P-Cresidine, also known as Red No. 40 Food coloring, is everywhere and in almost everything, yet people do not realize the risks that come along with today's tastefully colored foods. Red No. 40 food dye is the most commonly used of all the other artificial dyes. The dye is used in countless everyday foods and drinks. Unfortunately, like all good things have a bad side, all food dyes have certain risks linked to their intake. When mixed, food dyes can become very risky to the health of the individual. Mixing food dyes is very common and used in many occasions to produce the correct colors. Despite the fact that Red No. 40 is banned in many places for reasons regarding health, the United States still produces and uses the substance religiously. Most people know what artificial food coloring is and enjoy its use for creating delightfully colored, appetizing foods, however, only few know what artificial food dyes actually have the capability of doing. Aside from creating candy colored foods, artificial food dyes, p-cresidine in specific, is capable of causing all kinds of problems from hyperactivity, to genotoxicity, to even various types of cancers; yet people don’t know and even worse the majority of the people out there don't care.
Red No. 40 has one single purpose yet that one purpose does so much. It adds color to various foods, drinks, and desserts. Adding color to foods is an easy way to catch consumers' eyes and create a more appetizing and appealing product. This makes the substance a necessity for bakers and food manufacturers of all sorts. Because this substance has such a wide-spread use and consumption under moderation is safe and not considered detrimental to health, the government is unable ban its use in the United ...
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...ome serious genotoxic damage in the humna body at even a rather small dosage. Children suffering from ADHD are exposed to a very high risk of worsening symptoms when consuming the right amount of artificial food dyes. On other occasions, food dyes can be responsible for other, more serious cases such as cancer. As time goes on, new information is found that helps people become more and more educated on the world around them, yet, humanity is still oblivious to the things they put in and around their body. It would be apparent that people would care more about the health and safety of them and their children rather than the appearance of their food, however, the people refuse to give up the disguise of the artificially colored foods and see the true risks at hand. It is humanity that overlooks health and safety for colorful foods; one day humanity will have to learn.
HYPOTHESIS: My hypothesis is that none of the Crayola colors are pure colors because they are a mixture of other color components.
Food additives are substances that are added to food to enhance it; they can be both chemical and natural ("Food Additives: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia"). Recently many food additives have been questioned by both the public and scientists world wide. One example of the food additives that have been studied is sodium stearoyl lactylate. It has recently been looked at due to indications that it might be unsafe for consumption. In this essay a couple main points and questions will be explained; what is sodium stearoyl lactylate, what are its effects both positive and negative, what are some indirect effects SSL has on society, is it ethical to use, and if sodium stearoyl lactylate safe for human consumption.
An example is the Aspartame found in diet soda. Focusing on diet soda, it is shown that it is linked to even more diseases and causes more side effects than regular soda. Furthermore, “Numerous studies over the past several years have reported links between diet soda and weight gain, diabetes, heart problems, and other health issues. Most recently, headlines sounded alarms about a higher chance of dementia and stroke among diet soda drinkers” (Is Drinking…). The aspartame that is used in the diet soda is the main culprit for diet sodas effects. In fact, “Aspartame accounts for over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. Many of these reactions are very serious, including seizures and death” (Aspartame…). Aspartame is a man-made chemical that is made up of aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol. With, aspartic acid making up 40%, phenylalanine making up 50%, and methanol making up 10%. Taking in consideration the phenylalanine in diet soda,” Excessive levels of phenylalanine in the brain can cause the levels of serotonin in the brain to decrease, leading to emotional disorders such as depression” (Aspartame…). With the methanol, that is found in aspartame, it “…breaks down into formaldehyde in the body. Formaldehyde is a deadly neurotoxin… With a recommended limit of consumption of 7.8 mg/day. A one-liter (approx. 1 quart) aspartame-sweetened beverage contains about 56 mg of methanol. Heavy users of aspartame-containing products consume as much as 250 mg of methanol daily or 32 times the EPA limit” (Aspartame…). The effects of methanol are caused by the formaldehyde. “Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, causes retinal damage, interferes with DNA replication and causes birth defects” (Aspartame…). Overall it is shown that the aspartame that is found in diet soda is linked to a number of diseases
