13 Banned Foods Still Allowed in the U.S.

LiptonCambell: You think the FDA has your back? Sure, they recently proposed two new regulations to up food safety measures, specifically how food processors and farmers can work better to keep their fresh products free of dangerous bacteria (remember that killer cantaloupe outbreak from 2011?). But while it may seem like the government is out to protect us from bad—even fatal—food-borne illnesses, which cause some 3,000 deaths a year, they don't completely have our best interest—or health—in mind.

“For numerous suspicious and disturbing reasons, the U.S. has allowed foods that are banned in many other developed countries into our food supply,” says nutritionist Mira Calton who, together with her husband Jayson Calton, Ph.D., wrote the new book Rich Food, Poor Food due out this February.

During a six-year expedition that took them to 100 countries on seven continents, the Caltons studied more than 150 ingredients and put together a comprehensive list of the top 13 problematic products that are forbidden by governments, outside the U.S., due to their detrimental effects on human health.

“If you see any of the following ingredients listed on the nutrition label, don’t buy the product,” Calton warns. “Leaving these banned bad boys on the shelves will speak volumes to grocery stores and food manufactures about what informed consumers simply won’t tolerate.”

Ingredients: Coloring agents (blue 1, blue 2, yellow 5, and yellow 6)
Found In: Cake, candy, macaroni and cheese, medicines, sport drinks, soda, pet food, and cheese

LiptonCambell: Why the U.S. Allows It: We eat with our eyes. “Recent studies have shown that when food manufacturers left foods in their natural, often beige-like color instead of coloring them with these chemical agents, individuals thought they tasted bland and ate less, even when the recipe wasn't altered,” Calton says. This may explain why the use of artificial dyes—the most popular being red 40, yellow 5, and yellow 6—have increased five-fold since 1955.
Health Hazards: Back in the day, food coloring came from natural sources, such as saffron and turmeric. “Today most artificial colors are made from coal tar, which is also used to seal-coat products to preserve and protect the shine of industrial floors,” Carlton says. “It also appears in head lice shampoos to kill off the small bugs.”

Ingredient: Olestra (aka Olean)
Found In: Fat-free potato chips
Why the U.S. Allows It: Procter & Gamble Co. took a quarter century and spent a half a billion dollars to create “light” chips that are supposedly better for you, Calton says. They may need another half a billion bucks to figure out how to deal with the embarrassing bathroom side effects (including oily anal leakage) that comes with consuming these products.
Health Hazards: “This fat substitute appears to cause a dramatic depletion of fat-soluble vitamins and carotenoids, robbing us of the vital micro-nutrients," Calton says, adding that many countries, including the U.K. and Canada, have banned it.

Ingredient: Brominated vegetable oil (aka BVO)
Found In: Sports drinks and citrus-flavored sodas
Why the U.S. Allows It: BVO acts as an emulsifier, preventing the flavoring from separating and floating to the surface of beverages, Calton says.
Health Hazards: “Because it competes with iodine for receptor sites in the body, elevated levels of the stuff may lead to thyroid issues, such as hypothyroidism, autoimmune disease, and cancer,” Calton says. That's not all. BVO's main ingredient, bromine, is a poisonous chemical that is considered both corrosive and toxic. It's been linked to major organ system damage, birth defects, growth problems, schizophrenia, and hearing loss, which explains why it's been nixed in more than 100 countries.

Ingredient: Potassium bromate (aka brominated flour)
Found In: Rolls, wraps, flatbread, bread crumbs, and bagel chips
Why the U.S. Allows It: This flour-bulking agent helps strengthen dough, reducing the amount of time needed for baking, which results in lowered costs, Calton explains.
Health Hazards: Made with the same toxic chemical found in BVO (bromine), this additive has been associated with kidney and nervous system disorders as well as gastrointestinal discomfort. “While the FDA has not banned the use of bromated flour, they do urge bakers to voluntarily leave it out,” Calton says.

Ingredient: Azodicarbonamide
Found In: Breads, frozen dinners, boxed pasta mixes, and packaged baked goods
Why the U.S. Allows It: While most countries wait a week for flour to naturally whiten, the American food processors prefer to use this chemical to bleach the flour ASAP.
Health Hazards: It's not enough to just ban this product in Singapore. You can get up to 15 years in prison and be penalized nearly half a million dollars in fines for using this chemical that's been linked to asthma and is primarily used in foamed plastics, like yoga mats and sneaker soles.

