WHAT'S IN YOUR FOOD

 

 

As most of you know, I like to write about fun, uplifting things since there is already enough bad in the news. However, sometimes you hear something that is too shocking to be true and yet it is. This was the case recently when I learned what’s in some of our foods and, quite honestly, after discovering these food facts, it’s definitely changing some things on my diet.

To begin with, some of these food ingredients are so gross that I researched quite a few different sources to make sure they were true. I was hoping to find otherwise but, unfortunately, not. I am talking ingredients like bugs, poo and rodent hair…really gross, right?

Furthermore, the Food and Drug Administration keeps a document titled DEFECT LEVELS HANDBOOK which outlines exactly what types of defects mass-produced food can have and still be considered safe to eat. Their statement reads, “It is economically impractical to grow, harvest or process raw products that are totally free of non-hazardous, naturally-occurring, unavoidable defects.”

As an example, one rodent hair for every 100 grams of chocolate, 22 rodent hairs for every 100 grams of cinnamon and five for every 18-ounce jar of peanut butter is considered safe.

Some things in our processed foods are naturally-occurring and, although gross, won’t necessarily make us sick. Then there are the additives that do affect our health. Here are a few of them from both lists…just a thought, you may want to eat before you read the list!

 

GROSS THINGS IN OUR FOODS.

 

*Chocolate. Nearly every processed food, at one time or another, contain fragments of bugs and chocolate is no exception. The FDA currently allows up to 60 insect fragments per 100 grams of chocolate. However, it is not just bug fragments, chocolate is known for containing cockroach fragments.

 

*Coffee. The FDA allows 10 milligrams…or more….of animal poop per pound of coffee. Four to six percent of coffee beans by count are allowed to be insect-infested or moldy.

 

*Black Pepper. Forty insect fragments per teaspoon are allowed, with a smidge of rodent hair.

*Peanut Butter. They allow 30 or so insect fragments and one or more rodent hairs for every 3.5 ounces.

*Apple Butter. There can be four or more rodent hairs, five whole insects and also mites, aphids and thripes for every 3.5 ounces.

*Bread. Human hair is a common find, not strands of it by accident, but rather in the form of L-cysteine, a proteinogenic amino acid that is obtained industrially by the hydrolysis of poultry feathers, hog hair and human hair. It is added as a commercial dough conditioner and flavor enhancer to improve the flaky texture of breads and other baked goods.

*Raisins. Golden raisins are allowed 35 fruit fly eggs and 10 whole insects for every 8 ounces.

*Spaghetti. For every 16-ounce box, there can be 450 insect parts and 9 rodent hairs.

*Canned Tomatoes and Pasta Sauce. Each 16-ounce can may contain 2 maggots.

*Canned Mushrooms. 20 or more maggots and 74 mites are allowed in each 4-ounce can.

*Cornmeal. Each quarter cup may contain one or more whole insects.

*Jelly Beans. Beetle poop is indeed the secret ingredient that makes jelly beans shiny. The FDA prefers to call it shellac and it is also found in Hershey’s Milk Duds, Junior Mints, Godiva chocolate and candy corn.

*Spices. Spices also are not exempt. Oregano can have 300 or more insect pieces and two rodent hairs for every 10 grams, which is a little over a third of an ounce. Paprika is allowed 75 insect parts, 11 rodent hairs and up to 20 percent mold for every 25 grams, which is just under an ounce.

 

 

Random samples are taken periodically to see just how much of these gross ingredients are in our processed food. Guess what, the food that contains too much is not thrown out, but instead it is usually sent for a process known as “rework.” This just means that it is sent on to use in another process such as a canning operation which will make the bugs float to the top so they can be skimmed off. It’s all about the bottom dollar.

These things won’t necessarily make us sick, gross as they may be. However, there are additives that are used all the time that are detrimental to our health. A partial list of those include:

*Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO) is contained in most all our soft drinks including Mountain Dew, Fanta and even the “healthy” Gatorade. Now banned in Europe and Japan, it causes skin lesions, memory loss, early onset puberty and impaired neurological abilities.

*Arsenic. Naturally occurring in water and soil, this earthly element is referred to as organic arsenic. Mining and the use of pesticides produces inorganic arsenic and this is what is found in grains, especially rice and infant foods. Brown rice absorbs it more than white rice and it is a contributor to liver, skin and bladder cancer as well as diabetes and heart disease. Boiling rice in a 6 to 1 ratio of water to rice and then draining the excess water will remove up to 60 percent of it.

*Crushed Bugs. Cochineal insects, especially, are used to make red food dye that we use to make red velvet cakes and other baked goods. It is what gives these their “natural” red color and also why some folks get sick from being allergic to these bugs.

*Fifty percent of grocery store meats test positive for staph bacteria, including the lethal MRSA strain. To counteract this, the FDA allows the food industry to inject deli meats with the same bacteriophages that hospitals and veterinarians use to kill germs, which can cause a whole host of problems when ingested. It’s better to pay the higher dollar for grass-fed organic meats.

*Ractopamine. Pigs, cattle and turkeys are injected with this drug which is a muscle relaxer and reduces the fat content in meat. Twenty percent stays in the meat and causes cardiovascular and chromosomal damage.

*Salad Dressings. Titanium dioxide, which is used in paints and sunscreens, is often added to salad dressings and other foods to make them whiter and more appealing. That thick and creamy texture in salad dressing often comes from propylene glycol, a component of antifreeze.

*Microwave Popcorn. Nonstick elements, classified as perfluorinated  chemicals, are commonly used to treat the inside of the bags to prevent the oils from leaking out. It has been linked to impaired immune systems, high cholesterol, ADHD, sperm damage and infertility. Luckily, there is a quick fix to this one, just make regular popcorn in a pot on the stove.

*Boxed Macaroni and Cheese. They contain yellow dyes 5 and 6 which are petroleum based and leads to various cancers.

*Brominated Flour. This increases the elasticity in bread and is very toxic. Either look for breads without it or make your own.

These are only partial lists. Not every brand of every food contains these things but enough do to make us want to be aware. Also, when have you seen any label listing bug parts or rodent hairs? This isn’t meant to gross anyone out, just saying we need to be more aware of what we eat. We have traded wholesome for convenience.

Our grandmothers had it right; make your own breads, can your fruits and veggies and raise your meat. You know what’s in them.