Food Additives Banned in Europe but not in the USA.

[ShokWaveRider]

We have always tried to eat well, but we do not know what we do not know. I found this article interesting.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/28/well/eat/food-additives-banned-europe-united-states.html

 

[braumeister]

Since the NYT only allows a limited number of articles to non-subscribers, we would all appreciate a summary.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Since the NYT only allows a limited number of articles to non-subscribers, we would all appreciate a summary.

Sorry Here you Go....

The European Union prohibits or severely restricts many food additives that have been linked to cancer that are still used in American-made bread, cookies, soft drinks and other processed foods. Europe also bars the use of several drugs that are used in farm animals in the United States

Potassium bromate and azodicarbonamide (ADA)
These additives are commonly added to baked goods, but neither is required, and both are banned in Europe because they may cause cancer. In recent years, some American restaurant chains have responded to consumer pressure and removed them from their food.

BHA and BHT
The flavor enhancers and preservatives BHA and BHT are subject to severe restrictions in Europe but are widely used in American food products.

Brominated Vegetable Oil (BVO)
BVO is used in some citrus-flavored soft drinks like Mountain Dew and in some sports drinks to prevent separation of ingredients, but it is banned in Europe. It contains bromine, the element found in brominated flame retardants, and studies suggest it can build up in the body and can potentially lead to memory loss and skin and nerve problems.

Yellow food dyes No. 5 and No. 6, and Red Dye No. 40
These dyes can be used in foods sold in Europe, but the products must carry a warning saying the coloring agents “may have an adverse effect on activity and attention in children.” No such warning is required in the United States, though the Center for Science in the Public Interest petitioned the F.D.A. in 2008 to ban the dyes.

Farm Animal Drugs
The European Union also bans some drugs that are used on farm animals in the United States, citing health concerns. These drugs include bovine growth hormone, which the United States dairy industry uses to increase milk production. The European Union also does not allow the drug ractopamine, used in the United States to increase weight gain in pigs, cattle and turkeys before slaughter, saying that “risks to human health cannot be ruled out.”

 

[Koogie]

Yabbut many Europeans still smoke like chimneys.

Kind of cancels out the lack of Yellow Dye #5 in their diets...

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Yabbut many Europeans still smoke like chimneys.

Kind of cancels out the lack of Yellow Dye #5 in their diets...

Yeah but, Yeah but, Yeah but (Vicky Pollard), they also eat cheese and drink red wine, but that does not seem to hurt them either.

Assuming the GTA is "Greater Toronto Area" the Canadians do their fair share of Smoking too. As do most (A lot of) working class Americans.

 

[gerntz]

Europe economic growth is stunted by massive regulations that aren't proven to stop anything. It's the way bureaucracies increase their self-importance/control of lives & demands for more spending on them. It's why so many Euros are disgruntled with the EU & their country government both. Anything "may" or "concern" is unproven.

 

[ERD50]

saying that “risks to human health cannot be ruled out.”

That's true of anything. You can't prove a negative.

Those items do not create any concern for me. I'm not going to consume huge amounts of any one thing, and there are far worse things to concern myself with than something that might hurt a rat if they consume 10x their body weight for a year.

Check your tire pressure and washer fluid and lights, check your gas appliances, clear the lint out of your dryer ducts, take a safe driving course (we all get a bit lax from time to time - refreshing skills on awareness can be a good thing), replace your smoke alarm batteries when needed, have CO detectors in your home, don't run your dryer or dishwasher when you sleep or go out, etc, etc, etc .

We could list hundreds of things that we can control, that would have more effect on our quality of life than worrying about stuff like what Europe bans.


-ERD50

 

[braumeister]

I think about half the elements in the Periodic Table are "known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm."

 

[ERD50]

I think about half the elements in the Periodic Table are "known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm."

That's one of the reasons I won't move to California. It's dangerous there!


-ERD50

 

[Koogie]

Yeah but, Yeah but, Yeah but (Vicky Pollard), they also eat cheese and drink red wine, but that does not seem to hurt them either.

