is there more to it? I'm in Spalding to meet developmental psychologist Dr Helen Coulthard.
- Hi, Helen! - Hello, nice to meet you.
- Kate.
So, I've been looking into kids eating greens - and we all know that can sometimes be problematic.
- Yes.
Helen's brought me here to see the surprising response when you feed greens to babies UNDER 12 months old.
Hi! Hello.
Gorgeous.
Helen's pureed, common tea-time foes such as sprouts, kale and spinach for the babies to try.
- Are they hungry? - ALL: Yes! - Let's get cracking.
'If they're anything like my friends' babies, 'they'll be having none of it.
' - Has Albert ever had Brussels sprouts before? - No.
'Miraculously, it's down in one.
' - I'm surprised by that.
- Yeah.
'And Albert's peers seem just as enamoured with their green lunch.
' - Not many babies have spinach as their first mouthful.
- No! - Edie's licking that spoon clean.
- Yeah.
'But what exactly is going on in the mouths and minds of the babies?' When babies are a very, very young, you find they'll generally eat lots of different tastes, so it's a really, really good time to give them foods like this that are a bit more unusual.
It's older children that start to really dislike green vegetables.
'So, what changes when our babies become toddlers? 'Time for 16-month-old Harvey to sample some spinach.
'He's almost a year older than the other babies.
' - That is spinach reject.
- When they start walking around, you get this biological response called the neophobic response.
And what specifically is neophobia? It means "fear of new foods", but it's a protective mechanism that's hard-wired into us and it prevents us from eating poisonous substances.
It's thought that our early ancestors learned to avoid eating bitter green plants when foraging as these were most likely to cause them harm.
This is an innate survival reflex.
Children of this age become a lot more hesitant.
You can see quite a difference between him - and the six-month-old babies.
- Yeah.
'So, it's really important to get off on the right foot 'from the minute they're weaned up until they're one year old.
' So, the trick really is, in that window - try as many vegetables as you can? - Yes.
Variety is really important.
'But what if your baby doesn't take to the green veg straight away?' Babies like things that are familiar, so the more you give them little tastes of things again and again, - the more likely they are to continue eating it.
- How long does that take? Maximum they say 10-15 exposures.
Could be as simple as serving up the same food again and again? Over the following week, we asked the mums to introduce the same new vegetable to their babies every day.
VIDEO: This is Emily trying aubergine for the first time.
VIDEO: Would you like some roasted red pepper? 'And true to the science, 'the babies ate pretty much anything that was given to them, 'including kale, 'and even lemon.
' You don't mind courgette? Good girl.
Apart from baby Zara, who, after guzzling her greens, took a surprising dislike to yoghurt.
Oh, you don't like that? Day one -- not a happy bunny.
But by day six it's a totally different story.
Coming up, how do you get your kid to eat their greens if you've missed the window of opportunity as a baby? I'm really shocked that she's eaten the entire bowl.
Next -- gummy sweets.
So, you know those gummy sweets? How do you make them in that shape? PHONE: I wouldn't have a clue, to be honest.
Do you use a jelly mould? PHONE: I wouldn't have an absolute Scooby-Doo.
Just looking at them, I'm thinking, "How do they do that?" What's all that dusty business on the jelly babies? PHONE: I'm not sure, to be honest.
Cheers, fella, bye.
Now, I happen to know that the original gummy bear or "gummibar" was created in Germany.
So I'm off to the Katjes Factory in Emmerich, near the Dutch border.
Matt.
Now, look, I've come all this way to find out how you make - gummy sweets.
- I can show you.
'Here they work around the clock to satisfy Europe's insatiable appetite 'for all things gummy.
' How many bags is this doing a day? One million bags, six days a week.
- Six million bags of sweets a week? - Yeah, it's a lot.
'Here they make a range of simple shapes from cute cats 'to brightly coloured bunnies.
' ALARM BLARES What's that? - Now the sugar is coming.
- Oh, right.
That's quite dramatic.
The alarm signifies the ingredients are ready and the machines are about to spring into action.
But what I really want to know is how do they create all those shapes? What's all the flour? - Cornstarch.
- Cornstarch? - Yes.
- Really? - And is this the same stuff that you'd use in the kitchen? - Yeah.
'The metal tray is stamped into the impressionable powder, 'creating unlimited moulds of simple shapes.
'On each run, one metal template makes dozens of moulds 'out of cornflour, which then creates thousands of gummy sweets.
' So, basically, you only need one expensive metal mould to then stamp into cornstarch and you can change whatever mould very quickly, - very cheaply rather than using another expensive metal mould? - Yeah.
'The runny, gummy liquid is then squirted inside, 'creating armies of gummies and the cornflour even gets recycled, 'going on to mould another day.
