Are There Hidden Additives in Our Foods?
by beauley on Jun 30, 2008 with 8 Comments
In order to sell food to millions of consumers, the food industry must make it appealing to as many as possible, from the young child to the elderly. In order to accomplish this, individual food suppliers use additives to make their foods taste better.
Is The Consumer Made Aware Of What Additives Are In The Foods We Buy?
There is no direct answer to this question. For instance: Food laws state that the manufacturer of a food, such as cereal must list the ingredients on the package, giving individual contents in some pre-defined order. This seems to be fairly straight forward. The problem arises when some of the descriptions listed become nebulous and even deceptive to the purchaser. One very vivid general example that comes to mind is the phrase “natural flavorings”. The first thing that comes to mind is some herb or combination of herbs to give a particular food a more appealing taste. This naturally leaves room for some deception by the manufacturer since the ingredient is “generic”. So, what can it really mean? Since it is not specifically defined, there are dozens that can fill the bill. One of these is the infamous MSG, monosodium glutamate and allergen to many people sometimes causing adverse reactions.
MSG: Still a Hidden Ingredient
“The food industry is only concerned about disclosure of allergens because the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made it clear that it is becoming difficult for the FDA to disregard the many reports they are receiving of consumers becoming ill from ingestion of undisclosed food ingredients. The FDA began to advise the food industry of their concerns regarding allergens in 1996.1 Recently, the FDA examined 85 independent cookie and ice cream manufacturers and found nearly 25 percent of their products contained unlabeled ingredients.”
One question in reflection to this stated document is: Do these 25 percent contain ingredients that are as reactionary to ingestion in the human body to any level as MSG?
We do know that there are other ingredients that our food industry somehow tries to burry within ingredient entry on certain products, such as Aspartame, a sugar replacement. It is entered by other names , Nutra-Sweet, etc. Please check these references:
Aspartame: One Sweetener To Stay Away From
Here are some of the top reference links about aspartame:
Aspartame Triggers Impotence and Blindness
Somehow our government favors big company lobbying than its own citizens. At least that’s what I read.
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Published in: Consumer Information
dee gold | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
great informations,thanks
beauley, Lucien | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
Thank you…dee gold for your comments on this article.
Ruby Hawk | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
Labels on foods are misleading. The sugar free foods, if you look closly have sugar listed as other than sugar. The best way to stay away from unhealthy ingredients is to shop on the outer isles of the grocery store.
beauley, Lucien | Jun 30, 2008 | Reply
Thank you Ruby for your comments on my article. I truly agree with your well knowledged response. Yes, labeling is very confusing. Artificial sweetener contents are somewhat encrypted to confuse and even deceive the shopper.
Koyin | Jul 4, 2008 | Reply
Wow, I had no idea of all that!
Great article, Keep up the good work!
-=koyin=-
P.S. It would be greatly appreciated if you
would dig through my articles and leave comments
good or bad.
Lucy Lockett | Jul 7, 2008 | Reply
Your articles are always informative. Just because it is sold in supermarkets does not mean that it is good for you!
beauley, Lucien | Jul 7, 2008 | Reply
Thank you Lucy for your great comment. It is wise to refrain from “Aspartame” which is found in “Diet Drinks”. Always appreciative.
Gail Nobles | Aug 17, 2008 | Reply
Great info!