Food Additives Explained

L

lightNlife

New member
A small percentage of the population may react to certain additives. That does not mean they are not safe for the GENERAL population. Certainly people with CF need to be more careful about what they take into their bodies.

Think of it this way...some people's bodies react badly to certain additives. Some people's bodies also respond negatively to perfumes. If you're a person for whom a reaction happens, then AVOID the trigger instead of saying that all additives (or all perfumes) are bad.

The article was written from a general point of view. The target audience was not the CF population, but I figured it was helpful to understand some of the names we read in ingredients labels.

Some additives that are suspected to create problems include aspartame (unconfirmed), monosodium glutamate (MSG) and nitrates. Again, these do not cause problems for everyone, only certain populations.

Dramamama, lest you think I'm posting propaganda, things I write on many topics are the result of careful personal evaluation and study. Who I work for and who pays my bills has nothing to do with my integrity as a scientist and a member of the CF community.
 
J

JRPandTJP

New member
Okay, some additives are natural and some like absorbic acid help preserve canned and packaged goods. Where the problem occurs is the careless addition of things which are not necessary to the safety of the food such as MSG, BHT, BHA, DES, Nitrosamines (all known carcinogens) when a safer and healthier choice is available. This is what concerns me about the long list of "stuff" in processed and packaged goods and this is what makes it hard on the consumer.

I have issue with food dyes being on your list as safe. If I'm not mistaken food dyes (the FDA approved ones) are derived from coal tar which is carcinogenic. The FDA receives compensation for every pound of food dye it certifies (not inspects), which many see as a conflict of interest in regard to the safety of these dyes.

Color is and can be added from natural concentrates of foods rich in the color desired (beets, tumeric, saffron, paprika), but this is not done much in large commercially processed foods. I like labels which list the source of the additives used in their product (ie red color derived from beet root concentrate). This is an additive I can say yes to. Most of the time dyes are added because the original food being prepared looses its color in processing. Other reasons are marketability of the products like adding bright colors to products meant to attract kids. Both are questionable practices in my opinion.

Saying there is "little evidence linking food additives to major health risks" and "the benefits far outweigh the presumed potential harm" is dependent upon which ones you're speaking about. You simply can not lump many of the ones you list in you article with most of the substances listed on many packaged good labels today.
 
J

JRPandTJP

New member
Okay, some additives are natural and some like absorbic acid help preserve canned and packaged goods. Where the problem occurs is the careless addition of things which are not necessary to the safety of the food such as MSG, BHT, BHA, DES, Nitrosamines (all known carcinogens) when a safer and healthier choice is available. This is what concerns me about the long list of "stuff" in processed and packaged goods and this is what makes it hard on the consumer.

I have issue with food dyes being on your list as safe. If I'm not mistaken food dyes (the FDA approved ones) are derived from coal tar which is carcinogenic. The FDA receives compensation for every pound of food dye it certifies (not inspects), which many see as a conflict of interest in regard to the safety of these dyes.

Color is and can be added from natural concentrates of foods rich in the color desired (beets, tumeric, saffron, paprika), but this is not done much in large commercially processed foods. I like labels which list the source of the additives used in their product (ie red color derived from beet root concentrate). This is an additive I can say yes to. Most of the time dyes are added because the original food being prepared looses its color in processing. Other reasons are marketability of the products like adding bright colors to products meant to attract kids. Both are questionable practices in my opinion.

Saying there is "little evidence linking food additives to major health risks" and "the benefits far outweigh the presumed potential harm" is dependent upon which ones you're speaking about. You simply can not lump many of the ones you list in you article with most of the substances listed on many packaged good labels today.
 
J

JRPandTJP

New member
Okay, some additives are natural and some like absorbic acid help preserve canned and packaged goods. Where the problem occurs is the careless addition of things which are not necessary to the safety of the food such as MSG, BHT, BHA, DES, Nitrosamines (all known carcinogens) when a safer and healthier choice is available. This is what concerns me about the long list of "stuff" in processed and packaged goods and this is what makes it hard on the consumer.

I have issue with food dyes being on your list as safe. If I'm not mistaken food dyes (the FDA approved ones) are derived from coal tar which is carcinogenic. The FDA receives compensation for every pound of food dye it certifies (not inspects), which many see as a conflict of interest in regard to the safety of these dyes.

Color is and can be added from natural concentrates of foods rich in the color desired (beets, tumeric, saffron, paprika), but this is not done much in large commercially processed foods. I like labels which list the source of the additives used in their product (ie red color derived from beet root concentrate). This is an additive I can say yes to. Most of the time dyes are added because the original food being prepared looses its color in processing. Other reasons are marketability of the products like adding bright colors to products meant to attract kids. Both are questionable practices in my opinion.

Saying there is "little evidence linking food additives to major health risks" and "the benefits far outweigh the presumed potential harm" is dependent upon which ones you're speaking about. You simply can not lump many of the ones you list in you article with most of the substances listed on many packaged good labels today.
 
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