From wood chips to ‘natural flavoring,’ here are 15 Gross Secret Ingredients in Everyday
Food. It might be safe to consume, but just because it’s safe doesn’t mean it’s
not gross.
Sick Poultry
If you swear by the restorative powers of chicken noodle soup, you’re in for a shock:
the chicken in it might have been sicker than you are. Researchers from Johns Hopkins University
tested chicken feathers and found a laundry list of feed additives, including banned antibiotics,
antidepressants, allergy medications, arsenic, the active ingredient in Benadryl, caffeine,
and other prescription and over-the-counter drugs. If you want some non-medicated poultry,
we would definitely recommend going the organic route instead.
Soybean Oil
Soybean oil is a popular form of vegetable oil that’s extracted from soybean seeds.
But, due to the manufacturing processes surrounding it, it can actually be one of the worst oils
to use in cooking. Among the problems with partially hydrogenated soybean oil is its
trans fat content and the health hazards of the soy itself, as well as the prevalence
of genetically engineered soybeans. The FDA decided in 2015 that PHOs should no longer
be considered "generally recognized as safe.” They started a campaign wherein food manufacturers
were given three years to phase out trans fat from their products, with the ban officially
taking effect on June 18, 2018. This marked a turning point for public health, as it was
reported that trans fat consumption soon drastically lowered. Between 2015 and 2018, companies
were able to remove 98 percent of trans fat from the market, showing that change truly
is possible.
L-Cysteine
Did you know that some processed breads use L-cysteine, an amino acid that comes from
duck feathers? It’s used as a dough softener and can be found in bagels, cookie dough,
bread, pies, and more! While there are other sources of this filler available, a 2007 investigation
by the nonprofit Vegetarian Resource Group found that about 80% of L-cysteine was derived
from our feathered friends. If you’re not in the mood for a duck, we would suggest taking
a look at the nutritional tag on your favorite bread and avoiding whatever lists L-cysteine.
Rennet
While many vegetarians enjoy cheese as a great source of protein without having to eat meat,
some cheeses aren’t exactly meat-free. That’s because a lot of cheeses are made with rennet,
a substance containing an enzyme extracted from the fourth stomach of newborn calves
(the calves aren’t killed exclusively for rennet, rather their meat, which is why many
vegetarians stay away from it). Rennet is used as a cheese curdler, sometimes in tandem
with another enzyme called pepsin, which is extracted from the stomach glands of hogs.
Fortunately, some companies are using alternatives that result in truly vegetarian cheese. Check
food labels, and be wary of ingredients listed merely as “enzymes.”
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Lanolin
Not to burst your bubble, but there may be something a little unexpected in the next
pack of chewing gum you pick up. It’s called lanolin, which is just a fancy word for oil
that’s produced in sheep’s wool. These greasy secretions are used as softeners in
foods and masked with the vague food label “gum base.” Lanolin is also used as an
emollient in beauty products, from skin and hair care to cosmetics. If you’re looking
to avoid it, there are plenty of vegan options out there that are thankfully sheep oil-free.
Shellac
Shellac is a resin secreted by the female lac bug, an insect found in trees in India
and Thailand. This product is found in the hard, shiny shells of candy - so sweet tooths
beware! You may know shellac from its more famous use in varnishes and sealants, but
it’s also a mainstay in pill coatings, candy, coffee beans, and even the waxy sheen on apples
and other fruits and vegetables. If you’re looking to avoid eating more bugs than you
signed up for, we suggest taking a break from hard candies. Unfortunately, shellac can even
be found in the wax on vegetables, so before you eat a veggie, be sure to give it a good
scrub!
Cochineal Beetles
In 2012, Starbucks was under fire after customers discovered they were putting cochineal beetles
in their strawberry-flavored drinks. The crushed-up beetles are used as a red dye in the food
industry and can be found in products such as meat, sausage, red marinades, jams, gelatin
desserts, juices, icings, toppings, and confections. The cochineal is native to Mexico and South
America, and they’re not actually beetles; they’re small insects that live on cactuses.
They eat the red berries on the cactus, which gives the females a red coloring. To make
dye, they’re harvested, dried out in the sun, and then crushed. The powder is then
mixed with water, which creates the coloring found in our food products. It takes 70,000
of these insects for just 1 pound of dye! You heard right - there’s not just one insect
in your drink; there’s way more!
Ammonium Sulfate
If you’ve ever cleaned with ammonia cleaner, you know that the scent is… Well, less than
pleasant. The question is then, why is it in our food? Ammonium sulfate is an inorganic
salt with a number of commercial uses. The most common use is as a soil fertilizer. When
it’s being used as a fertilizer, it helps to kill bacteria, fungus, and unwanted vegetation.
It can also be found in our bread, feeding the yeast in the baking process. Get this:
ammonium sulfate can cause severe irritation and inflammation of the respiratory tract
if inhaled. Eating or drinking this substance will irritate the gastrointestinal tract,
with effects like nausea. Luckily, though, it’s only toxic when consumed in high quantities,
so a small amount here and there won’t do you any harm. That’s probably why the FDA
claims that ammonium sulfate is generally safe for consumption.
Propylene Glycol
Propylene glycol is used as a food additive or as an ingredient in many health and cosmetic
products. It’s commonly used in antifreeze, but it can also be found in your prepackaged
salads! Because it can dissolve things better than water and is good at retaining moisture,
propylene glycol is a very useful food additive. There are plenty of food items that include
this additive, but not all of them list it on their label. Some of these products include
soft drinks, frozen meals, artificial sweeteners, foods with natural flavorings, spices, marinades
and dressing, cake mixes, frosting, food colorings, and baked goods. If you’re worried about
whether this product is safe or not, don’t worry. Even though the World Health Organization
fears that intakes of propylene glycol are above what is healthy, both the American and
European FDAs have agreed that it is indeed somewhat safe.
