HARMFUL INGREDIENTS IN FOOD

 ADDITIVES

 1.      ARTIFICIAL COLOURING  

E 102, 110, 120, 123, 124, 127, 131, 142

 2.      PRESERVATIVES

Benzoates    E210-219

Sulphides     E220-228

Nitrates and Nitrites    E249-252

ANTIOXIDANTS    E 310-312, E 320, E 321

3.      ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

Aspartame   E 951

Acid Cyclamique E952

Saccharine   E954

Mannitol, , Sorbitol, Xylitol

 4.   ARTIFICIAL FLAVOURINGS /  FLAVOUR ENHANCERS

Glutamates  E 621-623

 FATS

Hydrogenated Oils / Saturated Fats/ Trans Fats

 ADDED SUGAR       

 ADDED SALT               

 GM FOODS   (Genetically Modified)

NOTES:

ADDITIVES

Food additives are substances added to food to preserve flavor or improve its taste and appearance. Some additives have been used for centuries such as preserving food by pickling (with vinegar), or salting. With the increasing use of processes food, many more additives have been introduced, of both natural and artificial origin.

Some artificial food additives have been linked with cancer, digestive problems, and neurological conditions such as Attention Deficit Disorder, or diseases like heart disease or obesity. Even ‘natural’ additives may be harmful, whether because of overuse (for example table salt) or because of natural toxicity.

1.      FOOD COLOURING:

  Blue 1, 2; Red 3; Green 3; Yellow 6

Food colourings are basically just a form of paint and should definitely be avoided in food. Blue 1 and 2, found in beverages, candy, baked goods and pet food, have been linked to cancer in lab animals. Red 3, has been shown to cause thyroid tumors in rats. Green 3 has been linked to bladder cancer. Yellow 6 has been linked to tumors of the adrenal gland and kidney.

2.      PRESERVATIVES

Antioxidants  are a kind of preservative and keep foods from becoming rancid, brown, or developing black spots.

Eg.   BHA and BHT

Butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydrozyttoluene are used as a preservative. You can find them in things like chips, cereals and even chewing gum. They are known to oxidize the cells and cell oxidation is the precursor to cancer.

3.  ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

 Aspartame is a sweetener and is also known as NutraSweet. The brand of sweetener

 called Equal is also aspartame. This food additive has been linked to cancer and

 neurological problems. Other artificial sweeteners include:  Saccharin, Mannitol, Sorbitol

 and Xylitol.

4. FLAVOUR ENHANCERS 

 Eg.  Monosodium Glutamate (MSG)

 MSG is one of the more well-known food additives and is primarily used as a flavour-enhancer. Much of the restaurant food we consume is flavoured with MSG. This food additive can cause reactions in some people such as headaches and nausea.

FATS

Oils and Fats to Avoid

·         Non-organic animal fats (lard, butter, beef tallow)

·         Hydrogenated vegetable oils

·         Margarine

·         Shortening

·         Trans fats

·         Vegetable oils that are not cold pressed

·         Fake fats (Olestra)

There are 2 main types of fat: saturated and unsaturated.

Eating too much saturated fat can clog our arteries and lead to heart attack.

Having unsaturated fat, lowers blood cholesterol and is good for us.

Examples of food rich in saturated fat are meat pie, sausage, meat with visible white fat, hard cheese, butter and lard, pastry, cakes and biscuits, cream, soured cream, crème fraiche, coconut oil, coconut cream, and palm oil.

Trans-fats are proven to cause heart disease. Restaurant food, especially fast food chains, often serves foods laden with trans-fats.

Olestra  Olestra is a chemical fat that is used in chips and can have a wide array of side effects. Additionally, Olestra can impede the absorption of vitamins from fruits and veggies.

Examples of food rich in unsaturated fat are vegetable oils, oily fish, avocado, nuts and seeds.

SUGAR

White Sugar White sugar is white because of bleach. Eating foods that add a lot of

white sugar is very bad for you.

All sugars, even natural ones, are simple carbohydrates, and thus affect your blood sugar levels quickly. Eating too much sugar contributes to health problems, and also reduces your body’s ability to eliminate toxins.  

Also having sugary foods and drinks too often can cause tooth decay, especially if we have them between meals. Many foods that contain added sugars can also be high in calories, so cutting down could also help us control our weight.

Watch out for other words used to describe added sugars such as sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose, hydrolysed starch, invert sugar, corn syrup, and honey.

Look at the label to see how much sugar a product contains. Generally, the label will say how many grams (g) of ‘Carbohydrates (of which sugars)” are in 100 g of the food.

As a rough guide:

Carbohydrates (of which sugars)

Low   <5g

Medium   5-15g

High   >15g

Some sugar free products contain additives such as Aspartame (E951), Acid Cyclamique (E952), and Saccharine (E954) which duplicate the effect of sugar in taste but have usually less food energy. There are many controversies surrounding the safety of these artificial sweeteners.

Salt ie.  Sodium Chloride

Most of the commercial foods we eat are loaded with Sodium Chloride.

