Seven Harmful Chemicals Added to Processed Food

Chemical food additives are used by food manufacturers to retain the flavor or improve the taste and appearance of processed junk foods. They are found in foods which want long shelf lives, and are used widely in "diet" foods which need the flavor boost. Some additives come from natural sources, but some are highly process substances derived from unhealthy sources such as coal tar and peroxide.

Here's a list of seven chemical food additives you may want to avoid:

Food

1. Fd&C Red Dye #3: A cherry red dye derived from coal tar. In 1981, Nih researchers reported that this substance may interfere with the transmission of nerve impulses in the brain. In 1996, researchers at Northeastern Illinois University conducted studies and found that even low does of Red #3 caused cancerous changes in human cell cultures. The Fda banned the use of Red Dye #3 in lake form in cosmetics, but still allows the dye to be used in food products.
2. Bha (Butylated hydroxyanisole): a preservative used in cereals, potato chips and chewing gum to stop them from becoming rancid. It accumulates in the body fat and it is known to disrupt the body's hormone balance. This widely used food additive has been shown to cause cancer in mice, rats and hamsters. The U.S. Group of health and Human Services considers Bha to be a carcinogen and has said that it poses a inexpensive risk to health. Despite this warning, the Fda still allows Bha to be used as a food additive to prevent fat rancidity.
3. Sodium Benzoate, Benzoic Acid: a preservative added to fruit juice, carbonated drinks, and pickles. Problems occurs when sodium benzoate is used in beverages that also consist of ascorbic acid (vitamin C). The two substances, in an acidic solution, can react together to form small amounts of benzene, a chemical that causes leukemia and other cancers. In the early 1990s the Fda had urged companies not to use benzoate in products that also consist of ascorbic acid, but companies are still using that combination. A lawsuit filed in 2006 by inexpressive attorneys finally forced Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, and other soft-drink makers in the U.S. To reformulate affected beverages, typically fruit-flavored products.
4. Acetone peroxide: a bleach and conditioner used in grist flour and maturing dough. It is basically acetone (nail polish remover) with an oxygen compound added. It is also highly unstable and explosive, and has been used by criminals to make bombs. It is strongly oxidizing and can damage the skin and eyes.
5. Diacetyl: a chemical that imparts the buttery flavor in microwave popcorn. It has a disease named after it because many microwave popcorn installation workers exposed to it have developed a lung health called Diacetyl Induced Bronchiolitis Obliterans or "Popcorn Worker's Lung". There is no lawful ban in the Eu, and U.S. companies are beginning to voluntarily replace this ingredient in the microwave popcorn. The Cdc has issued a security alert for workers in factories that use diacetyl. There are currently two bills in the California Legislature to ban the use of diacetyl.
6. Polysorbate 80 (also known as tween 80): a stabilizer used in a wide variety of products along with ice cream, milk products, vitamin tablets, lotions and creams and healing products like vaccines and anti-cancer medications. This food additive has been linked to nonimmunologic allergic reactions, and one study has linked it to infertility. The study found that polysorbate 80 caused changes in to the vagina and womb lining, hormonal changes, ovary deformities and degenerative follicles in mice. (Food Chem Toxicol. 1993 Mar;31(3):183-90. Pmid: 8473002.) This is disturbing because this substance is in the new Gardasil cervical cancer vaccine which is being marketed for girls aged 9-26 in the United States.
7. Potassium Bromate: a chemical added to flour to make bread rise good and give it a uniform consistency. Most of what is added to flour breaks down while the cooking process into bromide. An excess intake of bromide has been linked with the inhibition of iodine enzyme metabolism, which weakens the thyroid and kidneys. The potassium bromate that isn't broken down remains in the baked good and is a known carcinogen. Numerous petitions have been made to the Fda to ban this ingredient and many flour mills have voluntarily stopped adding it to their products. This food additive is banned in most countries except the U.S. And Japan.

Seven Harmful Chemicals Added to Processed Food