Among all of the apocryphal tales of disgusting items found in fast food, some of the truths (crushed beetles?) may be more disturbing than the myths.
Would you like a cow eyeball with your burger?
One of the more-enduring urban legends about McDonald’s is that their hamburgers contain cow eyeballs. While this has not proven to be the case, their Baked Hot Apple Pie does contain duck feathers, or at least an ingredient commonly derived from such. Truth can be just as strange as fiction.
How have duck feathers become a viable ingredient in apple pie? Welcome to the world of food additives. People have been adding flavors, spices, natural preservatives and ripening agents to food since antiquity. But as the popularity of highly processed food has risen dramatically since the 1950s, so has the astounding array of bizarre chemical additives used in food manufacturing. Fast-food
recipes seem to be born more from the laboratory than from farm or field.
And although the powers that be deem these food-additive chemicals safe, the science fiction of it all is a bit unsettling. How do we come up with these things? Here are some of the wackiest of the bunch.
1. Duck feathers and human hair (l-cysteine)
You thought duck feathers sounded bad? How about human hair? These are the two most-common sources for l-cysteine, an amino acid used to condition dough for increased pliability, which facilitates better machine processing.
CNN reported that most human-derived l-cysteine comes from Chinese women who help support their families by selling their locks to small chemical-processing plants.
Although originally the primary source for l-cysteine was human hair, many manufacturers seem to have moved away from hair-derived l-cysteine and on to the more-palatable duck feathers. According to Jeanne Yacoubou, MS, research editor for
The Vegetarian Resource Group, 80 percent of l-cysteine is now derived from feathers. During her research, McDonald’s told Yacoubou that the l-cysteine used in its Baked Hot Apple Pie, as well as its Wheat Roll and Warm Cinnamon Roll, was of the duck-feather variety. Many other fast-food joints rely on l-cysteine in bakery products as well.
And not to be sensationalist here, the resultant additive is far-removed from its original source — but still. It may be disturbing to many, and importantly, may fly in the face of ethical or religious dietary restrictions.
2. Sand (silicon dioxide)
Avoiding sand in your sandwich at the beach is obvious, avoiding sand in your restaurant-purchased meal may not be so apparent.
Silicon dioxide, also known as silica (also known as sand!), is used to make glass, optical fibers, ceramics, and cement. Oh, and chili. Used as an anti-caking agent, it is often added to processed beef and chicken to prevent clumping, and is listed in the ingredient panels for chili from both Wendy’s and Taco Bell. Most experts suggest that it isn’t harmful for consumption, but just know that the ingredient keeping that chili meat nice and non-caking is the also the primary component of diatomceous earth, commonly used as a pesticide.
3. Wood (cellulose)
Processed wood pulp, known as cellulose, is used in everything from cheese to salad dressing, from muffins to strawberry syrup. Food processors use it to thicken and stabilize foods, replace fat and boost fiber content — as well as to minimize reliance on more costly ingredients like oil or flour. Powdered cellulose is produced by cooking virgin wood pulp in chemicals to separate the cellulose, and then purified. Modified versions require extra processing, such as exposure to acid in order to further break down the fiber.
Ironically, with the increase in nutritional awareness has come an increase in the use of cellulose — with the addition of wood pulp, products can boast of less fat and more fiber. Just don’t mind the wood.
4. Silly Putty plastic (dimethylpolysiloxane)
Eight-syllable ingredients make sense for Silly Putty, but French fries? Sure enough, dimethylpolysiloxane, a form of silicone used in
cosmetics and Silly Putty, is also found in many a fast-food fried thing. It is the secret ingredient that keeps fryer oil from foaming. McDonald’s Filet-O-
Fish and French fries have it, as do Wendy’s Natural-Cut Fries With Sea Salt. In fact, most fast-food items that bathe in a deep-fat fryer are imbued with a hint of dimethylpolysiloxane. Should you be concerned? The World Health Organization found no adverse health effects associated with dimethylpolysiloxane, but come on — what’s wrong with using potatoes, oil, and salt for fries?
5. Petroleum-derived preservatives (TBHQ)
Tertiary butylhydroquinone (TBHQ) is made from compounds derived from petroleum and finds a home in cosmetic and skincare products, varnish, lacquers and resins — and processed food. McDonald’s, for example, uses it in
18 products ranging from their Fruit and Walnut Salad to Griddle Cakes to McNuggets.
TBHQ was finally approved after many years of
pressure from food manufacturers, though with approval, the FDA mandated that the chemical must not exceed 0.02 percent of a food’s oil and fat content. Why would there be a limit? Because five grams would be lethal, while one gram can cause nausea, vomiting, delirium, a sense of suffocation and collapse. (Although you would have to
eat more than 11 pounds of McNuggets to reach that level. And if you're willing to eat 11 pounds of McNuggets in one sitting, well...)
