Its common knowledge nowadays that the United States is behind on the times in certain regards. With the trans fat movement sweeping headlines lately, we’ve coming to discover that what we’ve been eating in our country, isn’t always the healthiest. But what may shock you, is that there are a plethora of foods that are banned worldwide, yet the United States still allows for consumption. Ready for a very scary list?
1. Farmed Salmon
In the U.S., we eat a lot of farmed or factory farmed meats and proteins. Because our country is consuming at such a high rate, production needs to be fast-forwarded tenfold. Farmed salmon, along with other factory farmed proteins have squalid living conditions and are pumped full of antibiotics and other chemicals that we end up ingesting.
2. Blue Dye #2
More often than we realize, companies add food coloring to their product in order to make it seem more appetizing. But what we aren’t told, is that these artificial colors are predominantly made from coal tar. Back in the day, food coloring came from spices such as turmeric and saffron, but now, artificial dyes are chock full of chemical agents that we should not be ingesting so regularly. Stay away from the blueberry Nutrigrain bars!
3. Yellow #5
But it’s worth mentioning one dye to stay away from in particular: Yellow #5. This dye is by far the worst to be consumed, as it has been found to cause genotoxicity, a cell mutation that may lead to cancer. So steer clear of the boxed Mac’n’Cheese and Mountain Dew.
4. Red Dye #40
As one of the most widely used and consumed dyes, this one has been proven to accelerate tumors in mice and in children. Kraft Catalina dressing? Say goodbye.
5. Flame Retardant Drinks
Speaking of…it’s time to ditch the Dew. Mountain Dew and other citrus-flavored sports drinks contain a synthetic chemical called brominated vegetable oil. Sounds delicious, right? This chemical was originally introduced to the public by chemical companies as a flame retardant. Nice.
6. Now that we’re talking about brominated vegetable oil, BVO, we also can find Potassium Bromate in certain dough that we eat. It’s an agent used to strengthen the dough, but is dangerous enough to be a banned additive in Europe, China, and Canada.
7. Azodicarbonamide
On the topic of dough, there’s an ingredient that actually bleaches flour, and it’s called azodicarbonamide. It’s found in a majority of breads and baked goods in the U.S, but is banned in Australia and the U.K, for being known as an asthma-causing allergen
8. Olestra
We’ve all heard of the fat-free fad of the late 90s, which fortunately didn’t last long. Many of these fat-free products, such as potato chips, were filled with chemicals to rid the fats. Olestra was one of these chemicals, which actually robbed us of micro-nutrients that our body desperately needed for continuous, healthy functions.
9. Arsenic-based Drugs
Factory farms often need their animals to grow more quickly than nature allows, for a higher turnover rate. However, in order to do this, they add an arsenic-based drug to their feed. Scientific reports have shown that this organic arsenic could potentially transform into inorganic arsenic, which is extremely deadly.
10. Preservatives BHA & BHT
Preservatives are used in so many products nowadays, it’s hard to keep track: chewing gum, beer, nut mixes, and so forth. So when you see ingredients such as BHA and BHT, steer clear. These chemicals are speculated to be a cancer-causing agent in humans, and also cause organ system toxicity.
11. Ractopamine-Tained Meat
Sounds like a mouthful, but not the good kind. Similar to arsenic-based drugs, Ractopamine is used to promote rapid growth in livestock animals. Yet, human consumption of this ingredient has direct links cardiovascular problems as well as hyperactivity.
12. rBGH and rBST
This hormone, as well as the synthetic version of the hormone, are found in non-organic dairy products in order to increase milk production. These hormones have been banned in many countries primarily for the concerns in regards to animal welfare.
13. DPA
Diphenylamine, (say that three times fast) is used on apples to give that glossy sheen that shouts “buy me! I look delicious!”. But this coat has been actually deemed as a poison by the EFSA, European Food Safety Authority. DPA is actually what allows us to buy apples any time of the year, despite being harvested in the fall.
14. Genetically Modified Papaya
Genetically modified anything is pure garbage, but papaya has it worst. Skeptics worry about long term effects of the genetic modification, and in Europe Genetically modified papaya is strictly banned.
15. Pink Slime
We’ve all seen that photo going around regarding what’s really in McDonald’s chicken nuggets. Pink slime is apparently what companies refer to as “meat”. Yet, it’s really used as an additive to bulk up cheap meat. And we all know how great additives are…
16. Carrageenan
What’s used as an emulsifier and thickener in processed dairy goods, actually causes gastrointestinal issues. Even scarier, this ingredient is said to be found in baby formula…yikes.
17. Atrazine
One of the most widely used herbicide in the United States is atrazine. Yet, when sprayed on crops, atrazine has been known to leak into the ground and contaminate drinking water. So the poison used to keep bugs away, we’re consuming without knowledge.
18. Chlorine Chicken
Sounds delicious, no? Factory farms host very sad and strenuous conditions for chicken, which ultimately lead to a lot of disease and harmful pathogens. An easy solution? Chlorine doused chicken to kill off any unnecessary germs. Replacing germs with poison, sound promising.
19. Phosphates
Phosphates are often added to meat in order to enhance certain things like color, flavor and moisture absorption. However, phosphate is an arterial toxin known to increase heart disease.
20. Irradiated Meat
In the U.S., foods are preserved through exposure to low levels of radiation. This also prevents food borne illnesses. However, the European Union does not allow this as a replacement for good hygiene, as it actually changes the chemical composition of the food.
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