Have you checked your food's ingredients lately?

Each ingredient found in a food is shown on its label, starting with the most prevalent ingredient to the least prevalent one. Many foods contain additives that serve no purpose other than enriching the food’s appearance. These additives include color, bleaching,, and thickening agents as well as texture modifiers. (Antioxidants and preservatives not discussed in this article.) There are seven food colorings that have been approved and are being used by U.S. Manufacturers to enhance colors of the food to make the food appear more appetizing (and edible) to consumers. Thickening and texture modifiers serve the same purpose as color enhancing additives: to make the food look more suitable for eating. Flavor enhancers can also be used, including MSG, disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate. By using these (and other) products, manufacturers are able to add more artificial ingredients and therefore less “real” ingredients. Artificial ingredients are usually cheaper than the “real thing.”

Many consumers are unaware of the additives used to enhance food’s appearance, texture, and flavor. Although all ingredients appear on the food’s label, consumers don’t think twice about looking at it. Although these ingredients are not harmful, not all of them may be healthy. MSG, for example, gives lots of consumers a headache after consumption. Many of the additives, especially the colors and bleaching agents, have been banned from use because of the carcinogenic affect it had on animals. There are several additives that have not been banned. The question ultimately is how do we know what long term effects those additives could have on the human body? The only positive effect of using these additives is when price per item is considered. These (cheaper) additives make the product more affordable for consumers, and they can therefore buy and consume more at a more affordable price for the family. However, by using these additives it also gives manufacturers the opportunity to make higher profit margins without always lowering the market price of the items. In my opinion, it might be more beneficial to pay more money for your food products. That way, you know your food contains more of the “real thing,” and your health can be guaranteed.

Baird, Colin. “Additives are used to enhance food’s appearance, texture, and flavor.” Chemistry In Your Life: Second Edition. W.H. Freeman and Company, New York. 2006. P. 385-6