6. Soil fertilizer (ammonium sulfate)
Ammonium sulfate is sold by chemical companies to food manufacturers as “yeast food for bread,” and many fast-food companies list the ingredient in their bakery products.
But that’s just its night job; when ammonium sulfate is not moonlighting as a food additive, it performs its main task: as a fertilizer for alkaline soils. Ammonium sulfate also does duty as an agricultural spray adjuvant for water soluble insecticides, herbicides and fungicides.
7. Beetle juices (carminic acid, confectioner's glaze)
Food dyes approved by the FDA include colors synthesized from petroleum derivatives and coal tar, but with all of the negative attention paid to artificial food color, natural dyes are on the rise. Yet some food dyes based on natural ingredients come from things that you may not care to ingest. Meet carminic acid, a commonly used red food coloring that comes from the dried, crushed bodies of female scale insects called cochineal. Variously known as Cochineal, Cochineal Extract, Carmine, Crimson Lake, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470, E120 — it is used in a wide variety of products ranging from some meat, sausages, processed poultry products, marinades, bakery products, toppings, cookies, desserts, icings, pie fillings, jams, preserves, gelatins, juices, drinks, dairy products, sauces and dessert products.
From the same family of the cochineal comes the Lac beetle, which is the source of shellac — as in wood-primer-and-varnish shellac. The female beetle secretes a resin that is scraped from trees in Southeast Asia and Mexico. The resin is collected and processed into a shiny coating to be donned by a variety of foods, including candy, vitamins, pills, tablets, capsules, chocolate and waxed fresh fruit. You won’t find beetle excretions on the ingredients list, however, look for its aliases: Confectioner's Glaze, Resinous Glaze, Shellac, Pharmaceutical Glaze, Pure Food Glaze, Natural Glaze, or Lac-Resin.
8. Meat paste-goop (mechanically separated meat)
Mechanically separated meat (MSM) has been produced since the 1960s, but has been enjoying new fame lately courtesy of a
photo making the rounds which shows an industrial machine extruding a plump ribbon of pink paste into a box. It is commonly referred to as “
pink slime.” Looking more like frosting than pureed meat and bone bits, the
FDA defines mechanically separated poultry (MSP) as “a paste-like and batter-like poultry product produced by forcing bones, with attached edible tissue, through a sieve or similar device under high pressure to separate bone from the edible tissue.” Mechanically separated pork is used too, although in 2004 to protect consumers against Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, mechanically separated beef was considered inedible and prohibited for use as human food.
After the meat slurry has been produced, it is sometimes treated with ammonium hydroxide to remove excess bacteria.
Ammonium hydroxide is also used as a household cleaner and in fertilizers. Since the resultant meat-bone-muscle-tendon-ammonium-hydroxide goop doesn’t taste much like meat, artificial flavors are added to finish the whole thing off.
Mechanically separated meat is to blame for a number of processed meat products; think hot dogs, salami, bologna, burgers and many a chicken nugget. Fast-food restaurants are known for employing pink slime, although recently McDonald’s made clear that it no longer relies upon it in its burgers.
Generally recognized as safe (GRAS)
These four little words seem to have become the FDA mantra when it comes to food additives; all of the above ingredients, and an expansive array of other chemical additives, have been generally recognized as safe in scientific studies. Taken out of context and looked at individually, maybe a little ammonium sulfate here and a petroleum product there aren’t going to cause quantitative damage to lab animals. But if you were to add up all of the chemical ingredients consumed during a life of a fast-food fueled western diet, what would that look like? Would it look like an epidemic of
obesity,
diabetes or cancer?
NEDERLANDS:
Waarom worden eendenveren verwerkt in appeltaart? Welkom in de wondere wereld van voedseladditieven.
Overheidsinstanties oordelen dat deze chemische toevoegingen veilig zijn. Laten we eens kijken naar acht onverwachte ingrediënten in fastfood.
1. Eendenveren en haar (l-cysteïne)
L-cysteïne wordt voornamelijk verkregen uit eendenveren en menselijk haar. Het is een aminozuur dat gebruikt wordt als broodverbeteraar. Het meeste haar wordt aangeleverd door Chinese vrouwen die het verkopen aan de industrie,
meldt CNN.
Volgens Jeanne Yacoubou van
The Vegetarian Research Group wordt 80 procent van alle l-cysteïne vandaag de dag verkregen uit veren.
2. Zand
Siliciumdioxide of kiezelzuur wordt gewonnen uit zand. Het wordt vaak toegevoegd aan instantmaaltijden, -soepen, sausmixen en koffiemelkpoeder als antiklontermiddel (E551).
Tot 33 procent van dit
silica blijkt zulke kleine afmetingen te hebben dat er sprake is van nanodeeltjes. Over mogelijke gezondheidseffecten van inname van dergelijke deeltjes is nog weinig bekend.