Assuming the GTA is "Greater Toronto Area" the Canadians do their fair share of Smoking too. As do most (A lot of) working class Americans.

Yabbut us frozen northerners only smoke government subsidized jazz cabbage now...

 

[marko]

On the flip side, my BIL worked as a food inspector in the US. When he visited us in France we went food shopping at a very upscale Parisian food store.

He was shocked (shocked, I tell you!) at the open meat, fish, cheese etc just laying out there uncovered (with a few flies buzzing around). He just wandered around the store pointing at things saying: "violation, violation, violation".

We had to remind him that 'nobody is dying' from such 'unsanitary' conditions.

 

[OldShooter]

... We had to remind him that 'nobody is dying' from such 'unsanitary' conditions.

More broadly, we have had maybe 100,000 years of evolution living in the dirt, without refrigeration or Saran Wrap, and, importantly, without bureaucrats trying to justify their paychecks by killing mice with overdoses and then announcing a danger to humans. And we're still here.

Regarding "chemicals," even dihydrogen monoxide is dangerous if consumed in large quantities or ingested into one's lungs. MSDS here: Material Safety Data Sheet for Dihydrogen Monoxide

I once saw a picture of a protester with a sign saying "Keep the Government's Hands Off My Medicare." Wanting to avoid "chemicals" is more or less the same thing.

 

[Chuckanut]

Both, pulled from MacDonald's websites, UK and the USA.

Ingredients in MacDonald's fries sold in the UK:

Fries

Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Dextrose (predominantly added at beginning of the potato season).
Prepared in the restaurants using a non-hydrogenated vegetable oil.
Salt is added after cooking.

Ingrediants in MacDonalds fries sold in the USA:

FRENCH FRIES

Ingredients: Potatoes, Vegetable Oil (Canola Oil, Corn Oil, Soybean Oil, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Natural Beef Flavor [Wheat and Milk Derivatives]*), Dextrose, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate (Maintain Color), Salt. *Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients.

Edited to add: They are just data points. Though I admit that I am curious why the USA fries (err... chips) need beef flavor and something to protect the color. Perhaps a difference in the type of potatoes used?

 

[jim584672]

No Mountain Dew in Europe.

Mountain Dew, along with 10 percent of sodas in the US, contains brominated vegetable oil (BVO), a flame retardant chemical banned in Europe and Japan.

 

[OldShooter]

Both, pulled from MacDonald's websites, UK and the USA.

Ingredients in MacDonald's fries sold in the UK: ...

Ingrediants in MacDonalds fries sold in the USA: ...

OK. More ingredients in the USA recipe. Does it taste better? Certainly McDs has tested the UK recipe and found that the USA recipe tastes better. If it didn't, they wouldn't be using it.

Is there some rule that recipes with more ingredients are increasingly evil or unhealthy? Or are you trying to make some other point?

 

[btdt22]

I think about half the elements in the Periodic Table are "known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm."

FWIW - There's a couple of VW parts houses in California that I regularly order from and every part they sell includes this:


California Prop 65 Warning:

Warning: Cancer and Reproductive Harm - www.P65Warnings.ca.gov


I'm also just so thankful to Smirnoff Vodka for not using GMO ingredients. I would hate to think Vodka could be unhealthy for me

 

[MRG]

OK. More ingredients in the USA recipe. Does it taste better? Certainly McDs has tested the UK recipe and found that the USA recipe tastes better. If it didn't, they wouldn't be using it.

Is there some rule that recipes with more ingredients are increasingly evil or unhealthy? Or are you trying to make some other point?

Tastes better to whom? Tastes differ around the world. In Amsterdam they gave us some green stuff for French fries. Didn't do much for me but hey.

ETA: The ketchup they charged extra for was absolutely disgusting.

 

[tmm99]

I’m more worried about things coming from China more than any other countries.

 

[ERD50]

Originally Posted by Chuckanut
Both, pulled from MacDonald's websites, UK and the USA.

Ingredients in MacDonald's fries sold in the UK: ...

Ingrediants in MacDonalds fries sold in the USA: ...

OK. More ingredients in the USA recipe. Does it taste better? Certainly McDs has tested the UK recipe and found that the USA recipe tastes better. If it didn't, they wouldn't be using it.

Is there some rule that recipes with more ingredients are increasingly evil or unhealthy? Or are you trying to make some other point?

I was also wondering what the point was.

And I know people who seriously seem to think that the pronounce-ability of an ingredient somehow correlates to it's health effects.

One of these people also use sugar substitutes like Splenda. Now. "Splenda" sounds so nice, so easy to pronounce. But, would she turn her nose up at "4,1',6'-Trichloro-4,1',6'-trideoxygalactosucrose" ? double - ...

Other names:

1',4,6'-Trichlorogalactosucrose;
Trichlorosucrose;
E955;
4,1',6'-Trichloro-4,1',6'-trideoxygalactosucrose;
TGS;
Splenda


-ERD50

 

[braumeister]

I know people who ... use sugar substitutes like Splenda.

That's nothing. I know people who take sodium and chlorine, both extremely dangerous elements, and deliberately put a combination of them into (and directly on) their food. What are they thinking?

 

[OldShooter]

Tastes better to whom? ...

To USA customers, of course. Did I need to say that?

 

[Red Badger]

OK. More ingredients in the USA recipe. Does it taste better? Certainly McDs has tested the UK recipe and found that the USA recipe tastes better. If it didn't, they wouldn't be using it.

Is there some rule that recipes with more ingredients are increasingly evil or unhealthy? Or are you trying to make some other point?

+1.

Crisps (chips) in Europe are much less salty and flavor intense than US version. Many of these differences can be flavor related by region.

BTW, one of the best things most Americans could do is eat grass fed beef and other livestock that is farm raised / heritage breeds. The stuff from Purdue, Swift, Oscar Meyer, et al are genetic freaks. YMMV!

 

[Maenad]

Europe economic growth is stunted by massive regulations that aren't proven to stop anything. It's the way bureaucracies increase their self-importance/control of lives & demands for more spending on them.

It doesn't need to be nefarious like that. It's pretty simple to see how differences can come about when people are honestly acting in good faith.

Example: a study comes out showing that Chemical X increases cancer risk in mice, and sees a significant risk that it could be a carcinogen for humans as well, due to the mechanism. One country chooses to ban Chemical X just in case, another chooses to wait and see if more studies confirm the results.

Which country is right? If Chemical X turns out to be a nasty carcinogen, the citizens of the second country are going to be up in arms that their government didn't ban it the second they heard about the first study. If the study isn't confirmed, citizens of the first country are going to be annoyed with the fear-mongering.

Do you choose alpha risk (banning something that turns out to be OK), or beta risk (let your citizens be exposed to a dangerous chemical)? There is no third option, and you never have all the info.

 

[Chuckanut]

OK. More ingredients in the USA recipe. Does it taste better? Certainly McDs has tested the UK recipe and found that the USA recipe tastes better. If it didn't, they wouldn't be using it.

Is there some rule that recipes with more ingredients are increasingly evil or unhealthy? Or are you trying to make some other point?

It's just a data point on a food many of us are familiar with.

 

[RAE]

Those items do not create any concern for me. I'm not going to consume huge amounts of any one thing, and there are far worse things to concern myself with than something that might hurt a rat if they consume 10x their body weight for a year.-ERD50

Ah, the old "moderation in everything" argument (and everything will be fine). Maybe moderate consumption of toxic compunds is okay with you, but personally, I really don't want to consume any amount of this stuff. Maybe I won't be able to avoid it completely, but sticking mostly to whole/real foods certainly should help. Consuming a lot of processed foods anywhere is not a good idea, but at least Europe is making an effort to eliminate some of the worst food additives, and I applaud them for it.