Food Facts

For thousands of years our taste buds have evolved to seek out the taste, smell and colours of good food. But today we have been fooled by fake tastes, colours and smells.

Modern scientists have developed over 4,500 chemicals to do just that, which may mean that the food we are eating isn't as good as what our senses are telling us. Food labeling is meant to be confusing because the food manufacturers don't want you to know what is in their products. Some chemicals don't have to be listed on the ingredients label, such as acrylamides, which is a known carcinogen. It is formed in carbohydrate-rich foods like breads, french fries and biscuits during high heat processing. However, studies at the University of Denmark have decreased the effects (as much as 60 per cent) by adding rosemary!

The problem arises, in many cases, not from the actual chemicals used, but when these chemicals react with saliva and digestive enzymes, they are extremely toxic to the human body.

Natural Flavours

Many foods and drinks are flavoured by "natural flavourings" that can be obtained from plants, meats, fish, fungi or even wood. They are a very concentrated chemical extract from natural sources, but definitely not the real thing. They don't have to come from what you might expect. For example, natural strawberry flavourings can contain natural flavourings that have never even been close to a real natural strawberry. They are so chemically identical to real strawberry extract that they are allowed to call them natural.

There is a way of telling if a food or drink contains real ingredients. If the ingredients list shows a lot of colourings and flavourings, there a good chance the manufacturer has cut back on the real ingredients.

Artificial Flavours

Manufacturer's main concern is cutting costs and increasing their profit margins. Period. Strawberries for example, are expensive. So, to make a strawberry milkshake, artificial flavourings are used. Here is an actual laboratory recipe for strawberry flavouring:

• amyl acetate, amyl butyrate, amyl valerate, anethol, anisylformate,
• benzyl acetate, benzyl isobutyrate, butyric acid, cinnamyl
• isobutyrate, cinnamyl valerate, congnac essential oil, diacetyl,
• dipropyl ketone, ethyl acetate, ethyl amyl ketone, ethyl butyrate,
• ethyl cinnamate, ethyl heptanoate, ethyl heptylate, ethyl lactate,
• ethyl methylphenylglycidate, ethyl nitrate, ethyl propionate, ethyl valerate
• heliotropin, hydroxyphenol-2-butanone, a-ionone,
• isobutyl anthranilate, isobutyl butyrate, lemon essential oil, matol,
• 4-methylacetophenone, methyl anthranilate, methyl benzoate,
• methyl cinnamate, methyl heptine carbonate, methyl naphthyl ketone,
• methyl salicylate, mint essential oil, neroli essential oil, nerolin,
• neryl isobutyrate, orris butter, phenelthyl alcohol rose, rum ether,
• g-undecalactone, vanillin and solvent

Enough said.

Food Colourings

One of the most used colourings is E120 or also known as carmine/cochineal. This is a natural food colouring defined as, "derived from plant, animal or mineral sources." Carmine is actually ground up beetles from Peru or the Canary Islands . It has been known to cause reactions that range from hives and rashes to anaphylactic shock. But, because it is not known how many people suffer from this allergic reaction, it's deemed safe. E120 can be found in:

• pork sausage
• pies
• candy
• dried fish
• shrimp
• pharmaceutical drugs
• jams
• lipstick
• rouge
• maraschino cherries
• juices
• ice cream
• yoghurt

It is estimated that in one's lifespan, one eat approximately 1/4 bushel basket of insects. So, if you had seen E120 or carmine on an ingredients list, would you have known what it really was? Not likely, like so many.

Farmed salmon, a lot of times is actually grey in colour, but with the addition of astaxanthin and canthaxanthin to the feed, the meat turns a pink colour.

Looking for palatable chicken in the supermarket? Are you picking the yellow coloured chicken? Canthaxanthin pigment can be added to the feed giving it its yellow colour.

Today, everyone is concerned with their health. No surprise....right? With all the pollutants, pesticides, herbicides, etc..., food companies are knowingly putting in our foods, is it any wonder people are increasingly coming down with more and more illnesses and diseases, that "can't be explained" or moreover.....will never be explained, unless more in depth studies are done on these additives. Of course our bodies are bombarded everyday, from many different sources including the air and water we breathe and drink, but you have to start somewhere and food is as a good a place as any, since "we are what we eat."

One extremely good book to understand what is happening to our food chain is "The End of Food" written by Thomas Pawlick, a Canadian author. If you are serious about your health, it's a must read. The facts are at best...disturbing.

So, why are we being bombarded with all these chemicals and additives in our food? Do the food companies have the consumer's interests as their number one priority? Not a chance. There are many reasons why, but it is not the intent of this website to go into such depth, except to say, it's not even on the radar....they are concerned with their bottom line and their shareholders.

Sodium Tripolyphosphate

Nothing manmade or even most times "natural", added to our foods, is in the interest of the consumer. Trisodium polyphosphate is another, that is very common in frozen fish products. It tends to be a preservative, as well as, a water retentioner, meaning the fish has been "pumped" to increase its weight as well as keeping it fresh tasting from production to the consumer.

A lot of fish nowadays is shipped from across the world to North America, where a lot of these countries have very different regulations regarding food processing. Some of these additives used are not permitted in Canada because they have extremely toxic effects on the human body. Many additives that are allowed in Canada are deemed safe because there is no "proof" that these chemicals are bad for us and no extensive testing has been done, or no clinical trials have been persued. With all the increased rates of disease here in Canada, as well as abroad, should our government be looking out for us just a little better?

Here's a safe adage to live by, if your grandmother didn't eat it, neither should you.

Monosodium Glutamate

This is a good example of ingredients that are hidden on food labels. Monosodium glutamate, known as MSG, is an excitotoxin, an ingredient that over-excites nerves, namely your taste buds, which is known to cause nerve damage. As well, msg has been proven to cause obesity. While it is sometimes listed on the ingredients label, it is more frequently hidden in the other ingredients, such as yeast extract, autolyzed vegetable protein, or hydrolyzed vegetable protein. All three of these ingredients contain msg, yet they are designed to mislead consumers by avoiding to label them directly on the ingredients list.

Sodium Nitrate, Nitrite

These chemicals are extremely toxic to the human body, but it is added to most packaged meats found in the supermarket, as well as a lot of health food stores. It is a salt, but it is extremely carcinogenic. When combined with saliva and digestive enzymes, it forms cancer-causing compounds, know as nitrosamines. They have been linked to brain tumors, leukemia, and cancers of the digestive tract. They are found in:

• bacon
• hot dogs
• luncheon/deli meats
• ham
• pepperoni
• other packaged meats

On the whole, this demonstrates the high level of dishonesty and lack of integrity on the part of the food manufacturers. Many such manufacturers produce the cheapest, most profitable processed foods that the consumer will buy, regardless of how healthy or unhealthy they may be. The bottom line to all this is that, our government is taking small steps in the right direction by requiring accurate labeling of, just, food allergens, to protect consumers. It barely scratches the surface of the kind of labeling requirements that need to be enforced in order to prevent consumers from being exposed to other ingredients that promote chronic disease.

Water in Meats and Poultry

When cooking chicken, have you ever seen the white foam that surrounds the edges of it? Have you ever wondered what it is or have you even noticed it? It's the "seasoning". Chicken, especially boxed and processed foods in the supermarkets are seasoned with water and salt. Why would they do this? The answer is simple. It increases the weight of the portioned chicken up to 47 % of its weight, not including the natural water content, which is why it can be sold so cheaply. Seasoning also provides a "consist quality" to the chicken, making it always "tender and juicy." Also, to add more flavour to the meat, pork or beef protien can be added. It is also lacking half the nutrients. Isn't chicken good enough the way Mother Mature intended? I guess not.

A high quality chicken product doesn't need this seasoning or extra protien and do we really need more salt in our diet? So the next time you are purchasing chicken that is seasoned, understand that you are getting only up to half the chicken you are paying for. Also, instead of adding salt, sometimes other meat flavorings are added, such as pork byproducts. They say that this seasoning isn't bad for you, which, it might not be, over a short period of time, but have they ever done extensive testing over long periods of time?

No, they haven't, this you can be sure of. This is the case with all food additives, no testing has been done, not until consumers stand up and fight against the food companies that are using these chemicals. One way to fight is to refrain from these products, which in turn will affect their "bottom line."

We have only touched upon some of the additives that are currently being added to our foods and that you take it upon yourself to do your own research and draw your own conclusions regarding the status of our food supply.

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