Food Additives
Katie Yang
Ms. Molin
Advanced English 10C
7 May 2010
The Secret Behind Food That People Eat
The number of consumers has now risen to 200, 000, 000, subjected everyday to a bombardment of poisons in their food and drugs while lying at the mercy of “respectable corporations” (Fuller). While the chefs and sou chefs cooked their customers’ orders, they thought nothing of it. They served it to their customer and while that customer ate, one had an allergic reaction. The customer whose name was Jorma Takala suffers from hyperactivity. Therefore, additives can be dangerous and companies using them should do extreme testing before exposing it to the human population.
What are additives exactly? Well, they are substances that have no proven track record of safety and that must be approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) before they can be used (Growther). When the FDA approves of an additive to be used in food, it means that the company using them has done extensive lab testing. It doesn’t mean that it is considered to be a safe substance, however, it means that the company using them has done enough of their lab testing. Although representatives of the food and chemical industries professed to be fully in support of the principle that safety testing of additives should be required by law, they fervently hope that additives in use would be exempt from testing (Mooney). With this, the scientists still continue to produce certain additives that could potentially harm our people and there is no specific way to stop them.
These certain additives can be both worrisome and worry-free meaning not all additives is dangerous. Some examples of harmful or worrisome additives are: “sodium/potassium benzoate that are often used in soft and fruit drinks that can form benzene (a cancer-causing substance), and sodium nitrate that with its presence in cured meat, it prevents botulism” (Antinoro). These have been linked to cancer in lab animals. The testing is only done on lab
Ms. Molin
Advanced English 10C
7 May 2010
The Secret Behind Food That People Eat
The number of consumers has now risen to 200, 000, 000, subjected everyday to a bombardment of poisons in their food and drugs while lying at the mercy of “respectable corporations” (Fuller). While the chefs and sou chefs cooked their customers’ orders, they thought nothing of it. They served it to their customer and while that customer ate, one had an allergic reaction. The customer whose name was Jorma Takala suffers from hyperactivity. Therefore, additives can be dangerous and companies using them should do extreme testing before exposing it to the human population.
What are additives exactly? Well, they are substances that have no proven track record of safety and that must be approved by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) before they can be used (Growther). When the FDA approves of an additive to be used in food, it means that the company using them has done extensive lab testing. It doesn’t mean that it is considered to be a safe substance, however, it means that the company using them has done enough of their lab testing. Although representatives of the food and chemical industries professed to be fully in support of the principle that safety testing of additives should be required by law, they fervently hope that additives in use would be exempt from testing (Mooney). With this, the scientists still continue to produce certain additives that could potentially harm our people and there is no specific way to stop them.
These certain additives can be both worrisome and worry-free meaning not all additives is dangerous. Some examples of harmful or worrisome additives are: “sodium/potassium benzoate that are often used in soft and fruit drinks that can form benzene (a cancer-causing substance), and sodium nitrate that with its presence in cured meat, it prevents botulism” (Antinoro). These have been linked to cancer in lab animals. The testing is only done on lab
Cited: Foulke, Judith E. “A fresh look at preservatives.” FDA Consumer Oct. 1993: 22+. Student Edition. Web. 26 Mar. 2010 Fuller, John G Growther, Lali. “Food Additives And Their Mutagenicity.” Internet Journal of Nutrition & Wellness 7.2 (2009): Consumer Health Complete. Web. 24 Mar. 2010. Knopper, Melissa. “Behind the Label.” Behind The Label Jan. & Feb. 2007: 1-3. Points of View Reference Center. Web. 21 Mar. 2010. Mooney, Booth. The Hidden Assassins. New York: Putnam, 1966. 1-201. Print. Takala, Jorma. “Why I Don’t Dare Cheat on Food Additives.” (2009): Latitudes Online. 12 Feb