Ingredients: BHA and BHT
Found In: Cereal, nut mixes, gum, butter, meat, dehydrated potatoes, and beer
Why the U.S. Allows It: “Made from petroleum [yummy!], these waxy solids act as preservatives to prevent food from becoming rancid and developing objectionable odors,” Calton says. A better solution may be natural rosemary and sage. In a 2006 study, some organic herbs and spices proved to be efficient at preventing oxidative decay in meat, which ultimately could improve the shelf-life of these products.
Health Hazards: California is the only state that recognizes the U.S. National Institute of Health's report that BHA is may be a human carcinogen, a cancer-causing agent.

Ingredients: Synthetic hormones (rBGH and rBST)
Found In: Milk and dairy products
Why the U.S. Allows It: Gotta keep moo-ving things along. Dairy farmers inject cows with genetically-engineered cow growth hormones to boost milk production by about 10 percent, according to Calton.
Health Hazards: “Cows treated with these synthetic hormones often become lame, infertile, and suffer from inflamed and infected udders,” Calton says. Humans, who consume these cows byproducts, are in no better shape, she adds: “The milk is supercharged with IGF-1 (insulin growth factor -1), which has been linked to breast, colon, and prostate cancers.”

Ingredient: Arsenic
Found In: Poultry
Why the U.S. Allows It: Big brother FDA permits arsenic in chicken feed to promote growth, improve efficiency in feeding the birds, and boost pigmentation. “The arsenic affects the blood vessels in chickens and turkeys, causing them to appear pinker and, therefore, fresher,” Calton says.
Health Hazards: The European Union has outlawed the use of arsenic since 1999, Calton says, and the Environmental Protection Agency classifies inorganic arsenic as a "human carcinogen." Take matters into your own hands by sticking to organic birds only.

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Thoughts?

Winter0fDiscontent: I was shocked to learn about the use of arsenic in chicken.
In Argentina it's legal to use ddt as a pesticide and aspartame is not banned.

Corwin: Aspartame is one I'm still amazed is on the shelves... it's been known for years that it's nasty stuff. And now they're even putting it in drinks along with regular sugars to make them taste even sweeter, and those don't have the obvious "Diet" labeling to give you a heads-up.

Sunny-D orange juice is one... many iced-teas... I have to read labels like a hawk - those artificial sweeteners throw my whole metabolism into a frenzy and make me as sick as a dog for hours.
Especially aspartame.

And the labeling is so tiny... I need to bring reading glasses with me to buy groceries... and I have good eye-sight. I mostly just prepare my own meals from scratch... thank goodness I'm a good cook.

Winter0fDiscontent: WELL, aspartame is confirmed to go straight to the brain and encapsulate the grey cells and gradually ferment until it becomes alcoholic. After a few years the alcohol becomes formaldehyde, which means that those grey cells are susceptible (or condemned) to a cancerous degeneration of the cells, causing brain tumors or alzheimer. NIce. There is a documentarv about it called Aspartame, tghe sweet misery.

Winter0fDiscontent: There is also another sweetening poison that is almost present in every processed food and drink called high fructose corn syrup. This one is responsible for diabetes, heart conditions,depression, glucose drop, anxiety, obesity,slow metabolism, it enhances the tendency to addiction and may contribute to cancer. It is mainly used to cut budgets since sugar is more expensive.
I don't eat processed foods and only buy raw materials such as vegetables,flour, eggs, honey etc and make my own food, even bread. I'm healthier, smarter, stronger, totally slim and feel happy all the time. I am what I eat.

Big Bopper: I'm in Canada and much of the information fed to us has been 'sanitized', but what I see is rather alarming. The USA system of government allows lobby groups to put money into the political entity that will further their cause. It happens in Canada, too.

So what this means is the chemical companies, Monsanto and Dupont, are selling more chemicals to farmers in the guise of helping to feed the world. Unfortunately, some of these chemicals get right into our food. I don't get sick and can eat stuff that might kill others, but think about a child ingesting...anything questionable, and the potential harmful substances have for ruining their lives. It looks like the USA is poisoning their children. Officially and legally! because chemical companies are , essentially, crafting the legislation controlling factors directly affecting the safety of our food supply. Because of the money put into the system by these multi-national companies, they have too much effect on regulations made by the FDA.

If you have children, look it up, do some research, so you know you are giving your kids the best start you can. I'll do my part by trying to use only 'organic', non-gmo food and vegetables I grow myself and keeping my money from contributing to this problematic situation. To this end, avoid processed foods. Not just the ones with colouring agents, but emulsifiers, thickeners, flocculants, anti-flocculants, and sweeteners. Many of these 'food' products are chemicals derived from corn. Corn is genetically monified and may contain harmful substances.

Sorry for the lecture. I'm not a fanatic, but I think everyone should be thinking about what our governments are allowing to happen to our food. My food. Your food. Your children's food. Your grandchildren's food...

harlett anathema: i am researching....some of the above for myself,
i love good food
what i don't love,is the odd & unusual sensation that my body is becoming allergic to everything i eat...anyone else feel like they are bloating up too max for a few days..

it's been a complaint of mine...that grocery stores are selling what appears to be....ripe fruit such as fresh peaches and vegetables such as tomatoes,that have no flavor too them ..none..they don't even have a scent to wet the appetite ..sometimes that seems to be perfect fresh fruit or vegetable is actually rotten on the inside...

which is a great annoyance..i pack my husband lunch everyday usually 6 days a week..that lunch box i pack for him is his FOOD Source when away from home..he wants several pieces of fresh fruit in his lunch box stash...

ahahahaha.. i am always long winded....when into a subject..

i have a personal problem with the cloning of BEEF..i can't stand the strange,odd
and unnatural odor that comes off second or third cloned from a clone chuck of beef...that never leaves the meat... it always smells like raw ham...and it tastes like it too me.. i can't won't eat it.. my husband on the other hand doesn't appear to notice..it...chows down as usual..

anyway...i have been asking myself..what does genetically modified WHEAT mean..
personally i think it means more then we will ever be...TOLD....

i don't do diet drinks.. i do not use artificial sweetners...can't stand the after taste..
back a couple of years.. i did try a sample of STEVIA....i bought a jar of it... from purtian's pride...

i didn't like it.... you all have run into those weeds with the scratchy leaves that are sometimes sticky.. well that's how the after taste of stevia tasted too me.. like scratchy leaves...other wise the sweetness was okay had a green plantish sweet taste too it,but then that scratchy after taste......

i am in the moment waiting on sample of "XYLITOL"..that i hope will become my new baking cakes cookies,pies,making ice creams..ice teas.. etc.. sweetner... even though it can't be used in making BREAD of any kind..it will not feed the yeast....i am in the moment looking into the variety of gluten free flours..and of commercially made products... Ronzoni makes a line of Gluten free pasta...

anyway..Genetically Modified WHEAT means...the altered wheat is "GLYPHOSATE"resistant..which means it contains a transgene that allows it to survive when a popular WEED KILLER made by Monsanto called round-up is sprayed onto the fields...

http://phys.org/news/2013-05-probes-genetically-wheat-discovery.html

http://www.fooddialogues.com/foodsource/gmo?gclid=CJCa2Jnmh7wCFcFj7AodXggAqQ

oops..here...

http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-996-XYLITOL.aspx?activeIngredientId=996&activeIngredientName=XYLITOL

harlett anathema: why not just stick with sugar sugar....i am of the mind...that all of the genetically modified foods etc etc etc.. feeds our bodies candida albicans...i am on mission,too understand the sources of diseases...i think when the bodies yeast builds up inside of us.. it becomes toxic in many many ways..causes all manner of skin diseases rashes and organ damage..

cooking is a favorite past time of mine.. i love good food.. i wanna eat.. and feel full of vim & vigor afterwards not bloated...& awful...

LiptonCambell: We use Corn Sucrose because it's cheaper, meaning our pops, candies, and anything that uses it, cheaper as well.

The number one reason why it's more common is because people prefer the drop in price. If I see a coca cola for sale in stores for $1.75 and another bottle of coca cola, same size, for sale at $3- guess what I'm gunna buy?

There's always going to be personal preference of taste and personal preference of the company's actions but that's why you have the choice.

Personally, I think alot of this insistence that things taste differently is in your head- that if someone gave you a gmo and told you it was organic, it would taste fresh(honestly, alot of the 'organic' labels are just that- recently a company in the states got lambasted for selling food as 'organic' when they use all sorts of chemicals for it- and since the label 'organic' is not federally defined and enforced, they are completely in their right to slap that label on any kind of food)

But, ultimately, it's your own choice to make

Corwin: It's the same @#$%ing banana!

harlett anathema: .....the book i was waiting on is here...."Wheat Belly" by william Davis,md..

oh yeah and my sample of....Xylitol......i haven't tasted it yet...hold on...i'll go & try it..

harlett anathema: OMG am i pleasantly surprised...i could see that it looked like sugar in the package... YIP_PEEEEE no aftertaste... there is no strange odd and unusual after taste....ah hahahahaha..now to find out how much it's gonna cost me.... too keep it in my pantry as i do sugar..bet that's where the damn it is gonna be...

Corwin: Great... another sweet tasting chemical we can poison ourselves with.

I looked it up on WebMD ---
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-supplements/ingredientmono-996-XYLITOL.aspx?activeIngredientId=996&activeIngredientName=XYLITOL

I'd be easy on that stuff if I were you, Har. That stuff has medicinal properties, and should only be ingested in small doses. It seems that it is also lethal to dogs, even in tiny amounts, should be avoided by pregnant or breast-feeding women, it gives you cancer after three years of continuous use, and as an extra bonus it gives you diarrhea and intestinal gas.

