Topic: BHT and Other Products Banned Outside the US

[Nichi]

From an article by Cristina Goyanes
Shape Magazine

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/banned-ingredients-still-legal-u-132100120.html

Ingredients: Coloring agents (blue 1, blue 2, yellow 5, and yellow 6)
Found In: Cake, candy, macaronic and cheese, medicines, sport drinks, soda, pet food, and cheese
Why the U.S. Allows It: We eat with our eyes. "Recent studies have shown that when food manufacturers left foods in their natural, often beige-like color instead of coloring them with these chemical agents, individuals thought they tasted bland and ate less, even when the recipe wasn't altered," Calton says. This may explain why the use of artificial dyes-the most popular being red 40, yellow 5, and yellow 6-have increased five-fold since 1955.
Health Hazards: Back in the day, food coloring came from natural sources, such as saffron and turmeric. "Today most artificial colors are made from coal tar, which is also used to seal-coat products to preserve and protect the shine of industrial floors," Carlton says. "It also appears in head lice shampoos to kill off the small bugs."

Ingredient: Olestra (aka Olean)
Found In: Fat-free potato chips
Why the U.S. Allows It: Procter & Gamble Co. took a quarter century and spent a half a billion dollars to create "light" chips that are supposedly better for you, Calton says. They may need another half a billion bucks to figure out how to deal with the embarrassing bathroom side effects (including oily anal leakage) that comes with consuming these products.
Health Hazards: "This fat substitute appears to cause a dramatic depletion of fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids, robbing us of the vital micro-nutrients," Calton says, adding that many countries, including the U.K. and Canada, have banned it.

Ingredient: Brominated vegetable oil (aka BVO)
Found In: Sports drinks and citrus-flavored sodas
Why the U.S. Allows It: BVO acts as an emulsifier, preventing the flavoring from separating and floating to the surface of beverages, Calton says.
Health Hazards: "Because it competes with iodine for receptor sites in the body, elevated levels of the stuff may lead to thyroid issues, such as hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, and cancer," Calton says. That's not all. BVO's main ingredient, bromine, is a poisonous chemical that is considered both corrosive and toxic. It's been linked to major organ system damage, birth defects, growth problems, schizophrenia, and hearing loss, which explains why it's been nixed in more than 100 countries.

Ingredient: Potassium bromate (aka brominated flour)
Found In: Rolls, wraps, flatbread, bread crumbs, and bagel chips
Why the U.S. Allows It: This flour-bulking agent helps strengthen dough, reducing the amount of time needed for baking, which results in lowered costs, Calton explains.
Health Hazards: Made with the same toxic chemical found in BVO (bromine), this additive has been associated with kidney and nervous system disorders as well as gastrointestinal discomfort. "While the FDA has not banned the use of bromated flour, they do urge bakers to voluntarily leave it out," Calton says.

Ingredient: Azodicarbonamide
Found In: Breads, frozen dinners, boxed pasta mixes, and packaged baked goods
Why the U.S. Allows It: While most countries wait a week for flour to naturally whiten, the American food processors prefer to use this chemical to bleach the flour ASAP.
Health Hazards: It's not enough to just ban this product in Singapore. You can get up to 15 years in prison and be penalized nearly half a million dollars in fines for using this chemical that's been linked to asthma and is primarily used in foamed plastics, like yoga mats and sneaker soles.

Ingredients: BHA and BHT
Found In: Cereal, nut mixes, gum, butter, meat, dehydrated potatoes, and beer
Why the U.S. Allows It: "Made from petroleum [yummy!], these waxy solids act as preservatives to prevent food from becoming rancid and developing objectionable odors," Calton says. A better solution may be natural rosemary and sage. In a 2006 study, some organic herbs and spices proved to be efficient at preventing oxidative decay in meat, which ultimately could improve the shelf-life of these products.
Health Hazards: California is the only state that recognizes the U.S. National Institute of Health's report that BHA may be a human carcinogen, a cancer-causing agent.

