Baking Soda - Bob's or Arm & Hammer...UPDATED w/info from Bob's - Post #5

[mystic~mama]

is there a difference?

The Bob's Red Mill bag says - ALUMINUM FREE and Not Processed with Chemicals, does that mean the Arm & Hammer may have those things?

I found nothing by googling on this subject and I am very very curious, thanks!

[desertpenguin]

hmm i'm curious too. we always buy the store brand baking soda. i know baking powder can have aluminum in it, so i make my own....but i didn't think baking soda had any additives or anything.

[mamadelbosque]

I'd guess its just bobs' marketing ploy to get you to buy theres vs whoever else's... but IDK.

[desertpenguin]

i found an article here the describes how baking soda is often made. so it looks like it might not be just a marketing ploy because baking soda is often manufactured with the use of chemicals. but wow the Bob's Red Mill baking soda looks to be expensive.....

[RunnerDuck]

Originally Posted by desertpenguin

i found an article here the describes how baking soda is often made. so it looks like it might not be just a marketing ploy because baking soda is often manufactured with the use of chemicals. but wow the Bob's Red Mill baking soda looks to be expensive.....

Bob's everything is expensive. If you look at the price on their dried beans it's INSANE.

[mystic~mama]

A lot of their stuff can be pricey, you can get decent prices on flour...


This is a reply I got from Bob's,,,,




Thank you for your email. Very few manufacturers use Aluminum in their baking soda today. This was previously not the case. Most baking soda’s are made, they are not natural, as ours is. I do not have information about other company’s products, but have attached information on ours.

ØAluminum Free- most baking soda now days does not have aluminum. **we used to get asked this question a lot back when other co. had aluminum in theirs. So we added it to our labeling ** we may consider taking it off.
ØSodium bicarbonate (Nahcolite- NaHCO3) is naturally occurring in northwestern Colorado.
ØOther companies chemically produce baking soda by creating a chemical reaction between soda ash and carbon dioxide.
ØA closed loop process leaves the community and its surroundings virtually untouched. In the process, water is used to extract the sodium bicarbonate and no chemicals are used. Nothing else is added to it so it is naturally free of gluten and aluminum.
Not like arm & hammer baking soda- our products are cruelty free.

Thank you for your interest,

[steffanie3]

I wondered about this and emailed Arm and Hammer a while ago and got no response, so next time I will be buying the stuff labeled aluminum free from Azure. Just kinda ticks me off they didn't respond.

[debesul]

this link contains an excerpt from an email from Dwight about their Arm and Hammer bkg soda.

http://www.gapalicious.com/2011/05/09/does-arm-and-hammer-baking-soda-contain-aluminum/

[JEDM]

Sorry, to break the news to all the Bob's Red Mill or Arm & Hammer fans. For all the hype about natural or chemically made Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda)  it real makes no difference. None are 100% PURE. They all have trace elements of one type or another.

Attached you will find the Tech Info provided by the manufacturer, "Natural Soda" of the Sodium Bicarbonate, used and packaged by Bob's Red Mill. As you can see the the baking soda can contain 2-ppm Arsenic, 5-ppm Heavy metals (that would be lead, Chromium, etc.), 150-ppm Chloride, 150-ppm Sulfur compound. That would translate a possible cummulative 0.0307% impurities total or 96.93% Sodium Bicarbonate.

Copy and paste link attached to verify.

http://www.naturalsoda.com/Portals/0/Documents/FoodBaking/Grades/USP1_Powder.pdf

So, is a trace amount of aluminum better or worse then trace amounts of arsenic and heavy metals.

Use facts not emotions, I remember the days that medical experts were saying that olive oil was bad for you.

Moderation of all is key.