Additives and Preservatives

[viscousmemories]

All my life I've heard people slam "additives and preservatives" in food--particularly the synthetic variety--as though any food that isn't 100% natural is inherently bad for you. Then when I read Fast Food Nation I found out that many so-called "natural flavors" in food are derived from chemical processes almost identical to those used to create "artificial flavors". (If I'm remembering what I read correctly).

So what's the real story? Should I really avoid things like Lawry's Seasoning Salt because they add tricalcium phosphate to prevent caking? And now that I mention it, is that a natural or synthetic substance? Does it matter? Why should I care? Does natural always mean better for me?

[LadyShea]

All natural often means prone to bacteria and possibly unsafe or at the very least be terribly unappetizing....caked up Lawry's or discolored applesauce for example.

I don't think additives and preservatives should be given much thought, personally.

[Corona688]

It's pretty much impossible to respond to such a broad claim without total knowledge of preservatives past and present. I can imagine three reasons for making such a claim:
Organic Is Good, Processing Is Bad. I know this because the industry says it is safe and I know they lie.
I heard it somewhere else and think other people deserve to know, so forward to everyone on my mailing list!!!1!!1one
I know there's a problem with this specific preservative but want to bait people then staple it to their foreheads for "debate points" Of course, I'm probably just building my own strawman here since I'm not arguing with a real-life person, but see no utility in such a broad statement anyway.

If someone were to point out specific dangers from specific chemicals that would be something we could rationally talk about.

[viscousmemories]

I honestly don't know where I picked up this bias, but it's crippling! I found this Lawry's Hot Pepper Seasoning Salt here when I moved in, and I've used it a lot and love it. But literally every time I use it I think, "I know this is bad for me, but I love it." Except today it occurred to me that my belief that it's bad for me isn't based on anything but prejudice against "unnatural" ingredients. And not only does that seem unfounded, I don't even know if the ingredients in this stuff are natural or not!

[LadyShea]

I honestly don't know where I picked up this bias, but it's crippling! I found this Lawry's Hot Pepper Seasoning Salt here when I moved in, and I've used it a lot and love it. But literally every time I use it I think, "I know this is bad for me, but I love it." Except today it occurred to me that my belief that it's bad for me isn't based on anything but prejudice against "unnatural" ingredients. And not only does that seem unfounded, I don't even know if the ingredients in this stuff are natural or not!

I have those kinds of reactions sometimes too (though I can't come up with an example right now), things that I have "always known" or "everyone knows" that possibly have no basis in reality that I am aware of.

Oh I thought of an example! That we "need" a water softener and drink bottled water here in Vegas. We bought bottled water for years, but got tired of paying for the cooler and stuff, and every time I drink a glass of water now, there is a little niggle in the back of my mind saying "this is bad for me". The truth is our water is perfectly safe to drink, it just has a high mineral content so it tastes funny and creates deposits on the fixtures so it feels like it's bad.

[The Lone Ranger]

As is so often the case, the best answer is probably: "It Depends."


Labeling foods "all natural" typically has more to do with enticing the gullible to part with more of their money than anything else. After all, cyanide is "all-natural" -- it's found in almonds, spinach, and lima beans, for instance.

So, I don't worry too much about "artificial" preservatives and additives. Your body can't tell whether the ascorbic acid (Vitamin C) you're ingesting came from a lab (as is often the case) or an orange.

Back in the "good old days," being poisoned by your food because it had spoiled was a fairly common occurrance. Off the top of my head, I'd say that you're vastly more likely to die of food poisoning from improperly preserved foods than from cancer that might be contracted from eating artificial preservatives for 50 years or so. (So some lab rats who're given these chemicals at 1000 times the dosage you'd ever ingest have a 20% greater incidence of some type of cancer -- which means that the odds of a given rat getting it are up to a staggering one-in-1,000.)


So, I don't worry too much about preservatives in prepared foods. On the other hand, pesticides are a concern, I think. Modern "factory farms" spray enormous quantities of pesticides on plants, and I'd prefer not to ingest the residues. In an ideal world, I'd eat mostly organic meat, fruit and vegetables. (Preferably from my own garden.) Not so much because I'm worried about preservatives and other "unnatural" ingredients, but because free-range animals are probably much healthier on average than factory-farmed animals, and because organic fruits and veggies will have far lower dosages of pesticide residues.

Fruits and vegetables that are grown in bulk, and then packed into crates and shipped halfway across the country must, of necessity, be picked before they're ripe. That's why fruits and veggies bought from your local Farmer's Market are not only much tastier, but probably better for you, since they're actually ripe.



My experience is that labels can be incredibly misleading, even if they don't lie outright. For instance, I noticed some laundry detergent on the store shelf not long ago. Emblazoned on the package was "New and Improved! With Emulsifiers!"

Detergents are emulsifiers! Of course the product contained emulsifiers -- it always had! That was just a naked attempt on the manufacturer's part to prey upon the ignorance of the average consumer.

Cheers,

Michael

[Dragoon]

Good post Michael. You said it all. I just wanted to add something. I grew up when preservatives were the norm and I was already out of high school before the term "organic" referred to anything other than a branch of chemistry.

Looking over old photographs taken when my grandparents were at my present age, those people are OLD. I take my present very youthful :wink: looks as a sign of "good preservation" due to a surfeit of potassium sorbate.

Who are you calling an old geezer!?! :glare: