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Get
to know what's in your food
March 31, 05
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
If all we ate grew in our yards and on local farms –
simply prepared and close to its natural state – there
would be little question about what our food contained.
Instead, most of us buy processed foods, and nearly all contain
one or more additives.
Some of those additives are easy to identify: sugar and salt
– we know what those are. Others have chemical-sounding
names, like polysorbate 60 and propylene glycol alginate –
ingredients that sound like they could as easily be found
in a can of paint as on your plate.
There are hundreds of food additives, and they come from a
variety of synthetic, plant, animal and mineral sources. Despite
the names, most of them are safe.
Those that are the most problematic, in fact, are also the
most common. I’ve talked about them in earlier columns:
sugar, salt and hydrogenated oils. These additives are present
in foods in such excess that they raise our risks for obesity,
high blood pressure and coronary artery disease.
The Center for Science in the Public Interest also recommends
avoiding artificial coloring, the artificial sweeteners saccharin
and acesulfame K, and sodium nitrite, which is used in hot
dogs and luncheon meats. The rationale: These additives are
among those most questionable for safety, and they’re
typically found in the junkiest foods.
Of course, there are other reasons to know what’s in
your food.
People who are sensitive to the additive monosodium glutamate
(MSG) should, for example, know that hydrolyzed vegetable
protein (HVP) used in canned soups and stews also contains
MSG. People who are allergic to milk proteins may need to
avoid foods containing casein, found in cereals, breads, and
fruit sherbet. Vegetarians should know that mono- and diglycerides
in baked goods, ice cream, and margarine, might be made from
cows, pigs or plants.
And I don’t know about you, but I’m averse to
eating bugs. That’s why I read the labels on containers
of pink grapefruit juice and red-colored beverages such as
Tropicana Season's Best Ruby Red Grapefruit Juice and Pure
Premium Orange Strawberry and other foods colored with cochineal
extract, carmine, or carminic acid. Each of those is a coloring
made from the bodies of dried beetles. According to CSPI,
some people have had mild to severe allergic reactions to
this additive. My reaction is strictly psychological.
So why do manufacturers add these things to food? Most additives
serve one or more functions:
* They preserve and extend the shelf life of foods. Calcium
propionate prevents the growth of mold on bread and rolls.
Antioxidants such as alpha tocopherol (vitamin E) and ascorbic
acid (vitamin C) keep fats and oils from becoming rancid and
changing the flavor and appearance of foods.
* They thicken and emulsify. Lecithin, mono- and diglycerides,
and polysorbate 60 keep ingredients such as water and oil
blended together. Others, such as guar gum, locust bean gum,
carrageenan, and propylene glycol alginate, absorb water and
thicken foods as well as stabilize them by helping to keep
ingredients blended.
* They serve as chelating agents. EDTA, for instance, traps
metallic impurities left in foods by machinery such as mixers
and rollers.
* They boost flavor. Additives such as MSG and HVP have no
flavor themselves but heighten the flavor of the foods.
Some additives do even more – they add nutritional value
to foods. For instance, ferrous gluconate, used to give black
olives uniform color, is also a source of dietary iron.
A comprehensive guide to food additives is available online
from the Center for Science in the Public Interest at http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm.
Another good source: The Guide to Food Ingredients, a list
of 200 common food additives and their sources, available
for $6.00 from the Vegetarian Resource Group online at http://www.vrg.org/catalog/fing.htm.
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