Bad Chemicals in foods - Toxic food additives (No.2)

At No.1, I discussed about the awareness of how common the toxic food additives are used and how often we take bad chemicals in foods daily. So, I'll go a little further about food labels and what "catches" to watch out for. Reading the labels can be tricky....

How can you be aware of them?
Now you realized we take a lot of bad chemicals in foods. How can you avoid those toxic food additives?Packaged foods must list the ingredients on the labels. Food labels contain a wealth of information about the product if you knew what to look for and how to interpret them. The packaging tells you nothing about how healthy the product is. The main purpose of food labels is to sell the product, not tell you what's in it. Being able to read them can be challenging.

We recently start seeing the packages saying like "No preservatives added" and "Natural fruit flavors with real fruit juice" on various food products. Those newly added claims make me wonder what kinds of food additives they used to use before?! If they weren't so natural, what were that?? Those words don't guarantee that there are no toxic additives in the product, though they could mean well. 

It is just the food manufacturer's gimmick hoping you'll think these are healthy, natural and safe to eat.... The easiest way to be aware of the additives is to READ the labels and to KNOW what it means.

1. Serving Size: Note the size of a single serving and how many servings are in the package.
Many processed foods packaged as a "single serving" actually contain 2 or more servings. According to NLEA (the Nutrition Labeling and Education Act) of 1990, a food item in a relatively small container may be labeled as a single serving if the entire contents can "reasonably be expected to be consumed in a single-eating occasion." However, there is often a discrepancy.

- "Big Grab" potato chips : A single-serving snack size bag of chips has fewer calories than a larger, but still single-serving, size of the same snack. The serving size can vary depending on the package.
- "Big Gulp" drinks : An average serving of a soft drink is 12 ounces. But it can be up to 64 ounces (+ 5 can sodas)! Most people buy them with the intention of eating or drinking the whole thing.
- Others: large muffins (which often contain two servings), bagels, "individual" ice cream containers (some contain 4 servings), and personal size pizzas.

2. Exempt Ingredients
Food labels list ingredients in descending order. (The most prevalent ingredient is first, the least is last.) However, ingredients that constitute less than 2 percent can be listed in any order after the heading "contains less than 2% of the following." Other ingredients called "incidental additives" don't have to be listed on labels. These include substances transferred to food via packaging and "ingredients of other ingredients" that are present at "insignificant levels" and have no "technical or functional effect."

Natural and artificial flavors are also often grouped together under one name, and the food manufacturers aren't required to disclose what "artificial flavors" really means. The exception here (since Jan, 06): any food containing a "major food allergen" must have it listed on the label (whether or not its part of flavoring or incidental additives). Major food allergens - milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat, and food ingredients containing proteins derived from any of these food categories.

3. Watch out "Natural" and "Free From" claiming:

• 100% Natural
• All natural ingredients 
• Gluten - free
• Natural fruit flavors with Real Fruit Juice
• No artificial ingredients
• No Artificial preservative 
• No preservatives 
• Real fruit

Sounds nice, huh?! These statements make you feel as if it were free from bad chemicals in foods...  "NATURAL" isn't always safe, and products with the these 'natural' labeling are not required by law to contain only natural ingredients. There may be harmful ingredients. Remember, the purpose of the labels is to SELL the product. The food manufacturers hope you'll think there are safer to eat. Buying products in a healthy food stores do not guarantee that packaged products you buy will be no harmful additives either.

Ex. The ingredients from a loaf of bread that states 'ALL NATURAL INGREDIENTS,' and 'NO ARTIFICIAL PRESERVATIVES ADDED,' are: Enriched wheat flour (wheat flour, malted barley, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin), water, high fructose corn syrup, yeast, wheat bran, vital wheat gluten butter. Contains 2% or less of each of the following: rye meal, corn flour, molasses, rolled whole wheat, salt, dough conditioners (ammonium sulfate, sodium stearoyl lactylate), brown sugar, honey, vinegar, oatmeal, soy flour, mono and diglycerides, partially hydrogenated soybean oil.

      Here is an analysis of the ingredients.

Enriched wheat flour : "white flour". The bran and the germ portion of the whole wheat (rich in vitamins and minerals), have been refined out. To compensate for the refining 20 nutrients out, they add back nutrient additives like synthetic nutrients, niacin (vitamin B3) etc. These are added to mostly refined and processed foods giving a false sense of nutritional value and can lead to nutritional imbalances.
High fructose corn syrup : sugar derived from corn. It is associated with blood sugar problems, depression, fatigue, vitamin B deficiency, hyperactivity, tooth decay, periodontal disease and indigestion.
Dough Conditioners : in general, can cause mineral deficiencies.
Ammonium sulfate : It may cause nausea, mouth ulcers, kidney and liver problems.
Sodium stearoyl lactylate : It may be milk, corn, peanut or soy based, and may cause blood pressure and kidney disturbances, and water retention.
Brown sugar : frequently white sugar with molasses added. It is associated with blood sugar problems, depression, fatigue, B-vitamin deficiency, hyperactivity, tooth decay, periodontal disease and indigestion.
Mono and diglycerides : It may be corn, soy, peanut or fat based. They may cause genetic changes, cancer, birth defects, and allergic reactions.
Partially hydrogenated soybean oil : It's associated with heart disease, breast and colon cancer, atherosclerosis and elevated cholesterol.

Also "FREE FROM" labeling. The FDA allows food manufacturers to round to zero any ingredient that accounts for less than 0.5 grams per serving. So while a product may claim to be "gluten-free" or "alcohol-free," it can legally contain up to 0.5 grams per serving. While this may seem like an insignificant amount, over time this small fraction can add up... Remember watch out for "Zero Trans Fat", too. So, always READ LABELS very carefully.

4. Unfamiliar Terms for Unsavory Ingredients
Food manufacturers are known to use "clean labels," in which they hide ingredients they know the consumers would rather not have in their foods under names they won't recognize.

Ex:  if you wanted to avoid MSG, you must look for all of the following terms, as they all contain MSG...

Autolyzed yeast, Calcium caseinate, Gelatin, Glutamate, Glutamic acid, Hydrolyzed protein, Sodium caseinate, Monopotassium glutamate, Monosodium glutamate, Textured protein, Yeast extract,
Yeast food, Yeast Nutrient      
                          

5. Misleading Ingredient Claims
Food manufacturers are shamelessly tricking consumers who are trying to eat more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Many processed foods that claim to contain healthy ingredients highlighted on labels actually don't include them, or only include them in insignificant amounts. Moreover, they are typically loaded with fats, refined sugars, refined flour, and salt, in various combinations. Common offenders: strawberry yogurt without strawberries and blueberry waffles without blueberries. CSPI (The Center for Science in the Public Interest) recently asked the FDA to "immediately stop misleading food labels," including:

• Kellogg's Eggo Nutri-Grain Pancakes: The label says they're made with whole wheat and whole grain, but they're made primarily of white flour and contain more high-fructose corn syrup than whole wheat or whole grain.
• Betty Crocker Super Moist Carrot Cake Mix: Contains only carrot powder as the 19th ingredient on the label.
• Gerber Graduates for Toddlers Fruit Juice Snacks: The primary ingredients are corn syrup and sugar.

Now you know a little bit more about how to read "between the line" on food labels. Don't be fool by the food manufactures "smooth" statement. You should be careful when you READ the labels. There are tons of bad chemicals in foods - many of them really contains toxic food additives.....