Ingredients: Synthetic hormones (rBGH and rBST)
Found In: Milk and dairy products
Why the U.S. Allows It: Gotta keep moo-ving things along. Dairy farmers inject cows with genetically-engineered cow growth hormones to boost milk production by about 10 percent, according to Calton.
Health Hazards: "Cows treated with these synthetic hormones often become lame, infertile, and suffer from inflamed and infected udders," Calton says. Humans, who consume these cows byproducts, are in no better shape, she adds: "The milk is supercharged with IGF-1 (insulin growth factor -1), which has been linked to breast, colon, and prostate cancers."


Ingredient: Arsenic
Found In: Poultry
Why the U.S. Allows It: Big brother FDA permits arsenic in chicken feed to promote growth, improve efficiency in feeding the birds, and boost pigmentation. "The arsenic affects the blood vessels in chickens and turkeys, causing them to appear pinker and, therefore, fresher," Calton says.
Health Hazards: The European Union has outlawed the use of arsenic since 1999, Calton says, and the Environmental Protection Agency classifies inorganic arsenic as a "human carcinogen." Take matters into your own hands by sticking to organic birds only.
 

In my region, to find organic vegetables is a 40-mile roundtrip, and finding organic meat is next to impossible (and extraordinarily expensive.) Meanwhile, what to eat... As few processed foods as possible. Check the labeling for GMO foods in the produce section.

[Nichi]

As part of my "heal" from the major health issues I was having a couple of months ago, I abstained from coffee. But I ended up finding that it wasn't the coffee that was the issue: it was the creamer, which is loaded with chemicals. One bottle of creamer still remains in the fridge, which Larry is using: its expiration date is March, and we bought it in October. (That speaks to the chemicals it contains.) The creamer always constituted several trips to the head...

Now, when I dare to drink coffee, I only use 1/2 and 1/2, and make my own flavors if I want flavors.

Also, I am working on this rule of thumb:
if it says sugar-free or fat-free or gluten-free or decaffeinated, I'm not using it. For it is shaping up to me that what was added in order to make it so is far worse than the original product.

[Nichi]

"There is Death in the Pot - A treatise on adulterations of food and culinary poisons, a book in which the author Friedrich Accum denounces the use of chemical additives in food. This groundbreaking work marked the beginning of an awareness of the need for food safety. Written in 1820 - and still the battle goes on …"  L Morgan Reynolds

I've never read it, but would surely love to find it in a used bookstore!

[Firestarter]

this is kinda scary.

[Ke-ke wan]

Also, I am working on this rule of thumb:
if it says sugar-free or fat-free or gluten-free or decaffeinated, I'm not using it. For it is shaping up to me that what was added in order to make it so is far worse than the original product.

Usually, for sugar-free, they add a fat, for fat-free, a sugar is added.  Though sometimes the labels do fabricate in an attempt to trick us.  Consumers are so ready to beleive.  I laugh at the marketing gimmick now of "gluten-free" labels on items that have never contained gluten.

Bottom line is, have to be informed and a label reader.  Takes a lot more time to do a grocery shop, but it's worth it, I think. 

[Nick]

It is also important to note that, some of the products that say "free of, or just 'whatever' free", are free of that naturally. In those cases they still take advantage of the opportunity to market it as 'free' of whatever offending thing. Personally I can not eat anything with gluten in it. Often if I want to bake some kind of pastry I will go over to the Bob's Redmill gluten free products. Often times nothing is added to these products to replace the gluten, but often something like Xanthan gum will be added. Some people have problems with Xanthan gum, I have never had any noticeable issues.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xanthan_gum

I recently read an article in an Americas test kitchen magazine where they made gluten free pizza from scratch. He wasn't happy with the results he got from using Xanthan gum, just a matter of texture. He replaced it with psyillium husk fiber, if I am remembering correctly. So often times it is a fun challenge to figure out how to replace a key ingredient, it really stimulates creativity, and helps me learn more about my food.

Also there is a lot of hype, and misinformation on both sides of this issue. Those who aren't apposed to the use of 'additives' in food, and those who are both often get it wrong. When I find something new on an ingredient label I spend a lot of time comparing and contrasting differing information.