The Issues: Buy Local

 

Americans spend about ninety percent of their food budgets on processed foods, which (unlike “whole” foods) have been treated in some way after being harvested or butchered.i Almost all of these processed foods contain food additives, substances that are intentionally added to change the food in some way before it is sold to consumers. These include flavorings that enhance the way a food tastes, preservatives that extend a food’s shelf life, and artificial colorings that change the way it looks. Dietary supplements are also used to enhance nutritional content, and packaging is even considered an indirect food additive. sustainable Table

The Food and Drug Administration, which is responsible for regulating the use of food additives, states that there are more than 3,000 food additives currently cleared for use in the United States. Although all of these have been approved for human consumption, many food additives still pose a threat to our health. For this and other reasons, it is always better to purchase and consume whole foods, or foods that have been minimally processed or treated.

Regulation and Categories of Food Additives
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulates and approves all additives that are used in our food supply. The FDA breaks them into three categories. “Indirect Food Additives” include packaging materials such as paper, plastic, cardboard and glue that come into contact with food.iii “Direct Food Additives” include preservatives, nutritional supplements, flavors and texturizers that are added to food. “Color Additives” are used to alter or enhance the color of a food product. 

Preservatives
Preservatives generally fall into one of three categories: those that act to prevent bacterial or fungal growth in foods, those that prevent oxidation (which can lead to discoloration or rancidity), and those that inhibit natural ripening processes in fruits and vegetables.iv According to an article written for the FDA, “it’s almost impossible to eat food without preservatives added by manufacturers,” unless you eat exclusively fresh food that you cook yourself.v

And that’s only half the battle. Even fresh foods often contain preservatives that are intended to keep them looking “fresh.” Some common preservatives that remain in wide use are propionic acid, which prevents mold in bread; nitrates and nitrites, which prevent discoloration in meat; and benzoates (most commonly sodium benzoate), which are used primarily in acidic foods to prevent bacterial growth.vi

Flavorings
Flavorings are essentially chemicals that have been produced to mimic the flavors and smells of foods.ix (Smell is just as important as taste to food processors, because most of a food’s flavor—up to ninety percent—actually comes from its smell.)x Most processed foods rely on these additives to restore the flavor that is lost in processing, or create new flavors altogether. McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets offers an ironic example: to the meat is added, among other things, “chicken flavor.” xi

Common flavor additives such as sweeteners, fruit flavors, butter or cheese flavors, and flavor enhancers are commonly found in both natural and artificial forms. The official difference between the two depends on the source of the flavor and way the flavor was derived.xii Natural flavors are frequently produced using just as much chemical manipulation as artificial ones, and in some cases there is no identifiable difference between a natural flavor and its artificial equivalent. In fact, due to impurities that result from some production processes, natural flavors can actually be more hazardous than their corresponding artificial flavors.xiii Food manufacturers often use natural flavors simply because the term “natural” is more appealing to consumers.

What is a Food Additive?
The Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act defines a food additive as: “any substance the intended use of which results or may reasonably be expected to result, directly or indirectly, in its becoming a component or otherwise affecting the characteristics of any food… such substance is not generally recognized, among experts qualified by scientific training and experience to evaluate its safety, as having been adequately shown through scientific procedures … to be safe under the conditions of its intended use…”xii

If the federal government itself defines food additives as being of unknown safety – perhaps that’s reason enough to think twice about eating them.

Flavorings are so prevalent in today’s food supply that, as of 2002, the industry producing them made about $1.4 billion annually.xiv Though some flavorings may be safe in and of themselves, the fact remains that they are only “necessary” when foods are made from low-quality ingredients whose flavor alone is weak or unpalatable.

Are Food Additives Safe?
Once they are approved by the FDA, food additives are considered to be fit for human consumption—but it’s important to note that they might not be entirely safe. Some food and color additives have been known to induce allergic reactions, while others are suspected to cause cancer, asthma, or birth defects. The FDA requires that all ingredients be listed on a food’s label, but often additives will be listed as “spices” or “artificial flavoring,” making it impossible for consumers to determine what, exactly, has been added to their food.xv

On the other hand, there are numerous additives that must be listed explicitly on packaging because they can cause health problems—and we still eat them. Take sulfites, for instance, which are used to prevent discoloration in dried fruit and seafood, and which the FDA estimates will cause allergic reactions in one percent of the general population (and five percent of those with asthma).xvi Sulfite allergies can develop at any point in a person’s life, and the ingestion of sulfites by those who are allergic can result in acute respiratory problems that are potentially fatal.xvii In the face of evidence linking sulfites to these reactions, the FDA now restricts their use to certain types of food preservation and requires that products containing sulfites be labeled.xviii

