A Discussion on Food Additives in China

Before the Pure Food and Drug Act, companies could add whatever they wanted to their products and consumers did not know what is was. “They use everything about the hog except the squeal.” (Sinclair 35) There was false advertising, false claims and most of the time food was adulterated and had dangerously unsafe preservatives. “Borax compounds...were used to make old butter seem like new...the effects of borax included nausea and loss of appetite, symptoms resembling those of influenza and overburdened kidneys”(Carson 1) In addition to borax, common

Human beings survived in the distant past without the usage of these chemicals in our foods and I believe the additives in our foods are there and still not banned mainly because of economics and power and multi million dollar corporations who profit from placing these chemicals in foods that we consume, because the cost of production is lowered so much more for these corporations for exploiting these cheap unhealthy chemicals in the foods people consume and they are the only ones benefiting from placing these harmful chemicals in peoples foods and drinks. It has been proven from the studies mentioned in this paper that food additives and preservatives cause many disorders such as ADHD and I ask myself why are the chemicals still in the foods we eat? while majority of people know that it is unethical to use chemicals in the foods that human beings consume that cause and trigger many problems and disorders in certain people with certain age

Most Americans love the low cost, prepackaged, great tasting food that is convenient to buy and prepare. These prepackaged or processed foods are normally made to be faster, cheaper and usually taste great but they are loaded with bizarre, unpronounceable chemicals that, if you saw them in their pre-processed state, you would never consider putting in your mouth. Emulsifiers, preservatives, colorants, stabilizers, artificial sweeteners, texturizers and even bleach can be found in most processed foods. On average, Americans spend 90% of their food budget on these types of foods which is found to contribute to the leading causes of obesity, auto immune disease, diabetes and even cancer.

As food moves through several steps from production to consumption, its risk of becoming unsafe is very high. Thus, the creation and implementation of laws are indispensable to minimize the risk of unsafe food. However, food laws are not intended to oversee the quality of the food.

A new kind of foods called the genetically modified foods has been creating a quiet revolution in the American market for the past several years. Scientists are able to produce these new foods by transferring genes from one organism into another across species boundaries. This new technique has been developed to improve the shelf life, nutritional content, flavor, color, and texture of foods. Since 1994, about 45 genetically modified foods such as tomato, corn, soybeans, canola, and potatoes have been marketed in the United States. About two-thirds of foods that are processed in U.S. contain genetically modified ingredients. So, we the people are consuming these foods without realizing the fact that they are not produced naturally.

Approximately ten thousand processed food products are introduced every year in the United States. The Food and Drug Administration does not require flavor companies to disclose the ingredients other additives so long as all the chemicals are considered by the agency to be GRAS (Generally Regarded As Safe)” (Schlosser 122-125). With the use of flavor add-ins the fast food industry is been able to make their food cheaper to re-create the same taste we are used to. The author use of logos in the novel only allows for the facts to be stated and

Before the Progressive Era, many times food and water was unsafe and unclean. In many cases, medicines were not labelled, so they were not always trustworthy and effective. In 1906, the “Pure Food and Drug Act” passed stating that items could not be sold if they were mislabeled and manufacturers must have the ingredients list on the item. Another act passed was the “Meat Inspection Act” which was similar to the previous act stating the item must be labelled correctly and processed in clean environments. Because of these acts, we can trust ouyr food

With this increase in the productivity of farmers, came a proliferation of food processing industries and fast food restaurants. These food processing industries and restaurants capitalized on the abundant, overly cheap commodity crops to their advantage; to make profit, and to the disadvantage of poor Americans. During processing of these commodity crops, the natural nutrients that give these foods their natural flavors are destroyed. To replace these, food additives and flavorings are added to restore their taste and prolong their shelf life. Often these chemicals contain some harmful elements that affect the way our bodies use food. These highly processed foods, dense in calories,

The introduction of chemicals in daily life has been met with an abundance of confusion and fear. When introducing the world of chemicals to food, the knee jerk reaction is often to shun the very idea. Of course, this response is to be expected. The word chemical is mentally correlated with unnatural materials formed in a lab or a radiation riddled mess. However, the negative effects of chemicals in food has been exacerbated over the years. Fear has driven public consciousness to ignorance. Corn, for example, is subject to pesticide treatment—one being Glyphosate. Said Glyphosate has been accused of being a carcinogen to humans. While such a fearful correlation may cause concern, there is a question on the sentiments validity. While questioning the effectiveness of chemicals is understandable, the use of chemicals is not only a common tool in the food industry’s arsenal, but a safe practice conducted on the food sold and consumed every day.

During the course of this lab, we explored whether or not certain processed foods contained Genetically Modified Organisms. Genetically modified food is an important subject in the world today. Ever since Flavr Savr came out with their tomatoes grown from genetically modified seeds in 1994 genetically modified foods has become ever more popular amongst distributors of produce (Mestel, 2013). The world’s population has grown by around one billion in the last decade (US Bureau of the Census). At this rate, Genetically Modified Organisms within food products will increase dramatically, but is this for the best? There are many risk factors that have been brought up with genetically modified foods such as potential increase of

The dangers of the food industry need to be revealed to the public so that people can live healthier lifestyles. For this to be done, the food companies need to start labeling what is in their food. There are numerous harmful chemicals and hormones found in the food we consume, and there needs to be more awareness of what society is recklessly ingesting. A two-year study on the effects of genetic mutation on mice was published on September 19th, 2011 in Food and Chemical Toxicology. In the experiment, the mice consumed corn that was sprayed with Roundup, the food company, Monsanto’s brand of weed killer, or drank water with levels of Roundup that are similar to what is found in U.S. tap water. The shocking results revealed that the mice

Food additives can be found in lots of food that most people consume. Although food additives can make our food look delicious and even taste better, they contain many dangerous chemicals that may affect our health. Food additives can cause health problems in a person’s lifestyle. Many people do not realize the harm it can cause to their bodies. There are many problems, but also solutions to this situation. The solutions to this situation are: stay away from all kinds of additives, do not eat food that are preservatives, read the labels carefully, and find the FDA signs.

The Asia Pacific Anti Additive Association (APAA) has promoted additive-free food system around the globe for years. Our missions are to preserve culinary arts and to provide practically additive-free solutions in the food system.

Food fraud is a serious issue which has come under increased scrutiny as a potential food safety and public health concern in recent years (Spink and Moyer 2011). Regulators, food producers, retailers, and consumers all have an interest in safeguarding foods and ensuring they are safe, genuine, and of the highest quality. Nevertheless, food fraud has been conducted since ancient times, with evidence of laws dating back to Roman times regarding the adulteration of wine, through the addition of sweeteners and coloring agents, or dilution with water. At that time the scale of fraud was much more limited to a smaller geographical region (Armstrong 2009; Spink and Moyer 2011). Because of the growth and increasing complexity of the modern global food supply systems, this has substantially heightened the risk of food fraud to include an entire global population, therefore having a major impact on the ability to protect consumer health (Moore and others 2012).

Food preservatives can be broken down into two basic groups- natural and chemical. Natural preservatives are methods such as sun-drying, freezing, or adding other ingredients like honey that essentially slow down the speed at which food spoils. Chemical preservatives are chemicals added to foods for the same purpose as natural preservatives are. It is the same with additives; the difference being that they may be also used to purposely change a food’s look and taste. Preservatives and additives are used in most of foods, especially in our pre-packaged meals, whether it be natural or chemical versions being added.