Sketchy Additives? Or Sketchy Reporting?

Posted By elissa on Mar 1, 2009 | 3 comments

Although my bio on the “About Us” page doesn’t mention it directly, I have an M.S. degree in Food Science from the University of California (Davis).  Most people I talk to assume “Food Science” = “nutrition” – but they couldn’t be more wrong…it’s about food technology.  As I once described it to a mechanic (who was confused by the concept), Food Science teaches you how to turn an ear of corn into a box of Corn Flakes, and ensure that every single box of Corn Flakes looks, tastes and crunches exactly like every other box. 

The problem with all that seemingly neat, hygienic, commercial conformity, however, is that the average person is detached from food production, and has grown accustomed to the idea that food is completely aseptic and pristine.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Food production is – and ALWAYS HAS BEEN – a messy business.  In the good ol’ days that various health food-types pine for, farmers slaughtered their own animals, and made use of all the “parts” – including the brains, eyes, ears, tails, intestines and blood.  If grain was infested with weevils, they ground them up into the flour too (it’s extra protein, after all).  Untreated manure was used for fertilizer; and you didn’t waste precious water (which had to be taken from a well and dragged inside) washing the grit off the veggies from your kitchen garden.  Nor were there any antiseptics available to clean off the dairy goats’/cows’ dung-and-urine-flecked teats, either.

These less-than-sanitary conditions are still with us, of course, but we Food Scientists have found ways to limit them…and in the process, we made the “ewwww” factor disappear – at least as far as the consumer is concerned.  But – because we work with this stuff all the time – and have strong backgrounds in relevant disciplines like chemistry/biochemistry and microbiology – we don’t share the modern consumer’s distaste for “icky” things…in fact, we’re more like the “good-‘ol-daze” types described in the previous paragraph.  We’re a practical bunch of folks, and we’ll make use of whatever we can get our hands on to create the effects we desire.  These may be natural or synthetic, but as long as they’re reasonably pure, readily available, cost-effective and demonstrably safe for most, we’ll use it. 

And why not?

Which brings me to this utterly ridiculous online article, by a wilting wildflower named Sally Wadyka. Evidently she’s discovered that – GASP! – there are certain additives “lurking”  in our food that are derived from horrors like bugs!  And seaweed!  And slaughterhouse waste!  And microorganisms!  The poor child was obviously shocked, as she uses scare words like “sketchy,” “icky” and “disturbing” to describe these revelations.

And what are the additives that made Sally clutch her pearls and lurch towards the fainting couch?  Here’s her list:

1. Carmine (derived from a South American insect, Dactylopius coccus costa – used as a food/cosmetic dye).
2. Carrageenan (derived from seaweed- used as a thickener)
3. Shellac (derived from an Asian insect, Kerria lacca – used as a cosmetic coating agent)
4. Gelatin (derived from animal hides and bones – used as a gelling agent)
5. Bacteriophages (viruses that target and destroy bacteria – used to prevent bacterial growth on food)
6. Xanthan Gum (produced by a bacterium, Xanthomonas campestris – used as a thickener)
7. “Natural Flavors” (produced from a variety of substances that might not be related to the food being flavored…for example, fenugreek is a natural source of maple flavoring for pancake syrup)

What’s her problem with these?  Beyond the “ewwww” factor, her only other “beef” seems to be that items like gelatin or carmine might be distressing to vegetarians.  But she fails to consider why extracting, purifying and using a compound from insects or seaweed is somehow different than extracting it from – say – soybeans or pomace.  And she completely misses certain real world concerns, such as the fact that some people can be allergic to carmine, xanthan gum or carrageenan; and the latter was once implicated as a potential carcinogen. 

Thus, certain additives might truly be “sketchy” for certain people, while others NOT mentioned (like nitrates and benzoates) are questionable for a lot of people.  But instead of using the opportunity to inform, we get this sensationalized, mush-for-brains, popular-media trivia.

The only thing that I find “decidedly more disturbing” about this article, is that Ms. Wadyka got paid to produce it.  Nice work if you can get it, I suppose.