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Cleaning Out Your Pantry: Food Additives

I thought I’d seen it all when I was cruising the yogurt section of my supermarket and spotted blue, cotton-candy flavored yogurt for kids. Manufacturers are all too aware that children are compulsively drawn to Technicolor food and those that are sweet or salty. Since getting kids to eat well is an exercise in triage as you figure the pros and cons of cost, time, and availability you might be tempted to take the path of least resistance: chicken nuggets, flame colored mac ‘n’ cheese, blue yogurt. That’s fine sometimes. But the chemical additives—preservatives, flavors, and colors—found in these types of food have a disproportionately greater health impact on children than on adults.

Pick “preservative-free.” Preservatives help extend the shelf (or refrigerator) life of food, but their ingredients are often unsafe. For instance, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), which keeps oils from going rancid, is listed as a probable human carcinogen by the Department of Health and Human Services (remarkably, the FDA says it’s okay to eat it). The other biggie in this category to look for on labels—and to avoid—is BHT, or butylated hydroxytoluene.

Color them naturally. Conjure those blue yogurts, neon-colored fruit drinks, and snacks: You don’t need to read the label to know these artificial colors can’t be good for your kids. In particular, avoid FD&C blues #1 and 2; green #3; and yellow #5 and 6.

Keep an eye out for GMOs. Genetically modified or engineered food (GMO or GE) is a way for farmers to create heartier, pest-resistant crops—for instance, by breeding a pesticide right into the grain—and so far is limited principally to canola, soybean, and corn. GMO foods are commonly used for animal feed, but have entered our lives quietly in the form of additives to packaged food. We don’t have an exact figure for how pervasive GMO processed foods are, but roughly 60 percent of processed food in the U.S. grocery stores contain at least one soybean product, and more than half of our soybean crops are genetically modified.

There are no long-term health safety tests or labeling for these foods. U.S. government regulators and biotech companies say GMO foods are safe, but they’re banned throughout Europe. Some research shows a worrisome impact on plants and wildlife, and that food allergens may be transmitted through bioengineering, according to the watchdog group Beyond Pesticides.

In the meantime, if your child is prone to food allergies, give her natural and GMO-free (some labels will tout it) snack alternatives, such as fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, cheese, and yogurt—which may even be a sound policy for the non-allergic.

Taken from Healthy Child Healthy World: Creating a Cleaner, Greener, Safer Home. Reprinted by arrangement with Plume, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc. Copyright © 2009 by Healthy Child Healthy World. To read more from Christopher Gavigan and many others, pick up your copy of our book, today.

Find out the 6 other worst preservatives and additives to avoid by picking up a copy of our book!

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Comments

  1. Multi-Tasking Mommy says

    May 20, 2010 at 11:54 am

    It’s very scary all of these additives in our foods, things we aren’t even aware of! I finally found some natural food colour dyes from India Tree. The only downside is they don’t last very long, but WAY better than the other ones.

    Reply
  2. Kimra says

    May 27, 2010 at 7:09 pm

    yeah, looking out for the GMO’s is a great idea, except I have never once saw a food in a normal store (non-health food store) that said “GMO free” or “this product does not contain GMOs” on any food products…I have been vegan for 5 years so I am an pro at reading ingredient and nutritional facts labels and the only foods I can find that say they do not contain GMOs are at the health food stores…these products are imported from Italy and other European countries…I dream about going to the normal grocery store and being able to read which foods have GMOs and which foods don’t, but until the FDA and USDA get there butts in gear with allowing us, the consumers, to know what is REALLY in our food this is still just a dream for me.

    Peace and Love

    Kimra Luna Diggs

    Reply
  3. Jaimie Proctor says

    June 2, 2010 at 7:56 pm

    I was appalled this past weekend when I witnessed 2 children ordering very brightly colored ice cream – and not just one, but 3 scoops each! And I have been told at Kid Ktitics taste tests that raspberries are bright blue and fruit juices would be better if they came in cotton candy flavor. It’s amazing how much junk children, or….people in general, are exposed to! Thanks for spreading the word about food additives.

    Reply

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About Eco Child’s Play

Our ethos is to provide news, information, and opinions on natural, green parenting to help your family live a greener, healthier life! Additionally, we offer personal consulting services to help you achieve your green living goals.

Jennifer is a vegetarian, yoga teacher, gardener, hiker, teacher, and mother that has been living off-the-grid for over 20 years.

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