The question “Is this product genetically modified?” has gained increasing popularity among the health concerned and those who worry about where their food comes from over the past couple of years. A decade or two ago, this question had no meaning and has no significance in society. However, thanks to the development of technology and a larger understanding of the underlying properties of foods, down to the molecular scale, humans have created a new field of engineering to combat worries that have plagued the food industry to centuries upon centuries. And as always, the advent of a new a product or procedure that changes the way we think and create will always usher along with it self opinions from every strata of society. The genetic modification of food in the United States of America has become a pertinent topic of debate, just recently gaining its popularity in the past couple of years. To modify or not to modify? There are both pros and cons to whether or not change the DNA sequences of foods in order to better them in some way or another. However, like every other major, groundbreaking change in this country comes regulation in hopes to appease everyone in the country and give each participant a fair chance in the race, in particular, the race for the production and distribution of foods. Such regulation in the United States has been done in order to protect and support people that have not devoted their time and money to the biological nuance and also to give every consumer in the country products that are labeled, identifying what they are putting into their systems on a daily basis. As time and society progress, how we view tasks that have been usually kept hidden and now placed onto a pedestal for everyone to se...
Most of us have enjoyed that hot bowl of Campbell soup after a cold winter day. Did you know you are also enjoying a big helping of monosodium glutamate? Don’t know what that is? Well, you’re not alone. Not many people realize what it is they’re putting in their bodies. It can be quite shocking to read some of the side effects that come along with many common items found in most kitchens throughout this country. It is a common assumption that the FDA has the American people’s best interest in mind. If that is so, why are there so many unknown ingredients in the majority of the food we eat? Some of the additives found in FDA approved food can cause serious health risks. The FDA does not, however, conduct its own testing. It also does not approve product labeling or what is included on the nutrition label. The FDA can should change the way they test and market items that are potentially dangerous. Americans have the right to know just what that is they’re eating.
Miller, Henry I. "Genetically Modified Foods Have Numerous Benefits and No Known Risks." Genetic Engineering. Ed. Noël Merino. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. Opposing Viewpoints. Rpt. from "When Technophobia Becomes Toxic." 2012.Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 3 May 2014
About 10,000 diverse species of pigments and dyes are used in industries, which show that an annual use of almost 7×105 tonnes in world. Dyes are intractable and toxic materials, they oppose biological breakdown (Souza et al., 2007).
Although most of these chemicals pass Federal Food Safety laws, the people who consume processed or packaged foods are more vulnerable to fatal diseases. Scientist have not gathered enough information about the long term impact. This includes the impact on early stages of human development, especially in the womb.
The chemicals in McDonald’s food are used to enhance the flavor, but they do much more than that. Meaning, McDonald's incorporates unnecessary ingredients in their food that are proven to cause different diseases, showing that their initial purpose is not to promote a healthy lifestyle, but produce a successful business. Even a basic hamburger bun is composed of unnatural ingredients. The bun consists of azodicarbonamide, which is a chemical that is found in yoga mats, shoe rubber, and synthetic leather ("That Chemical Subway Ditched.."). It was approved for consumption by the FDA in the United States, but it was not accepted in Europe or Australia ("That Chemical Subway Ditched.. "). This fact should be concerning to fast food consumers, since they are ingesting an additive that is considered illegal in other countries. Today, Vani Hari, created a petition to prohibit the use of azodicarbonamide ("That Chemical Subway Ditched.."). Currently, this petition holds 75,000 signatures ("That Chemical Subway Ditched.."). Not only are the buns unhealthy, but the wrappers protecting the burger are too. Perfluoroalkyls is a chemical used in their wrappers, the initial purpose of it is to repel oil and water, but it is extremely toxic. This substance ...
To help keep crops from being destroyed, conventional farmers use many methods such as pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. Nearly 1 billion pounds of these chemicals are used every year (“pesticides”). Because of this excessive use, some scientists express concern that using artificial chemicals in the farming process could produce unhealthy crops. People who ate it over a long period of time could suffer from degraded health and stunted growth (“Organic Foods”). For example, in 1989, the EPA banned the use of Alar which was a chemical used to ripen apples (“Farming, Organics”). This chemical proved to be carcinogenic after causing tumors in mice after several laboratory tests (“Organic Food”). As a result of these findings there was a dramatic increase of the sales for organic food (“Organic Food”). Another study found that Atrazine (one of the most widely used herbicides in the United States) has the potential of being carcinogenic and reducing sperm counts in males (“Organic Food”). This was further proven when evidence was found that chemicals u...
Food supply and food safety carry major effects on China, as a country with large amount of population and serious pollution caused by rapid industrialization and urbanization. After the policy of Chinese economic reform in 1978, the country went through a rapid economic and technology growth, as well as booming in population. Because of that, most families now have the ability to get adequate food from market or producing food by themselves (Zhao & Kent, 2004). However on the other side, lots of food safety cases are exposed under this background from the beginning of 21 century. For example, Sudan I red was reported being used in chili sauce and eggs in 2005, baby formula contaminated by melamine, which leaded to 6 babies’ death in 2008, gutter oil found being reused in food in 2010, etc (Food safety incidents in China, 2014).
The American people love fast food, but little do they know about what is really in their “hamburger” or “chicken nuggets”, and what damage the real ingredients in these foods can cause. Fast food has become a great part in many people’s lives today because you could get it fast and on the move and it’s also cheap. Everyone has eaten fast food at one point in their lives, unless of course they don’t eat meat, but they really don’t have a clue as to what they’re ingesting. This paper will inform you as to what scientists have found in these deadly foods and what can happen in the future if you continue to eat these foods.
There are many repercussions due to the consumption of junk food for people of all ages. Some may say that junk food is beneficial to consumers because some artificial ingredients that are incorporated in junk food is beneficial for health. For example, the blue food dye found on blue-colored M&Ms are considered helpful because they could reduce damage caused by spine injuries(National Academy of Sciences). However, many people do not realize that the chocolate inside M&Ms candy include approximately .08 percent of cocoa. Therefore, the candy, itself, consists of high amounts of sugar and artificial
When people consume food, do they really ever ask themselves if what they are consuming is completely natural? Researchers have proven that many of the things Americans consume are genetically modified. A genetically modified organism, or GMO, is an organism that has had its DNA altered or modified in some way through genetic engineering. The beginning of this scientific inquiry, all began with the sale of “Flavr Savr”, an invention of former scientist Calgene. This invention was for delaying the food from going through its process and ripening. The main focus now is not to delay food from ripening, but to work on increasing the population on cash crops for such instance, soybean, corn, canola, and cotton seed oil, because of the high demand of these consumptions. In such cases there being seven main foods in today’s modern day being altered, going from most common to least common, starting with corn being almost 85 percent of it that is being cropped in the U.S. takes effect to this. Second is soy, this is the one that gets altered the most in this entire country. The third is yellow crookneck squash and zucchini, the number being altered is relatively small, but contain species such as protein genes that protect against viruses. The fourth is alfalfa, this consumption consist of a resistant to herbicide Roundup. The fifth is canola, 90 percent of these crops in the U.S. are modified. The second to last are sugar beets, they make up half of the U.S. sugar production, and 95 percent of sugar beets in the country. The last common consumption being modified is milk; unlike other food being modified it is given to the producer of this consu...
There is a clear link between the food consumption and human life span, with food manufacturers in the middle of that relationship. Food manufacturing is of great significance in a society because they produce majority of the food that individuals eat. Excess amount of consummation require food manufacturers to produce great amount of product in a short period of time which also makes food manufacturing quite lucrative. Considering the lack of regulation by authorities and other factors, food manufacturers are receding on the information about the amount of chemical used in food processing. Food manufacturers claim that the use of these excessive amounts of chemical such as antibiotics, steroid, and spray in food manufacturing process is for the benefit of the consumer’s health. Despite their claim this does not erase the fact that excessive use of chemicals in food processing is because of huge economical profit, to respond to high demand by consumers and poor control of food.