Potassium Bromate
In 2007, Chinese authorities removed a batch of imported snack chips from store shelves
because they thought the chips contained potassium bromate, which is a food additive banned in
China. Where were these snacks imported from? The United States, of course! It’s not just
China that has banned this additive: Canada, Europe, Brazil, and a lot of other countries
have all banned it too. This is because it’s been shown to cause cancer in rats and mice,
specifically in the liver and thyroid. In America, though, it’s still legal, and it
has been since 1914. Potassium bromate is commonly used in bread as an oxidizing agent.
It makes the bread unnaturally white and fluffy in a short amount of time. Ideally, at the
end of baking, the potassium bromate gets baked, and most of it disappears, but we can’t
be entirely sure of that. And, whenever bromated flour isn't baked long enough or at too low
of a temperature, this harmful additive can potentially be found in the final product
in far greater quantities than what is safe for people to consume. Today, many small and
commercial bakeries voluntarily avoid using bromated flour. However, it's still found
in many fast food buns and some flours, among other products. In other words, keep an eye
out, and try to avoid it when you can.
Sodium Nitrite
Sodium nitrite is a food preservative that fights bacteria in ham, salami, and other
processed and cured meats. It's also what gives them their iconic pink coloration. But,
under certain conditions in the human body, nitrite and nitrates can cause cancer. There
have even been calls to remove these preservatives from bacon and ham in order to reduce potential
harm to consumers. However, they’re not all bad. The high natural nitrate content
of beetroot juice has been credited with lowering blood pressure and enhancing exercise performance.
Nitrates are also the active ingredient in some medications for angina, a condition in
which a reduced blood flow causes chest pain. The truth is, the effect of nitrites is based
on the chemicals around them, meaning that there are some that are perfectly okay to
consume. If you want to eat the right kinds of nitrates and nitrites and avoid the potentially
carcinogenic ones, then eat a widely varied diet with at least five servings a day of
fruit and vegetables, and avoid nibbling on processed meats too often. That way, the benefits
of nitrates and nitrates will almost certainly outweigh the downsides.
Sawdust
Defining food regulations has been something argued about for centuries. Questions like,
“What can you put into bread?” turns into, “What is bread in the first place?” You
might think that bread only has four ingredients: flour, water, salt, and yeast, but bakers
have long since been adding something extra: wood, sawdust, wood chips, whatever you want
to call it, it’s in there. They started doing this back in the 1700s, when they wanted
to sell food to the poor, keeping their wallets (and their bellies) full at the same time.
So, someone decided to mix flour with sawdust because you can’t really tell the difference.
The health of customers went down, as did the credibility of the bread market. This
resulted in the rise of companies like Nabisco and Quaker Oats in the 19th and 20th centuries,
advertising that their products were ‘pure.’ Nowadays, instead of using wood, companies
add cellulose, which is a plant fiber. It’s used to add fiber to bread (surprising, we
know), make ice cream creamier without having to use actual cream, and to keep things like
shredded cheese from sticking to itself. Oh, and the FDA does say that it’s safe for
human consumption.
Sodium Bisulfite
Sodium bisulfite is created by combining sulfuric acid and table salt. It can be used as a cleaner
to help purify toxic wastewater, but in food it’s used as a preservative. Manufacturers
add sulfites into their products to decrease the growth of bacteria and fungi, which in
turn preserves the food. This is why sodium bisulfite can be found in many items - wine,
potato chips, and dried fruits, to name a few - as a food preservative. But, unlike
some of the other products on this list, sodium bisulfite may not be healthy for consumption.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the use of sodium bisulfite in fruits and
vegetables. Unfortunately though, this hasn’t stopped people from using it. In 2012, a report
stated that illegal levels of sodium bisulfite were found in about 5% of meat samples.
Butylated Hydroxyanisole
Butylated hydroxyanisole, also known as BHA, is a preservative that can be found in potato
chips, butter, cereal, chewing gum, and many other foods. It can also be found in rubber,
petroleum products, and, of course, wax food packaging. The reason it can be found in so
many different products is that it’s an extremely powerful antioxidant. In other words,
it helps prevent food from going bad. Studies were done on rats, mice, and hamsters at high
doses, and it showed that this preservative is known to cause cancer. However, it causes
cancer exclusively in the forestomach, something that humans don’t have. In low doses, many
researchers say that this preservative is safe (especially considering we don’t even
have a forestomach), and it can even neutralize the threat of other cancer-causing agents.
Even though there’s evidence that BHA is safe, some still don’t want to consume it,
just in case. Partly because people are not exactly sure if it’ll have some unforeseen
effect on humans, but also because we have a perfectly healthy alternative: vitamin E.
Well, whether you consume it or not, rest assured that this is considered safe by the
FDA, so you’re probably in the clear.
Isinglass
Isinglass is gelatin made from fish bladders (ew), and its use can be traced back to before
gelatin was widely available. Once upon a time, it was used in desserts and confectioneries.
Nowadays, we can most commonly find it in beers, where it’s used to help make the
beer clearer. Today its use is mostly confined to cask ales in the UK as well as to some
craft brewers who also use it to clarify beer without the use of filtration. Vegetarians
and vegans, you heard that right: your favorite beer may have animal products in it. Even
though a very small amount of isinglass is still in the beer by the time it's ready to
be drunk, many people still consider it unsuitable for some restricted diets. Thankfully, though,
there are beer companies who have created vegetarian-friendly, isinglass-free beer!
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