Name brands VS store brands, is there really a difference??

[powderman]

http://www.whas11.com/news/consumer/Name-brand-vs-store-brand-Is-it-cheaper-can-you-really-tell-the-difference-159101495.html
 
 
Name brand vs. store brand: Is it cheaper, can you tell the difference?        by Brooke Katz WHAS11.com Posted on June 14, 2012 at 6:24 PM
Updated Thursday, Jun 14 at 9:28 PM        LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- As summer approaches the occasional cookout, barbecue, picnic and family reunion comes along with the warm weather.

Preparing food for these events can sometimes be costly, especially when it adds to an already expensive monthly grocery bill. Cutting coupons is one way to help save at the check out, but there are other ways to cut the cost of groceries.

A new survey by the Private Label Manufacturer’s Association shows you can save more than 36 percent on your grocery bill if you pick store brands over name brands.

The survey looked at food, and some non-food items, that the average family might by for cookouts, picnics or just playing outdoors. The study tracked pricing over a six-week period at a conventional supermarket.

WHAS11 News decided to find out if choosing store brands really does save money ... and if people can tell the difference between the store brand and name brand.

We went to First Choice Market and picked up items you might use for a cookout or picnic like hot dogs, hot dog buns, chips, cola, baked beans and ice cream. We bought both the generic and name brands. The total for the generic brands come to $10.47 while the total for name brands was $21.43, about a 50 percent savings.

The store manager said for the most part, the name brands and store brands taste the same. He said there will be differences from time to time in the quality of certain products. but one simple test you can do is to compare the ingredients on the labels of the generic and name brands.

Click the video player above to see if the people we talked to could tell the difference between the name brand products and the store brand

[briarpatch]

If you dont mind your food processed and made in china, india, bangledesh etc. go with the store brand. If you notice they have removed where they are made, it will only say something like
"distributed by wal mart" etc,

[Empty Quiver]

Take canned veggies for instance. During a very good growing season you will find little difference at all. That is because for all intents and purposes the entire crop is pretty good. however the next season things could be quite different, hot dry conditions can cause the entire crop to mature faster than it can be preserved. Some of that crop will be put up a bit past prime.
 
Another thing you can see is sometimes corn for instance will be cut from the cob too high or too low. Either way doesn't exactly change taste but may not be a nice uniform product. Uniformity has a lot to do with quality ratings, those of lower ratings are sold as store brand. Might be grown by a big name outfit but shipped somewhere else for processing, or simply labeled differently.
 
Usually there is a difference, now whether or not it matters is up to the consumer. I can not see paying for any ketchup but Hines, sorry but there is a difference I am willing to pay for whatever it may be.

[ironglow]

  I believe most depends upon the standards set by the store brand management.
  We have the local stores which are less expensive than the "brand names" in everything they sell..the equivalent of 'store brands'.  One just has to acquaint themsef with the various products.  At the nearest such store, I have found their canned vegetables to be as good as the brand names..but their condensed milk is below par.
  Most products are equal as I see it, to regular brands..I see no difference in such as peanuts, soda crackers, butter.. but jams and jellies lag a bit, but are good for the very reduced price.
   My answer...you just have to try them !

[Brett]

I agree with Iron glow, you just need to do some experimenting and see for yourselves.  If you do a little research i think you will find that many name brand and store brand products are produced/processed at the same facilities and the only real difference is the label.   Just like Sears and many other hardware stores used to sell Stevens shotguns with their brand name on them. 

[Brett]

I agree with Ironglow.  Some store branded stuff is just as good as the high dollar name brand stuff you just have to be willing to experiment a little.  If you do a little research you will find that often times the store brand is manufactured/processed at the same facilities as the name brand stuff and the only real difference is in the packaging/labeling.   Remenber when Sears and other hardware stores sold Stevens shotguns under their own brand name?

[KIMBER45]

I worked in a cannery during college. All they did was change the labels. My wife worked in a candy factory. They did the same. Like stated- it depends upon the company as to the quality of either.

[briarpatch]

If you research the store brand products you will find that the distributed by label means it is a product of the USA. Great, that is what we want, food processed here in the good ole USA. 
This is the label you will find on the store brands and now a lot of the private brands. "distributed by"  Well! why cant they just put made in the USA on the product. Why not just proclaim it. Maybe just maybe they are pulling a fast one.


Now if you contack the FDA they will tell you there is no law that a product must be labeled with country of origin. They will also tell you "wild caught" may be from a farm pond in Bangladesh containing enough mercury to float a steel wedge. They will also tell you if the ingredient is from another country and is packaged in the USA it can be labled "distributed by" therefore a product of the USA. They will also tell you it is up to the distributor to insure the safety of the product.
No doubt a lot of the store brands are made here but can you tell which ones. No one else can.
This is the answer to an email from an individual to the FDA  The address follows the response.
 



The regulations allow a firm to state either distributed by, manufactured by or for, or produced by. Currently the FDA does not have the authority to require country of origin labeling (COOL). Under Customs and Boarder Protection if a finished product is made outside of the U.S. it must show COOL. There are also some requirements under USDA. If ingredients are imported and used in a finished product made in the U.S. the label does not have to show the country of origin for the ingredients. The finished product manufacturer is responsible for the safety of the products they distribute in the U.S.
 
 
Consumer Affairs Specialist #3
Communication and Coordination Branch
Division of Education and Communication
Office of Food Defense, Communication,
 Education and Response
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition




I try not to buy food from china and other third world countries as a lot of tainted food comes from them. Remember the baby food that had been tainted on purpose to make it look like more protein that it had or cadbury candy, toothpaste etc.
I look at labels and just 2 years ago you could find made in china on a lot of food products at sams and walmart. You cant now. I have researched it a lot as many others have but it gets more obscure as to where this stuff comes from. Research honey for a shocker and the FDA allows it, but then china own us.

[powderman]

We buy almost all generic meds and a lot of store brand foods too, there are exceptions though. I'll compare Kroger brands. In chicken noodle soup it has got to be Campbells, kroger has lots of fat floating in the can and the broth is weaker. The kroger smoked sausage is not good either. We tried a can of the kroger salmon and it was like mush, no more. Their cokes are as good as any on the mkt. POWDERMAN.