' - There's nothing left behind from the gummy sweets? - No.
'So, if you've ever wondered what the dusty stuff 'on your jelly babies was, there's your answer.
'With gummy sweets, the cornstarch is usually removed 'before they are dried and set.
' And how long will they be in the drying room for? - Between two and four days.
- Really? - Yeah.
- That's a long time.
- Yeah.
Coming up The mesmerising machine that could make future gummies in any shape you can think of and in record time.
Wow, so that's a 3D printer for sweets? MATT: 'I've been finding out how they make gummy sweets 'and so I've come to Berlin following a tip-off 'about some technology which could revolutionise how they're made.
' - Melissa? - Nice to meet you.
- Matt, nice to meet you.
- Now, Melissa, you've got something I need to see.
- Absolutely.
- It's right this way.
- OK.
Show me.
'Melissa Snover has developed an amazing machine 'which is kept here under lock and key.
' - Right now we're printing a magic octopus.
- OK.
- So, that's a 3D printer for sweets.
- Yep, that's right.
There's a program in the computer which is telling the printer exactly where to deposit materials.
It's very fast, isn't it? This is dry in 30 seconds.
'That's around 6,000 times faster 'than it takes for the factory gummies to dry.
' Do you see this being in operation in the future in sort of the big industry? The issue at the moment is this individual machine is very expensive and you would need tonnes of them.
But in the future, not only the speed but also the ability - to make individual small runs of everything - Yeah.
.
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will be incredible for the manufacturing world.
'If manufacturers can harness this technology, 'just think of all the crazy new creations 'that could be on the gummy horizon.
'And it can even do letters.
' Let's do "Jimmy" and "Kate".
What flavour would you like "Jimmy" to be? Jimmy's a farmer but he's quite metrosexual, - so can we make it pink and sparkly? - Raspberry pink with glitter? - Yeah.
Is that OK? - Perfect.
- He'll love that.
- Absolutely.
You can watch Kate now.
'And ten minutes later, as if by magic' One day maybe I'll get presents.
JIMMY: 'Earlier, I found out that processing crab is a big faff.
'It's done by hand and cooked twice to get rid of all the bacteria.
' You need delicate fingers, there's no machine that's going to emulate that.
'But that could be about to change.
'I'm off to Dublin 'to see the latest state-of-the-art food-processing technology.
'It's set to transform not only the way we shell seafood 'but the entire food industry.
I'm meeting Liam Murphy' Hi there.
You must be Liam.
'.
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a high-pressure processing expert.
' - Hello, Jim.
How are you? - I'm very good.
Now, I've come here to find out about this mysterious HPP.
- Very good.
Come this way and I'll show you all about it.
- Great.
'I'm going to see this new way of processing food 'which uses pressure and water on the king of seafood -- 'the mighty lobster.
' - Still alive.
Look at that.
- Still alive.
- Very much alive.
Pop you back in.
'The tubs are filled with water so there's no air left inside.
' We need the vessels filled with water so we can drop the pressure through the seafood without causing it any damage.
- Can I see the next stage? - Yes.
Let's go and see that.
Wow! That is a monster of a machine, isn't it? This is the thing that does all the pressure.
This is the machine.
'This machine puts the water in these barrels under extreme pressure -- 'the equivalent of 20km deeper 'than the deepest trench in the ocean.
' So we take these 'And if what I've heard is right, 'it's going to help get my lobster out of its shell.
' We're going to build the pressure up to the equivalent - of 30km deep down into the ocean.
- 30km deep into the ocean.
You can't actually go that deep in reality.
Can't actually in reality go that deep - but it's the equivalent pressure of what it would be.
- Wow! 'It's put under a serious amount of pressure 'but because the lobster is in a tub full of water, 'that pressure is applied equally from all sides.
'So it keeps its original shape and the shell won't be damaged.
' I feel like I'm loading a torpedo.
Turn her on.
- So, off go the lobsters.
- Set them at 3,000 bar for two minutes.
So in here now, that's loading into the cylinder.
It's loading into the cylinder.
And then we start the pressure pumps, the four pressure pumps at the back of the machine and they'll start compressing, pumping more water into that vessel - So, is it a bit like a piston? - Like a piston, exactly, yeah.
3,000 bar is about 600 times the pressure that lobsters usually live in.
The manufacturer claims the lobster will perish within six seconds.
Here's the lovely Matt with a demo but instead of using pressurised water, he's creating the same conditions using pressurised air, with a bike pump, a bottle and some marshmallows.
When the air is pumped in, the marshmallows shrink, pulling away from the inside of the bottle.
When the pressure is released, the marshmallows then spring back.
