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Additives

Justified or not, there is a strong consumer trend away from food additives. Some consumers have heard of or experienced allergies to additives. Many are aware that chemicals thought benign at one point in time are sometimes found to be harmful years later. Many, especially raising children, want to avoid taking a chance on a witches brew of arcane chemistry.

Dyes (petrochemicals and squished bugs)

Though 80 man-made colors used as food additives were identified by the FDA in 1900, only 9 are certified for use today. Of the currently certified colors, Red #40 dye is a known allergen, and there is strong evidence of other negative health consequences associated with its consumption. Many barbecue sauces contain petrochemical Red 40, including the most popular sauce – Kraft Original. Another popular red dye is cochineal which is made from squished bugs.

Some problems we found about Red 40 with only a very cursory research include the following.

“Because red aniline dyes 2 and 40 are both believed to be carcinogenic, cochineal is now being reconsidered as a safe food dye.” http://www.vegparadise.com/news13.html

“These dyes (Red 40) were originally manufactured from coal tar, but are now mostly made from petroleum.” http://sci-toys.com/ingredients/red_40.html

“Allura red (Red 40) may have slightly less allergy/intolerance reaction by aspirin intolerant people and asthmatics than most of the azo dyes, although those with skin sensitivities should be careful about allura red.” http://www.standardcon.com/allurared.htm

In rat studies, Red Dye #40 “significantly reduced reproductive success, parental and offspring weight, brain weight [and] survival…. Behaviorally, R40 produced substantially decreased running wheel activity….” – Voorheer, CV et al, Toxicology. 1983;28(3):207-17

Gums

Most competitors’ products contain xanthan gum. What is this factory food chemical and why does everyone else use it?

“Xanthan gum (E415) is a microbial desiccation-resistant polymer prepared commercially by aerobic submerged fermentation from Xanthomonas campestris.. It is naturally produced to stick the bacteria to the leaves of cabbage-like plants…Xanthan gum is mainly considered to be non-gelling and used for the control of viscosity…. It hydrates rapidly in cold water without lumping to give a reliable viscosity, encouraging its use as thickener, stabilizer, emulsifier and foaming agent.” http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/hyxan.html

“As the (plant matter) used to grow the Xanthomonas (xanthan bacteria) may contain corn, soy or other plant material, manufacturers should make clear if any residues may remain.” – London South Bank University, http://www.lsbu.ac.uk/water/hyxan.html

Sodium Benzoate (powdered bacteria)

“In 2007, the British Food Standards Agency issued revised advice on certain artificial food additives, including sodium benzoate. Prof. Jim Stevenson from Southampton University, author of the report, said: ‘The results suggest that consumption of certain mixtures of artificial food colours and sodium benzoate preservative are associated with increases in hyperactive behaviour in children.’” – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_benzoate

“In 1990, the FDA learned that benzene was present in some soft drinks. The FDA and industry initiated research and discovered that exposure to heat and light can stimulate the formation of low levels of benzene in some beverages that contain both benzoate salts, such as sodium benzoate or potassium benzoate, and vitamin C (ascorbic acid).” http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/506_benzene.html

“In November 2005, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) received private laboratory results reporting low levels of benzene in a small number of soft drinks that contained benzoate salts (an antimicrobial) and ascorbic acid (vitamin C).” http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/benzdata.html

“From the start of the survey in November through April 2006, the FDA tested more than 100 soft drinks and other beverages… The CFSAN (survey) found benzene levels above 5 ppb in five of the beverage products tested: Crystal Light Sunrise Classic Orange, Crush Pineapple, Safeway Select Diet Orange Soda, AquaCal Strawberry Flavored Water Beverage, and Giant Light Cranberry Juice Cocktail.” http://www.fda.gov/fdac/features/2006/506_benzene.html

“Benzene is a carcinogen, or cancer-causing agent. Its levels are regulated in drinking water...The key ingredients leading to the formation of benzene are ascorbic acid and benzoic acid, added [as] sodium benzoate, potassium benzoate or calcium benzoate”– http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzene_in_soft_drinks

Sulfites

“Sulfites are known to increase asthma symptoms in approximately 5% of asthmatics, particularly in adults with severe disease. Numerous…studies show that some asthmatics can have severe asthma symptoms with eating sulfite-containing foods/beverages or inhaling sulfite fumes or vapors.” – Daniel More, MD http://allergies.about.com/od/foodallergies/a/sulfites.htm

“The Food and Drug Administration estimates that one out of a hundred people is sulfite-sensitive,” If a person develops hives after ingesting sulfites, the doctor will do a prick test (a small concentration of sulfite is placed on the skin, which is then pricked; the test is positive if a welt develops on the spot). ‘People who have positive skin tests to sulfites are likely to be allergic to the additive, rather than have a sensitivity. These people, who are usually not asthmatic, are most at risk of anaphylactic shock, [a life-threatening reaction],’ says Simon (Ron Simon, M.D., head of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology at Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, Calif.).” Ruth Papazian, FDA Consumer Magazine, Dec. 1996

“Q. Are sulfites safe?

