Incognito ingredients
Food manufacturers use underhanded tactics to incorporate questionable ingredients into their products.

As you know, I’m an avid label-reader. And until the other day, I thought I was pretty savvy when it came to deciphering the intricacies so many food manufacturers use when creating their packaging. But an email I received has me second-guessing what I thought I knew.

The message raised a number of good points, listing several ingredients to steer clear of at all costs (including sodium nitrite, hydrogenated oils, aspartame, and others). But the warning that stood out most prominently to me — the one I wanted to share with you right away — was about how manufacturers hide questionable ingredients in their products.

I suppose “hiding” isn’t exactly accurate, because these ingredients are listed right on the label for anyone to see. The problem is, they’re not called the same things they used to be.

You see, food manufacturers know that public awareness about the dangers of food additives has increased. But rather than eliminating these ingredients from their products, they’ve changed the terminology they use when they list it on the label.

For example, monosodium glutamate — better known as MSG — has been on consumers’ “do not consume” list for quite some time. So manufacturers started using other substances which have the same effects, but less recognizable names. Some of the more innocent sounding hidden sources of MSG to watch out for on food labels include yeast extract, torula yeast, autolyzed vegetable protein, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, calcium caseinate, sodium casinate, and textured protein.

This email served as a good reminder that you can’t always believe everything you read. Stick to foods whose labels list ingredients that are simple, natural, and immediately recognizable (and the fewer there are, the better – and more natural – the food probably is). Or, better yet, center your diet around foods that don’t need labels to begin with: whole, natural foods like organic fruits and vegetables and lean meats from free-range, grass-fed animals.

Source:
“Hidden dangerous ingredients in your groceries,” NaturalNews (www.naturalnews.com), 3/6/09