Chemicals in our food? (www.sxc.hu)
You Discover the "Ingredients Label"
Thirsty? Open a bottle of “pop.” Hungry? How about a microwave sandwich?” For no particular reason, you examine the sandwich ingredients label. You read the names of each one of the dozens of ingredients. Looking next at the soda, you notice its label. The soda doesn't have as many ingredients, but one or two of them really seem strange.
Memories
Grandma used meat from the local butcher, farm vegetables, milk from "Bossy", flour, butter, herbs - basic things like that. Even her home-baked pies contained only a few basic ingredients. The crust was made from flour and lard. You could list the ingredients for one of her entire meals on a 3x5 card. So, “Why does store-bought prepared food contain so many ingredients, including chemicals in there for me to eat?”
Grandma cooked some things that had to last, such as preserves, but by and large, most of what she cooked had to last for only a short period of time. A loaf of bread or a pie might have to last for a few days. Also, the farthest one of her baked goods might have to be “shipped” would be perhaps a few blocks. It would be quickly delivered by hand or auto delivery. There was little concern about spoilage, except for perhaps a bit of mold that one would pinch off. Ah, but life is hectic now, Grandma is gone, and those days of home-cooking are fast disappearing.
Modern Challenges
The modern commercial world is quite different. We will discuss canned, boxed, or bottled food items that have undergone considerable processing. It is routine to ship these items to different states and even to different countries. It may take days, or even weeks until the items make it to store shelves. Once there, the items may set even for months. When opened, the food must show no sign of mold or rotting. Moisture and air must not have reached chips. Salt must not be clumped. Donuts must taste fresh-baked. Enter the chemicals.
You open a can of cola. Carbonated water, high-fructose corn syrup, phosphoric acid, caramel color, and flavoring are major ingredients. You ask, “Why phosphoric acid?” Good question! Would Grandma have used phosphoric acid in her drinks? No. Phosphoric acid is something you might find in a university chemistry laboratory. Bottlers add phosphoric acid for flavor sharpness, but that is not the only purpose it serves. It prevents the growth of mold. If even one bottle of soda had mold in it, sales might soon collapse.
Out-and-Out Chemicals
You didn't know it, but the sandwich ingredients listing included reduced iron (very tiny metal shavings), potassium chloride, sodium ascorbate, sodium nitrite, BHA, BHT, sodium aluminum phosphate, sodium citrate, lactic acid, sorbic acid, disodium inosinate, disodium guanylate, calcium sulfate, methylcellulose, monocalcium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, azodicarbonamide, and tricalcium phosphate. These are nowhere near all the ingredients, just the most obviously chemical ones. In addition, there may be other ingredients not listed because frequently the government does not require every single ingredient to be listed.
What are the reasons these chemicals are used? There are a number of reasons. Some of them control flow, apparent freshness, color preservation, flavor preservation, flavor enhancement, stability, emulsification, aroma, dough plasticity, moisture, binding, viscosity, foaming, pH and oxidation. All of such additives in the U.S. are given a GRAS standing with the Food and Drug Administration, which means generally recognized as safe.
Doubtless, you now have a feel for why the chemistry in commercially available prepared foods. Clearly, the closer to the source, the simpler and more food-like the diet. Although FDA lists additives generally recognized as safe, the word generally might make some nervous. Perhaps Grandma's home-cooking now appeals to you more than it did before.
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