Agro Sector Ideas

[gfp927z]

>>> 11 chemicals you might have already eaten today



Insects, rubber, mold-reducing agents and more things you weren't really meant to digest, all thanks to Big Food!


By Daniel Kelley


http://healthyliving.msn.com/nutrition/11-chemicals-you-might-have-already-eaten-today



There are huge gaps in what we know about the additives in our food, and anecdotes on the Internet fill them. Before the Internet was invented, the Center for Science in the Public Interest was the bane of the food companies’ existence. Now online activists rail against ingredients the CSPI lists as safe, and Big Food has taken notice. Whole Foods has a list of additives it will not allow in stores. Kroger has eliminated 101 additives. Even Wal-Mart announced that it is working to ban 10 ingredients from its stores.

If you look at when companies start replacing ingredients, it’s when there’s awareness from the public.” said Keval Mehta, CEO of Inrfood, an online database of food ingredients.

One such victory came a couple months back when “Food Babe” blogger Vani Hari used an online petition to force Subway to stop using azodicarbonamide its bread. The chemical makes white bread whiter, helps increase its elasticity, and is found in over 500 foods. On the other hand, it also breaks down into a chemical that causes cancer, is banned in Europe, and is used to make shoe leather and yoga mats.

According to the Pew Health Initiative, there are more than 10,000 food additives found in a typical supermarket. Here are a few substances the scientists have taken out, and what they’ve put back.

Salt

What, you were hoping for something sexier? Michael Jacobson, executive director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest says that cutting domestic salt intake in half would save 100,000 lives per year. Sure, azodicarbonamide breaks down into substances that are carcinogens, but if it gave 100,000 people per year cancer, we’d be marching with pitchforks.

Status: Companies are dropping salt, but slowly. The Wall Street Journal reports that Chef Boyardee cut sodium levels by 35 percent — but it did so over five years.

Also used in: It improves the density of drilling fluids in oil country. It is used in the processing of metals, paper, and wood pulp.

Often replaced with: Mrs. Dash


BHA, or BHT

Snacks like potato chips tend to be cooked in vegetable oil. That vegetable oil can go rancid after the snack is packed. The process is called oxidation. BHA and BHT are antioxidants.

Status: The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says BHA can reasonably be anticipated to be a human carcinogen. But it’s still legal to put it in food. Companies have been taking this out of packaged foods for several years but it still appears here and there, says Michael Jacobson, of the center for Science in the Public Interest.

Other uses: Rubber and petroleum products, cosmetics.

Often replaced with: Tocopherols, which on food labels get called “Vitamin E.” Manufacturers can also pack food with nitrogen instead of air. Jacobson says it’s unclear if food companies really need to find a replacement for BHA. Chips, he said, would go stale before the oil goes rancid. “I don’t know if foods have shorter shelf lives, or if they were totally unnecessary,” Jocobson says.

Brominated Vegetable Oil

It’s the reason you don’t have to shake a sports drink bottle before opening. Brominated vegetable oil keeps flavor molecules spread evenly throughout the drink. Two case studies have shown that individuals who drank large amounts of soda suffered serious health consequences that doctors attributed to brominated vegetable oil.

Status: Gatorade recently announced it would stop using brominated vegetable oil.

Also used for: Bromine alone is found in nasal sprays, fire retardant, hair dyes, hot tub chemicals, and pesticides.

Replaced with: Sucrose acetate isobutyrate.

Potassium Sorbate

This preservative prevents the growth of yeast and molds in yogurts, cheeses, jellies, cake and beef jerky. It ranks among the world’s most widely used preservatives.

Status: The Center for Science in the Public Interest list potassium sorbate as safe. But some yogurt brands — like Chobani, which saw a recall over mold contamination last year — proudly eschew the use of it. Food scientists point out that removing it from the food supply could endanger consumers with mold intolerances.</p> <p><strong>Replaced with:</strong> In an effort to develop “clean labels,” some consultants have suggested removing potassium sorbate from salad dressings and adding “refrigerate after opening” to the label.

