Fish bread?

Imagine my surprise on a recent day, when I found just that when I was drawn to a new type of bread I had never seen before on the grocery store shelf.

It was a whole grain product (great) that also was on sale. (even better)

The label, however, also said that the bread had “double omega.” This really caught my attention, what with all the attention being paid to Omega-3 fatty acids, and its purported benefits for our hearts, brains, joints and vision.

I knew the main source of Omega-3s is fish, but I also know that there are vegetarian sources.

I made no assumptions here: I read the label.

This fish bread contained anchovies, cod liver, sardine and tilapia, all fish.

Even if I were not a vegetarian, that combination would sound less than tasty to me. I don’t begrudge anyone their taste for anchovies and, though I don’t like it, offer kudos to the person who thought up this idea. But the thought of any product that contains sardines, anchovies, tilapia and cod liver makes me feel slightly queasy.

What I liked even less was that I had to read the ingredients list to determine that the product contained four kinds of fish. I did not see it elsewhere on the packaging.

But this product additive is apparently a trend, as Omega-3s have landed in juices, cereal, dairy products and even pet foods.

My advice to vegetarians, as I have said before, is not to let products reel you in before you read labels on everything you buy.