Eating too much salt can raise our blood pressure and lead to heart disease.

Look at the label to see how much salt a product contains. Generally, the label will say how many grams (g) of salt are in 100 g of the food. As a rough guide:

Salt Sodium

Low   <0.3g <o.1g

Medium   0.3-1.5g 0.1-0.6g

High   >1.5g >0.6g

Genetically Modified (GM) Food

GM foods are food items that have had their genetic material (DNA) changed in a way that does not occur naturally. For example a GM tomato would be a variety of tomato that would not rot or degrade as fast as a normal tomato. The long-term health effects of anyone eating GM food and the effects on the environment from these gene-altering processes are unknown.

Foods containing soya, corn (maize), and tomato puree may be GM.

Based on the European Union regulation, if a food on the shelf has less than 1% GM ingredients, it can be labeled as GM-free, or not labeled as containing GM ingredients. The easiest way to avoid GM foods is to buy organic.

Glossary

ANTIOXIDANTS retard the oxidation of unsaturated fats and oils, colorings, and flavorings. Oxidation leads to rancidity, flavor changes, and loss of color. Most of those effects are caused by reaction of oxygen in the air with fats.

CARCINOGEN is a chemical or other agent that causes cancer in animals or humans.

CHELATING AGENTS trap trace amounts of metal atoms that would otherwise cause food to discolor or go rancid.

EMULSIFIERS keep oil and water mixed together.

FLAVOUR ENHANCERS have little or no flavor of their own, but accentuate the natural flavor of foods. They are often used when very little of a natural ingredient is present.

THICKENING AGENTS are natural or chemically modified carbohydrates that absorb some of the water that is present in food, thereby making the food thicker. Thickening agents “stabilize” factory-made foods by keeping the complex mixtures of oils, water, acids, and solids well mixed.

References:

UK Food Standard Agency www.food.gov.uk

Jane Clarke, 2006, Yummy! Every parent’s nutrition bible, Hodder & Stoughton

Gen Intro to food Additives     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_additive

http://www.the-natural-path.com/food-additives.html

Guide to food additives and chemicals      http://www.cspinet.org/reports/chemcuisine.htm

http://www.deliciousorganics.com/Controversies/chemicals.htm

On natural and artificial sweeteners:  http://www.the-natural-path.com/artificial-sweeteners.html

On types of oils and Fats:  http://www.the-natural-path.com/natural-oils.html

       How many of these questions can YOU answer?  

       READ THE LABEL CAMPAIGN  QUESTIONS

      1.  Why do some food products have all these extra ingredients listed on the labels?

      2.  How many of these ingredients (with complicated names) do you recognize and 

          understand?

      3.  What is the difference between ingredients and additives?

      4.  What does the label “No Added Sugar” indicate? (eg. on Fruit juices, chewing gum,             canned drinks/sodas)

      5.   Are artificial sweeteners and colouring in food good for us?

      6.  Do you think that things like allergies, acne, headaches, hyperactivity, obesity, 

          cancer etc. are related to what we eat?

       7. What kind of choices do we have about the food we consume?

       8. How does the production of each product we buy affect the planet?

       9. What do you know about GM (genetically modified) foods?

      10.  How can we avoid some of the negative consequences of modern mass     

            food production?

      11.Do you believe that you are what you eat?

GREEN SISTERS        READ THE LABEL CAMPAIGN

The Green Sisters are an environmental group who are organizing a campaign to raise awareness, especially among teenagers, about the hidden substances that are contained in the food we eat and the cosmetics and beauty products we use.

Our research into this subject has made us progressively more concerned about the kinds of substances that we and our children are exposed to and are putting into our bodies on a daily basis. There is a growing amount of evidence that the accumulation of all these chemicals in our bodies and in the environment in general has very serious adverse effects not only on our health but on the health of the whole planet.

We are therefore encouraging teenagers to read the labels and see what ingredients are listed in these products.

In order to help identify these harmful ingredients we will provide tables and a list of which ones to look out for. Many of these substances have unfamiliar and complicated names but we will try to simplify things by identifying only the most harmful ones. We will also provide a fact sheet which includes information about how to eat more healthily in general and what substances we should try and avoid.

By informing ourselves we can make wiser choices about what we eat and also find alternatives which are nourishing and safe.

teenage-project-invitation2

   Info and Websites:

Rodale, J.I. (1999). The Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. Rodale Books, Inc: Emmaus, PA

http://www.vegparad ise.com/news58. html

http://www.foodnews .org/walletguide .php

http://organic- vegetable- gardens.suite101 .com/article. cfm/top_organic_ fruits_and_ vegetables

http://www.ewg. org/sites/ foodnews/ release.php

http://www.diet- blog.com/ archives/ 2007/01/26/ pesticides_ the_12_most_ tainted_foods. php

http://www.deliciou sorganics. com/Controversie s/toptobuyorg. htm

http://v.mercola. com/blogs/ public_blog/ The–quot- Dirty-Dozen- quot–Fruits- and-Vegetables- Containing- the-Most- Pesticides- 1808.aspx