I have been a bit bogged down these last couple of weeks, looking at all things FOOD! As we all know, there are many foods out there that are not good for us, but they taste good and so we eat them, as they satisfy our taste buds. The UK, despite Brexit, follows most of the European rules, when it comes to food. There are strict rules on pesticides and fertilisers, as well as rules for animal welfare and their slaughter.

Obviously, it is easy for developed countries to set out these rules, but not so obvious for poorer nations. which brings me to the differences between the USA and Europe. When I lived in the USA,I naively assumed that all was hunky dory, but apparently not.

I once watched a TV exposé on massed produced chicken ( over 9 billion were slaughtered in 2024).All the big producers follow the industry practice of soaking chicken carcasses in cold chlorinated water baths for up to an hour, which allows for cross contamination of FECAL matter, which spreads pathogens like E Coli and Salmonella. Hence the term Fecal Soup was coined! And if that is not bad enough, the carcasses soak up the water, hence making them weigh more, which of course equals more $$$ to the producer! It just makes you want to vomit !

Hence I’ve been looking into foods that are banned in the EU and other countries but are on every supermarket shelf in the USA. Rows of cereals that are glow in the dark likewise sweets, all multi coloured with numbers like Red 40, Yellow 5 and Yellow 6 are just some that are used in the USA ( think of M and M’s or skittles, those gaudy colours all the better to tempt the kids) even 50 years ago I was checking out the colours used in sweets! Apparently there are 48 flavours/ colours of Oreo’s. There are many chemicals banned in the EU ( and remember the UK was in the Eu hence we obey the rules). Potassium Bromate is to be found in American Bread, but is a suspected carcinogen, but it makes the bread fluffy, and it even floats in water.

Onto American soft drinks, apart from the fact that they are full of sugar, they contain Bromated Vegetable oil, which is………….. a flame retardant! What? Yes indeed and is used to retain flavour! And what about Ractopamine treated pork ? It is a drug used to fatten pigs for slaughter, but weirdly it is banned in 160 countries even China ! And also weirdly, American food companies do produce different foods for the European market but there seems to be no incentive for them to do so for the USA!

And of course we have all heard about the weight loss drugs, which will soon be available in Pill form! But before that there was OLESTRA! Olestra was approved for use in food stuffs in 1996, by incorporating it into such foods as Chips, Crisps and other snacks, it meant that people could eat junk foods to their Hearts Content! What was wrong with that? Nothing except, it gave the consumer, stomach cramps and Diarrhoea, and I guess in an odd kind of way, maybe led to weight loss! Needless to say it is no longer available ( at least not in developed countries)

Here is a short list of food Additives to avoid!

AZODICARBIDE found in many USA breads and maybe carcinogenic !

Brominated Vegetable oil ( BVO) a flame retardant and flavour enhancer found in the USA in some soft drinks

Butylatedhydoxyanisole (BHA) is a waxy petrochemical, used as a preservative but also found in chewing gum potato chips, baking mixes and frozen foods.

Butylatedhydroxytolene (BHT) as above, from petroleum found in cosmetics, sunscreens,and cereals

Palm Oil, nothing wrong with it but has been banned in the EU, because of deforestation

Potassium Bromate found in flour, breads and cakes and possibly carcinogenic

Propylparaben prohibits the growth of of moulds etc but is a possible carcinogen

Ractopamine is a feed for cows, pigs and poultry to promote growth ( more $ per animal) but is also a Beta Blocker and has been banned in the EU, UK and even China

Bovine growth hormone (rBGH) used widely in the USA but banned in the EU and UK, studies have shown it to have potential cancer risks including breast, colon and prostate.

Titanium Dioxide makes white foods ( such as icing sauces etc) WHITER! But also used in cosmetics.

And the bright food dyes such as Yellow and Red

And more food thoughts, do you like McDonalds, well they certainly are popular . Where I live, there is a McDonalds across the street and the delivery drivers are kept busy delivering even for breakfast. But have you thought what goes into a McD’s French fries? It might surprise you that in the EU and the UK it is not the same as in the USA! AMERICAN French fries contain 10 ingredients and they are:- 4 types of vegetable oil, beef flavouring, dextrose, sodium acid, pyrophosphate , salt and of course potatoes! In the EU/UK just 4, Potatoes, dextrose salt and oil.

And finally, back to my time in the USA. My kids were coming home and I was in the grocery store , trying to read all the small print , when my sons godmother popped up and said “ This is what you should buy, it’s FAT FREE.” around that time , everything had a label saying FAT FREE, but also around that time a study was conducted to find out WHY despite, low fat, people were getting fatter! Why? Well fat is tasty, take away the fat what can replace it to improve the taste ? SUGAR! Oh No!

The bottom line is read the labels ! The shorter the list of ingredients the better!

And moving swiftly on, UPF, Ultra Processed Food, there is a book out on this subject, has good reviews but although I bought it I haven’t had the courage to start reading, it is very comprehensive, small print and huge! Maybe, on holiday when I have nothing else to do!