Dimethylpolysiloxane

Dropping French fries into hot oil can cause the oil to foam up. Dimethylpolysiloxane is a silicone-based anti-foaming agent that extends the life of the oil. It’s found in all sorts of food products, from vinegars to chocolates to chewing gum.

Other uses: It’s the main ingredient in silly putty. Also found in cosmetics, shampoos, and caulks.

Status: Kinda gross. But the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives reports low risk of toxicity



Calcium Propionate

A preservative used in bread and rolls.

Status: The Center for Science in the Public Interest lists calcium propionate as safe. Some bread brands seeking clean labels have use cultured wheat flour, as a substitute.

Other uses: The tobacco industry seems to like this stuff as a preservative. Also used in the manufacture of butyl rubber.

Red No. Four

Also known as crushed bugs. This dye is listed on labels as carmine or cochineal extract. It is made of crushed cochineal insects.

Status:Starbucks announced in 2012 that it would replace this. For some, cochineal extracts can trigger allergic reactions. But the biggest push to get this additive removed came from vegans. It’s hard to make vegan strawberry soy Frappuccinos with dead bugs.

Other uses: In pre-Hispanic Mexico, it was used to make a deep, deep red.

Replaced with: Starbucks says it has developed a tomato-based dye to make its strawberry sauce look redder.

Diacetyl

The naturally occurring compound gives microwave popcorn its butter flavor. It might be good to eat, but breathing it isn’t conducive to long life. Workers at the plants that produced and used diacetyl came down with a condition known as bronchiolitis obliterans, a life-threatening and irreversible lung disease also known as popcorn lung. In 2012, a Colorado man who ate two bags of popcorn per day was awarded $7.2 million when he came down with the disease.

Status: Major microwaveable popcorn brands have phased out the use of diacetyl. Legislators in California have introduced bills to ban it. The Center for Science in the Public Interest says consumers should use caution but more study is needed.

Other uses: Diacetyl is a byproduct fermentation and can be found in beer.

Replaced with: Many popcorn companies haven’t disclosed what they use instead. But researchers have determined that at least some of the replacement flavorings carry a similar risk.

Artificial Dyes

Most food sold in Europe containing artificial dyes carry a label warning of the risks associated with the dyes and hyperactivity in children. American consumers have taken note.

Status: Kraft has decided to take dyes from some formulations of macaroni and cheese, Frito-Lay has taken dyes from Sun Chips and Tostitos, and if your Trix yogurt looks a little less nuclear, it’s because General Mills has reformulated it to remove some artificial dyes. Chik-Fil-A is also quietly removing dyes from sauces and chicken soups.

Other uses: Individual dyes are approved for specific uses. But some artificial food colors are also used in pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, sutures, and contact lenses.

High Fructose Corn Syrup

For the past four decades, our nation has been unable to lose these last ten pounds. High Fructose Corn Syrup has taken much of the blame.

Status: Companies have been dropping high fructose corn syrup like a high school boyfriend in the first semester of college.

Other uses: It would be much easier to demonize the delicious sweetener if it was used in the manufacture of jet fuel, but alas, there are no known industrial uses of high fructose corn syrup, according to Inrfood.com.

Replaced with: High fructose corn syrup has such a bad name that soda companies have started replacing it with sugar. Guess what? There’s no real difference. Other replacements include rice syrup, oat syrup, and corn syrup.

Transfats

Transfats — usually in the form of partially hydrogenated vegetable oils — are the double whammy. They lower good cholesterol and raise bad cholesterol. Food companies have been required to list transfats since 2006.

Status: Companies have been taking transfats off of labels as quickly as they can, but restaurants occasionally use transfats in deep fryers. Another loophole exists. If a product contains less than half of a gram of transfats per serving, its makers can claim the product has no trans fats. In November the FDA took steps that many see as leading to an eventual ban on transfats.

Other industrial uses: Trans fats are good for only one thing: heart attacks.

Replaced with: Usually palm oil, but other oils serve as replacements as well.

<<<