Sulfites added to baked goods, condiments, snack foods and other products are safe for most people. A small segment of the population, however, has been found to develop hives, nausea, diarrhea, shortness of breath or even fatal shock after consuming sulfites. For that reason, in 1986 FDA banned the use of sulfites on fresh fruits and vegetables intended to be sold or served raw to consumers. Sulfites added as a preservative in all other packaged and processed foods must be listed on the product label.” U. S. Food and Drug Administration FDA/IFIC Brochure: January 1992

“Natural Flavors”

“‘Natural flavors’ could refer to peanuts, tree nuts, or any other food…. Over three million are allergic to peanuts and tree nuts and the number of children with peanut allergy has doubled in the past five years. Each year, over 250 Americans die due to the ingestion of allergenic foods, and 30,000 receive life-saving treatment in emergency rooms.” – Food Allergy Initiative, 2006

“A natural flavor is not necessarily more healthful or purer than an artificial one…. Natural and artificial flavors are now manufactured at the same chemical plants, places that few people would associate with Mother Nature.” – Eric Schlosser, Fast Food Nation

Citric Acid (mold poop and sulfuric acid)

To make citric acid used today, “cultures of Aspergillus niger are fed on sucrose…. After the mold is filtered out [it is precipitated] with lime (calcium hydroxide) to yield calcium citrate salt, from which citric acid is regenerated by treatment with sulfuric acid.” –http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citric_acid

So factory additives are gross, but are they really bad for you?After all the Food & Drug Administration allows them to be used. They must have been tested for safety- right?

Additives Go Untested

“Food additives - Side Effects - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has a list of food additives generally recognized as safe. Many have not undergone any testing, but they are regarded as safe by the scientific community. These substances are put on the GRAS list, which contains approximately 700 items,” National Institutes for Health, US National Library of Medicine,

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002435.htm

One problem is that what is, “…regarded as safe by the scientific community,” changes. Additives considered safe today will, no doubt, be found to be harmful in the future. Want examples? Some of you might remember the banning of cyclamates, or red dye #3, or the discovery of carcinogenic benzene in products preserved with sodium benzoate in 1995. Until they are tested they have, “…not undergone any testing, but they are regarded as safe by the scientific community.” Hardly reassuring.

“The findings are released on the eve of a board meeting of the Food Standards Agency which is to discuss a recent study showing the potential links between food colourants and hyperactivity in children. The agency has already changed its advice to parents and said that youngsters showing signs of hyperactive behaviour should avoid seven additives found in some sweets, drinks, desserts, cakes and biscuits. These are: E102 tartrazine; E104 quinoline yellow; E110 sunset yellow; E122 carmoisine; ponceau 4R; E129 allura red (red #40) and E211 sodium benzoate. Food campaigners believe the FSA should have banned the additives outright from British food and have urged parents to keep products with these additives away from their children.” September 19, 2007,

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article2485426.ece

The potential hazard is compounded when many of these “untested” but currently, “considered safe” chemicals are used in combination. Most of the additives themselves are untested and combinations of additives are, unquestionably, not tested either.

Most Americans consume several or many different prepared foods daily, each with their own set of additives. These chemical combinations are tested only on our own bodies. No agency is testing them. Within a single product you may consume several additives. Within several products you may consume many additives, most of them never tested for safety individually or in combination before. We are guinea pigs for the factory food containing food industry.

If the additives, or combinations of additives, make us physically sick right away in big ways, the FDA changes the rules. What was good for us one day, is bad for us the next. If additives, or combinations of additives are bad for us in subtle ways, or over time, or in psychological but not physical ways the rules change only very slowly.

Why should we wait for the scientific community to tell us that any given additive is unsafe? Why not avoid the issue by eating real, wholesome foods containing only ingredients you would use yourself.

Such ingredients in competing products give consumers pause and provide WF a significant competitive advantage in a world that is increasingly food conscious. Beyond enjoying the exquisite flavors and aromas of WF products for home and restaurant cooking, shoppers are guaranteed that Willy’s Jamaican Jerk, Carolina BBQ, Mexican Fajita and Waikiki BBQ are all-natural and free from both the taste and effect of any of these factory food chemicals. What else would knowledgeable consumers feed their family and friends?

The End.

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