3. Hout
Hout bestaat voor een groot deel uit cellulose. Cellulose wordt aan veel levensmiddelen toegevoegd, van kaas tot sladressing en van muffins tot aardbeiensiroop.
Voedselfabrikanten gebruiken het als stabilisator en verdikkingsmiddel. Daarnaast wordt
cellulose gebruikt om minder afhankelijk te zijn van duurdere ingrediënten zoals olie of bloem.
4. Polydimethylsiloxaan
PDMS is een anorganisch polymeer dat silicium bevat en aan veel voedingsmiddelen wordt toegevoegd als antischuimmiddel, met name aan confituren, marmelade (jam), fruit- en groentenconserven, vruchtensappen, soepen en (frituur)vetten.
PDMS is in de Europese Unie toegelaten onder het E-nummer E900 en wordt ook veel aangetroffen in cosmetica en fastfood.
5. Tert-butylhydrochinon
TBHQ is een aromatische verbinding die wordt gebruikt om de houdbaarheid te verlengen en verkleuring of bederf tegen te gaan. Het voedingsadditief wordt veel toegevoegd aan eetbare of etherische oliën en dierlijke en plantaardige vetten.
Daarnaast wordt het toegevoegd als stabilisator of bewaarmiddel aan cosmetische producten, pesticide-formuleringen, lakken en vernissen. Het E-nummer is E319. Het wordt verkregen uit petroleum en McDonald’s gebruikt het voor 18 verschillende producten.
Na jarenlange druk van de voedselindustrie besloot de Amerikaanse Food and Drug Administration (FDA) het additief goed te keuren op voorwaarde dat het vetgehalte van de producten waar het aan wordt toegevoegd voor maximaal 0,02 procent bestaat uit TBHQ.
6. Kunstmest
Ammoniumsulfaat is een ammoniumzout van zwavelzuur en wordt hoofdzakelijk gebruikt als kunstmest. Het wordt tevens toegevoegd aan herbiciden en pesticiden.
Dit additief (E517) wordt door onder meer fastfoodketens ook gebruikt als stabilisator en broodverbeteraar in brood- en banketproducten.
7. Schildluis
Karmijnzuur wordt gebruikt als kleurstof voor voedingsmiddelen, of in cosmetica zoals lippenstift. De kleurstof wordt ook in alcoholische dranken zoals Campari gebruikt.
Karmijn wordt gewonnen uit de Cochenilleluis, een schildluis die leeft op schijfcactussen. E120 wordt onder meer toegevoegd aan vlees, marinades, bakproducten, desserts, koekjes, ijs, taart, jam, gelatine, sappen, zuivel en sauzen.
Karmijnzuur kan bij kinderen leiden tot hyperactiviteit. Het zorgt voor contactallergie op de huid bij gebruik in cosmetica. Als kleurstof is het bekend als oorzaak van ernstige allergische reacties en anafylactische shock bij mensen die er beroepsmatig mee werken.
8. Separatorvlees
Spuitvlees is een restproduct uit de vleesindustrie. Botten van een uitgebeend karkas worden met behulp van een hogedrukmachine, de separator, ontdaan van de laatste in de voedingsindustrie verwerkbare vleesresten.
Dit vlees wordt voorts verwerkt in vleesdeeg, kipnuggets, frikandellen, hotdogs en hamburgers. Het wordt in de levensmiddelenindustrie ook wel aangeduid als MRM.
Om bacterieresten te verwijderen wordt
separatorvlees soms behandeld met ammonia. Omdat dit goedje zoals verwacht niet al te best smaakt worden als kers op de taart kunstmatige smaakstoffen toegevoegd.
Algemeen erkend als veilig (GRAS)
Deze vier kleine woorden lijken te zijn geworden van de FDA mantra als het gaat om levensmiddelenadditieven; al het bovenstaande ingrediënten, en een uitgebreid scala aan andere chemische additieven, zijn algemeen erkend als veilig in wetenschappelijke studies. Uit hun context gehaald en keek naar individueel, misschien een beetje ammoniumsulfaat hier en een aardolie product Er zijn niet van plan om kwantitatieve schade aan proefdieren te veroorzaken. Maar als je zou optellen van alle chemische ingrediënten verbruikt tijdens het leven van een fast-food aangewakkerd westers dieet, wat zou dat eruit zien? Zou het lijken op een epidemie van obesitas, diabetes of kanker?
Eet smakelijk.
“At the Chemical Aspects Working Group meeting (Tokyo, 2002), the group was informed that the monograph was being finalized, and there was considerable discussion on various aspects of the draft,including a suggestion that the monograph should not mix discussion on the beneficial use of fluoride with adverse health effects to prevent controversy. The monograph was not discussed at the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality Working Group meeting (Geneva, 2004). The document is in editing and layout (2005). A presentation to the Working Groups of the WHO Oral Health Programme on the importance of fluoridation was made in 2005.”