See how they grow.
'The high pressure machine has the same effect on the lobster.
'The meat contracts and detaches from the inside of the shell.
' It's coming away from the head.
- Ooh! That is one big, fat lobster tail.
- Yep.
There's all the details down the side.
'With this technology, 'it's possible to produce a perfectly shelled raw lobster 'within three minutes.
' That is one naked lobster.
'But taking the meat out of shellfish is only half the story.
'The HPP machine can do something even more impressive.
' The other thing we've done at the pressure that we've used is we've killed off some of the bacteria in that product which would make it safe to eat.
'By eradicating the bacteria, 'certain seafood can now be eaten raw.
Yes, raw!' So, pressure processing, how's that different to, say, pasteurisation? Well, pasteurisation, you're heating up the product, we're pretty much maintaining it cold.
But what the pressure does is, by breaking down the cell membrane of the bacteria, it effectively renders them inactive.
'As the intense pressure builds, 'the cell walls and membranes of the bacteria are crushed, 'deformed and even shattered, 'destroying their structure and killing the bacteria.
'At about £1.
7 million for a high-pressure machine, 'it's an expensive way to preserve food.
'Nevertheless, it's being used more and more to blast the bacteria 'in all sorts of groceries.
'Everything from ready meals, cheese and even fruit juice.
'It could even make the inedible edible, like raw mussels.
' Here we go.
They're still raw, 100% raw.
But they're safe to eat because they've been through this? They've been through HPP, so any harmful bacteria have been killed.
Look, there's already a few popped out of their shells, haven't they? - Look at that.
So that's totally safe to eat? - Totally safe to eat.
- That tastes different to a cooked mussel, doesn't it? - Absolutely.
That truly is remarkable.
Honestly, I've never seen anything like it.
KATE: 'Earlier, I learnt it's best to get babies eating their greens 'before the age of one.
' That is spinach reject.
'It's around then that food neophobia, 'the fear of new foods, kicks in.
'But what if you've missed that opportunity? 'How can you get older kids to eat their greens? 'I've come to a kids' drama club in Dagenham.
'Eight out of the group of 13 are vegetable dodgers.
'They're about to undergo a technique called peer modelling, 'overseen by a leading child psychologist.
' - So, should I just pop it into these bowls? - Yes.
Put some in some bowls.
- So it's literally just a taste.
- Literally a tiny bit.
'Dr Gillian Harris has had decades of experience 'dealing with food issues.
'We're dishing up cooked kale in order to see 'how the children respond in a peer group setting.
'But before we're able to start, 'the very sight of kale is enough to set one little girl off.
' 'Gillian believes that rather than reprimanding six-year-old Lily, 'it's important to reassure her, 'avoiding any confrontation around meal times.
' 'As soon as the kale is handed over, 'the more confident eaters get stuck in.
'And quickly a domino effect ripples around the group.
' You are even going on that tough old stalk.
'And taking their lead, 'even Lily starts to eat the previously dreaded kale.
' We've got somebody very brave there.
That is amazing.
'In under ten minutes, 'all but three of the children have eaten their greens.
' If Kate ate some, would you try some? I'm going to try some of this.
'The tactic I'm now employing is role model influence, 'aimed at convincing Martha that the vegetable is not only safe 'but enjoyable to eat.
' Martha, I think you've done a brilliant job.
Well done, darling.
Was it as awful as you thought? Yes.
LAUGHTER '11 out of 13, pretty impressive! 'Gillian believes at this age children have grown out 'of the neophobic stage and are now receptive to trying new foods.
'Now, to share the good news with the parents.
' They did very well.
So, who of you here thought that your kids wouldn't eat the kale? Really? - Whose mother are you? - Jamie.
- Jamie.
- Blond hair.
- I'd not believe that at all.
- Really? - No way.
'And some unexpected good news for Martha's dad, too.
' - With encouragement, she tried the kale.
- Awesome.
- Was that a surprise? Yeah, really, yes.
And Rose's mum couldn't be happier.
Really shocked that she's eaten the entire bowl.
'So the key is, wait until they're out of the neophobic stage, 'around age five.
Then introduce new food without any fuss 'and you could always invite someone they look up to over for dinner.
' We've got party bags.
You could take some home with you if you like? Next time, we revel in some of the richest stories from the Food Unwrapped archives.
Why is he wearing a gas mask? 'I hunt down the answer as to why British venison 'isn't filling our shelves.
' Out on the M25, this is deer country? This is deer country.
Ooh! 'I'm in Italy, immersing myself in mozzarella.
' Alfonso! 'And I discover a potentially deadly secret 'hidden in every packet of bean sprouts.
' Has anyone ever died from eating a bean sprout?
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