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Mystery Meat: 7 of the Scariest Ingredients in Processed Food - Shine from Yahoo Canada
http://www.babble.com/babble-voices...he10ScariestIngredientsinProcessedFood||famE|
We all know that processed foods generally contain a jumble of unpronounceable ingredients, but what purpose do these ingredients serve, exactly, and where do they come from? We did some investigating and found that most of these 17-letter mystery substances (azodicarbonamide, butylated hydroxytoluene, propylene glycol alginate, and the like) are used to give packaged foods certain characteristics of texture, flavor, color and durability - to be fluffier, foamier, softer, crunchier, creamier, tangier, less crumbly, more jelly-like, easier to melt, and of course, longer-lasting. On its own, this may not sound very spooky. But dig a little deeper and you'll find that some of these ingredients are also used to make fireworks, fuel cells, and anti-freeze; others come from sources as bizarre as human hair, animal bones and beaver butts. Yep, beaver butts. The purpose of this post isn't to freak you out: While consuming these ingredients regularly in large amounts isn't a good idea, eating them occasionally in all likelihood won't hurt you. What we're really trying to do here is illustrate how removed so many of us have become from the sources of our own sustenance - how little we really know about how packaged food is made, and in turn, what the true value is of eating simple, whole foods grown close to home. Without further delay, the 7 scariest ingredients in processed foods.
Castoreum
We might as well start with beaver butts. The food additive castoreum, which is used to boost flavor in raspberry candies, vanilla cupcakes, strawberry ice cream and other flavored confections, is actually a beaver secretion. A secretion released from the beaver's anal gland. Straight truth. To make things even more bizarre, the FDA has approved this additive as a source of "natural flavoring."
Polydimethylsiloxane
Used as part of the filler in some processed "meat" products like Chicken McNuggets, which are only partially made of actual chicken, polydimethylsiloxane (a.k.a. PDMS) is also a chemical used in Silly Putty and the silicone filling of breast implants.
Carmine
If you see "Natural Red #4" listed among ingredients on your food package, it's code for boiled beetles. "These dried insects are boiled in water to extract the carminic acid they contain," reported the Science Channel. "Typically, due to the fantastic red hue the resulting potion gives off, this ingredient is used to artificially dye foods red, purple and pink." Starbucks used the dye in frappucinos until ...
Propylene glycol This page on Dow Chemical's articulates, unwittingly, just how spooky propylene glycol really is. Among the list of applications for this food additive, Dow boasts that it can be used as a "humectant and stabilizer in prepared fruits, vegetables and bakery goods" while it can also be used as a "plasticizer… for cork seals" and a "solvent for printing inks" and an "equipment cleaner." The website does ...
Gelatin
Remember that creepy legend you heard as a kid that there were ground-up horses hooves in your Jell-O? Well, there was some truth in it. Hooves - no, but bones - yes. Gelatin is extracted from the collagen in animal skin and bones, and often used in cosmetics and food products like marshmallows, gummy bears, and yogurts. And of course, Jell-O.
Sodium Nitrate
Sodium nitrate is commonly used as an oxidizer to make fireworks. It's also in products like bacon, hot dogs and deli meats to prevent the growth of bacteria that can cause lethal botulism in humans. The downside is that this meat preservative has also been linked to cancer. That's why there's been the recent trend in "nitrate free" labels on some meat products. But the additive is still in common use.
Phosphoric Acid
This cheap acidifier gives your Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mellow Yellow (and most other sodas) that sour tangy taste. It's also used to make fuel cells, and does wonders to remove rust from metal. Studies have shown that this potent substance can erode the calcium density in bones and damage kidney function.
http://www.babble.com/babble-voices...he10ScariestIngredientsinProcessedFood||famE|
http://www.babble.com/babble-voices...he10ScariestIngredientsinProcessedFood||famE|
We all know that processed foods generally contain a jumble of unpronounceable ingredients, but what purpose do these ingredients serve, exactly, and where do they come from? We did some investigating and found that most of these 17-letter mystery substances (azodicarbonamide, butylated hydroxytoluene, propylene glycol alginate, and the like) are used to give packaged foods certain characteristics of texture, flavor, color and durability - to be fluffier, foamier, softer, crunchier, creamier, tangier, less crumbly, more jelly-like, easier to melt, and of course, longer-lasting. On its own, this may not sound very spooky. But dig a little deeper and you'll find that some of these ingredients are also used to make fireworks, fuel cells, and anti-freeze; others come from sources as bizarre as human hair, animal bones and beaver butts. Yep, beaver butts. The purpose of this post isn't to freak you out: While consuming these ingredients regularly in large amounts isn't a good idea, eating them occasionally in all likelihood won't hurt you. What we're really trying to do here is illustrate how removed so many of us have become from the sources of our own sustenance - how little we really know about how packaged food is made, and in turn, what the true value is of eating simple, whole foods grown close to home. Without further delay, the 7 scariest ingredients in processed foods.
Castoreum
We might as well start with beaver butts. The food additive castoreum, which is used to boost flavor in raspberry candies, vanilla cupcakes, strawberry ice cream and other flavored confections, is actually a beaver secretion. A secretion released from the beaver's anal gland. Straight truth. To make things even more bizarre, the FDA has approved this additive as a source of "natural flavoring."
Polydimethylsiloxane
Used as part of the filler in some processed "meat" products like Chicken McNuggets, which are only partially made of actual chicken, polydimethylsiloxane (a.k.a. PDMS) is also a chemical used in Silly Putty and the silicone filling of breast implants.
Carmine
If you see "Natural Red #4" listed among ingredients on your food package, it's code for boiled beetles. "These dried insects are boiled in water to extract the carminic acid they contain," reported the Science Channel. "Typically, due to the fantastic red hue the resulting potion gives off, this ingredient is used to artificially dye foods red, purple and pink." Starbucks used the dye in frappucinos until ...
Propylene glycol This page on Dow Chemical's articulates, unwittingly, just how spooky propylene glycol really is. Among the list of applications for this food additive, Dow boasts that it can be used as a "humectant and stabilizer in prepared fruits, vegetables and bakery goods" while it can also be used as a "plasticizer… for cork seals" and a "solvent for printing inks" and an "equipment cleaner." The website does ...
Gelatin
Remember that creepy legend you heard as a kid that there were ground-up horses hooves in your Jell-O? Well, there was some truth in it. Hooves - no, but bones - yes. Gelatin is extracted from the collagen in animal skin and bones, and often used in cosmetics and food products like marshmallows, gummy bears, and yogurts. And of course, Jell-O.
Sodium Nitrate
Sodium nitrate is commonly used as an oxidizer to make fireworks. It's also in products like bacon, hot dogs and deli meats to prevent the growth of bacteria that can cause lethal botulism in humans. The downside is that this meat preservative has also been linked to cancer. That's why there's been the recent trend in "nitrate free" labels on some meat products. But the additive is still in common use.
Phosphoric Acid
This cheap acidifier gives your Diet Coke, Dr. Pepper, Mellow Yellow (and most other sodas) that sour tangy taste. It's also used to make fuel cells, and does wonders to remove rust from metal. Studies have shown that this potent substance can erode the calcium density in bones and damage kidney function.
http://www.babble.com/babble-voices...he10ScariestIngredientsinProcessedFood||famE|