Similarly, monosodium glutamate (MSG) must be identified on food labels because of its potential for harm.xix In some people it can cause headaches, nausea, weakness, breathing difficulty, drowsiness, rapid heartbeat, and chest pain.xx Recent research has pointed to damage from eating nitrites, a common preservative used in cured meats such as sausages, bacon and hot dogs. A 2006 study discovered that people who regularly eat cured meats have a seventy-one percent higher chance of getting lung disease than people who never eat this kind of meat.xxi

There are also many cases in which approved additives once thought to be safe have later been restricted or banned because they were proven to harm human health. The artificial sweetener cyclamate was used widely in the 1950’s and 1960’s but was banned by the FDA in 1970 after research suggested that it was carcinogenic.xxii The color additive Violet No. 1 was used by the USDA to stamp inspection grades on beef until it, too, was suspected of being a carcinogen and banned by the FDA.xxiii And after years of use, a flavoring called Safrole that was used in root beer, and a common preservative called BHA were also found to cause cancer.xxiv

Try reading the list of ingredients on your food container. If you can’t pronounce one of them, there’s a good chance that it’s a food additive. Here’s a list of common food additives you’ll find in many processed foods:

  • Benzoates (used to kill microorganisms)
  • Potassium Sorbate (used for killing mold)
  • Carrageenan (used to create a smooth texture and thicken foods)
  • Propylene Glycol (thickener and texturizer, also used as antifreeze for cars and airplanes)
  • Calcium Pantothenate (calcium supplement)
  • Thiamine Hydrochloride (Vitamin B supplement)
  • Aspartame (sweetener)
  • Disodium Guanylate (flavor enhancer)
  • Cochineal (Red coloring)
  • Titanium Dioxide (white coloring)

Animal Feed and Other Concerns
Many substances are introduced into the food cycle during production but aren’t officially known as food additives. These include pesticides, antibiotics, and the heavy metals added to industrial animal feed. These kinds of “additives” are capable of making their way into the food supply, but are not regulated with human consumption in mind. 

Some chemicals and undesirable substances aren’t officially considered to be food additives but also enter our food supply through processing techniques. For example, it has become increasingly common to package foods—especially meat—using “modified atmosphere packaging,” which replaces oxygen in the food package with other gases such as carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide.xxv While these gases are not used in amounts sufficient to cause health problems, critics point out that because the practice preserves color but not spoilage, it may allow for spoiled meat to be sold to unsuspecting consumers.xvi Many packaged meats are also injected with solutions consisting of water, salt and chemicals to enhance flavor. A meat industry study in 2004 found that forty-five percent of pork, twenty-three percent of chicken, and sixteen percent of beef in U.S. retail stores had been injected with such solutions.xvii Food irradiation, in which radiation is used to disinfect and preserve meats and dairy products, is another common practice that may pose a human health threat.

What You Can Do
You can easily avoid food additives (and the health problems that they may cause) by eating fresh, unprocessed foods grown by local farmers. Since these foods are not transported thousands of miles, they don't need to be packaged or pumped full of preservatives. And since they are whole and unprocessed, they won’t contain colorings or artificial flavors.

When shopping in conventional grocery stores, make sure to check for additives on the ingredients label. In order to cut additives out of your diet, it’s likely you will have to buy more whole foods and fewer “convenience foods,” such as ready-made meals, but the extra time you spend preparing an additive-free meal will be well worth the health benefits for you and your family.

Did You Know?

  • In August, 2006, the FDA approved the process of preventing the food-borne pathogen listeriosis by spraying viruses on the processed meats and cold cuts that might carry it.xxviiii
  • To create new flavor additives, chemists sometimes use fungal and tissue cultures—both of which can produce flavorings classified as “natural.”xix

For More Information

  • This Food Additives page from The University of Maryland’s College of Agriculture & Natural Resources provides a basic overview of additive types, with some information about their historical usage and some of the controversies surrounding food and color additives.
  • Food: Ingredients and Colors, a brochure produced by the International Food Information Council and the FDA, provides a basic overview of food and color additive usage, including an overview of the FDA’s additive approval process.
  • The FDA also maintains a document called Everything Added to Food in the United States, which lists all of the additives that have been approved for use by the FDA.

Sources