From Examiner.com
Most of us put some thought into the origins stories of our food-- where it came from, who's handled it. But how do we know what's exactly in our foods?
We already know that nutritional labels don't tell us everything from recent experiences with Starbucks, McDonald's and Gatorade. And now that the FDA is reassessing the 'generally recognized as safe' foods, we may be hit with more and more surprising discoveries in the very near future.
But in the meantime, there's already quite the list of disturbing ingredients found in common items such as cheeses, breads and ice creams. Those trusty, fallback staples have been hiding some things from you and there's definitely a reason they've been hidden. We've compiled a list of things you should probably know about your food, but never wanted to.
Are you ready to see that what you don't know can be really, really gross?
1. Cellulose
You're munching on your low-fat, high-fiber cereal and you think, 'Man, this tastes like wood." You may be more right than you ever wanted to be.
Wood pulp is used to thicken and stabilize food as well as replace the most expensive fats and oils, which results in low fat and high fiber content.
While you may be ready to swear off all health food 'because you're not a beaver', Taco Bell, KFC and other popular fast food restaurants are guilty of using cellulose too.
2. Lanolin
At the end of this list, you're going to be wary of ever touching gum again.
That's because gum has something called lanolin, an oily secretion found in sheep's wool. The primary purpose of the gooey stuff is to soften gum as well as your resolve to hold back your lunch.
Lanolin is also found in lotions, sunblocks and cosmetics. Yummy.
3. Polydimethylsiloxane
PDMS is used in shampoos, silly putty, breast implants and head-lice treatments. But we're here for food ingredients, right?
Right. PSMS is also found in foods as an antifoaming agent. We can't think of too many foods that foam. But maybe chicken nuggets used to before the ingredient was added.
4. Lean finely textured beef aka pink slime
The gooey stuff has several names, including boneless lean beef trimmings as well as those featured in the title. We'll stick with pink slime.
Recently, fast food restaurants have banned the product, and wisely. It's made by taking leftover cuts of meat and washing them in ammonia.
5. Gelatin
Jelly beans, gummy bears and jello all look innocent, but they are far from it. They're all guilty of containing gelatin and gelatin is guilty of containing collagen from animal bones and connective tissue.
The collagen helps candies keep their shape. But it can also be added to some low-fat foods in place of fat. So instead of eating cream cheese made from milk fats, you get cream cheese featuring animal connective tissue.
Dieting really is the worst.
6. Cochineal beetles
By now, you've heard that mighty Starbucks got in trouble for using crushed beetles to color some of their high-priced drinks.
But they can't be the only ones right? Of course not. The crushed beetle juice is also used to color yogurts, candy, paint and make-up. Anywhere you see that red hue, consider that 'crushed bugs' might have been left off the nutritional label.
7. Human hair
What a world it would be if we ordered our foods knowing the grossest ingredients in them. "Why yes, I'll take the blonde hair bagel, please."
That's right. Human hair and duck feathers are the common source for the amino acid l-cysteine, which makes breads and baked goods soften and easier to handle in dough form. Chew on that thought for a bit.
8. Xanthan gum
Xanthan gum, found in ice cream, sauces and salad dressings, is primarily used to hold items together.
While all the products that feature xanthan gum sounds great, the xanthan gum itself has a dirty little secret. It has a bacteria in it that is similar to the bacteria of rotting vegetables.
9. Rennet
Cheese is delicious. There's nothing insidious about cheese, right?
Well, that really depends who you're asking. One of the primary ingredients in making cheese into what it is comes from the lining of a cow's intestine. Rennet enzymes separate the curds from the whey. You're welcome, Little Miss Muffet.
Rennet has been used in the cheese-making process for thousands of years but there are vegetarian versions for those concerned.
10. Brominated vegetable oil
Gatorade recently made the choice to rid their sports drinks of this vegetable oil.
But what is BVO and what is the big deal?
The purpose of BVO in Gatorade was to evenly distribute flavor throughout the beverage and it was first added back in 1969, when it was still considered a 'generally recognized as safe' food.
But it also contains bromine, which is a flame retardant. The European Union and Japan have already banned its use.
The ingredient is also found in other citrus-flavored drinks in the U.S.
Most of us put some thought into the origins stories of our food-- where it came from, who's handled it. But how do we know what's exactly in our foods?
We already know that nutritional labels don't tell us everything from recent experiences with Starbucks, McDonald's and Gatorade. And now that the FDA is reassessing the 'generally recognized as safe' foods, we may be hit with more and more surprising discoveries in the very near future.
But in the meantime, there's already quite the list of disturbing ingredients found in common items such as cheeses, breads and ice creams. Those trusty, fallback staples have been hiding some things from you and there's definitely a reason they've been hidden. We've compiled a list of things you should probably know about your food, but never wanted to.
Are you ready to see that what you don't know can be really, really gross?
1. Cellulose
Wood pulp is used to thicken and stabilize food as well as replace the most expensive fats and oils, which results in low fat and high fiber content.
While you may be ready to swear off all health food 'because you're not a beaver', Taco Bell, KFC and other popular fast food restaurants are guilty of using cellulose too.
2. Lanolin
That's because gum has something called lanolin, an oily secretion found in sheep's wool. The primary purpose of the gooey stuff is to soften gum as well as your resolve to hold back your lunch.
Lanolin is also found in lotions, sunblocks and cosmetics. Yummy.
3. Polydimethylsiloxane
Right. PSMS is also found in foods as an antifoaming agent. We can't think of too many foods that foam. But maybe chicken nuggets used to before the ingredient was added.
4. Lean finely textured beef aka pink slime
Recently, fast food restaurants have banned the product, and wisely. It's made by taking leftover cuts of meat and washing them in ammonia.
5. Gelatin
The collagen helps candies keep their shape. But it can also be added to some low-fat foods in place of fat. So instead of eating cream cheese made from milk fats, you get cream cheese featuring animal connective tissue.
Dieting really is the worst.
6. Cochineal beetles
But they can't be the only ones right? Of course not. The crushed beetle juice is also used to color yogurts, candy, paint and make-up. Anywhere you see that red hue, consider that 'crushed bugs' might have been left off the nutritional label.
7. Human hair
That's right. Human hair and duck feathers are the common source for the amino acid l-cysteine, which makes breads and baked goods soften and easier to handle in dough form. Chew on that thought for a bit.
8. Xanthan gum
While all the products that feature xanthan gum sounds great, the xanthan gum itself has a dirty little secret. It has a bacteria in it that is similar to the bacteria of rotting vegetables.
9. Rennet
Well, that really depends who you're asking. One of the primary ingredients in making cheese into what it is comes from the lining of a cow's intestine. Rennet enzymes separate the curds from the whey. You're welcome, Little Miss Muffet.
Rennet has been used in the cheese-making process for thousands of years but there are vegetarian versions for those concerned.
10. Brominated vegetable oil
But what is BVO and what is the big deal?
The purpose of BVO in Gatorade was to evenly distribute flavor throughout the beverage and it was first added back in 1969, when it was still considered a 'generally recognized as safe' food.
But it also contains bromine, which is a flame retardant. The European Union and Japan have already banned its use.
The ingredient is also found in other citrus-flavored drinks in the U.S.
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