Seriously.... is a little ordinary sugar really such a bad thing?

harlett anathema: ummm..i do believe i posted the web md..article...web address...!!!!!

i can explain ta ya..if ya like.. why they suggest u start out using it in small doses...

Xylitol..CAN NOT be used in bread making...IT DOES NOT ,CAN NOT FEED THE YEAST...it's sister ERYTHITOL will feed the yeast..and will not rot the enamel off your teeth..

okay....here we go.. with the yip-pee in my book.. over XYLITOL....our bodies produce a YEAST..called candida albicans that modern medicine will NOT BE HONEST ABOUT...with out dragging on & on & on..on my part.....

i am of the mind... body fat is the WASTE PRODUCT the POOP/FECES if you will of that candida albicans... then i personally believe depending on your body chemistry,depends what skin rashes diseases you get when the candida starts flushing through your SKIN..ehhhhhhhh....mean while it is junking up our organs,our blood,our body water,OUR VERY DELICATE BRAINS...

CANDIDA ALBICANS is insidious....and it is a LIVING YEAST...IT'S HAS WASTE PRODUCTS MADE BY IT that has MASS BULK to it.. when you KILL IT COLD BLOODILY MURDER the yeast your body is gonna eliminate it...


look our wheat isn't merely weed killer tolerant they are LYING to us... the WHEAT FEEDS the YEAST... which causes a strong bodily need for more of it..

here.. in infancy our bodies set a weight for us.. we can struggle against all of our lives...i think the tinkering they did with our food..has caused our bodies to set that weight at a higher scale.. were eating bankrupt nutrition that bulks us up and causes body chemistry addictions for more. through CANDIDA ALBICANS...

harlett anathema: if you read about either.....ERYTHRITOL & XYLITOL..you'll have read that they NATURALLY MADE FROM NATURAL PRODUCTS... CORN and or BIRCH BARK... and that unlike sugar cane sugar are non toxic...caustic..too our bodies...

i love making good clean food..I wanna enjoy the simple PLEASURE of enjoying that Food.. i am tired of getting up from a plate and feeling awful,unsatisfied. from the nutritional bankruptcy...and are then struck by a body chemistry addiction need for more sugars....

I will beat that bankrupt nonsense if it kills me...I will get the upper hand on sugar addiction...and YES Know Exactly what I am using too HELP ME Beat it...

Coconut oil..pure 100% cold pressed virgin Coconut oil...HUH.. it coats the digestive tract fills all the nook and crannies... is the KEY INGREDIENT in all of diet food best sellers.. it puts a lid on CRAVINGS nagging haggings of all kinds..

i haveta eat..... and knew i'd haveta let dust settle with gluten free... am i did...they perfected the gluten free flour blends...used in baking,bread making and pasta making...

i am thinking of going partially vegan.. and start making my own Almond MILK and not ever buy another gallon or quart of cows milk again... and make my own "land of lakes type butter from that home made almond milk.. using you guess it.. the coconut oil for the fat... content needed"...and of course i'd be able ta toast some of my almonds and or cashews.. and make my own skippy type nut butter..instead of peanutbutter peanutbutter..

harlett anathema: while perfecting the gluten flours and different blends, while they recipe tested nipped and tucked revised those recipes with those flours etc etc... they decided too use our worlds other sugar sources...and is why were hearing of all these strange odd and unusual sounding sugars.. or sweeteners...



CORVIN.... that chemically made sweetener you were speaking about making you nutzo..is known to send those in depressions into even deeper depressions and to send schizophrenic off the deep end..on meds or not...

soooooooooooO..why is it allowed in FOOD and DRINK PRODUCTION.....


check please... we deserve a check for being forced into obesity food addictions and made socially mentally ill...

Corwin: Hey, whatever floats your boat.

But I am always skeptical when I hear the term "naturally made from natural products", as if that somehow absolves it from any harmful effects and proves that it can only be a good thing.---
Arsenic is also a naturally occurring substance found in nature. Cyanide is one of the deadliest toxins known to man and is produced in peach pits. Ricin is a deadly toxin produced in the seeds of the castor oil plant. Ergot is a naturally occurring mold that forms on rye grain... very deadly. Many species of frogs naturally produce toxins on their skin so deadly that if you tried to kiss it in hopes of turning it into a prince you would do well to make funeral arrangements ahead of time.
I suppose Black Widow spider venom could be considered to be "100% natural", as well as Rattlesnake venom. Poison Ivy is all-natural... but I wouldn't recommend using an extract to make a skin creme out of... even though you could proudly claim on the label "naturally made from natural products".
Gasoline is made from natural products as well. Sulfur dioxide is produced naturally inside volcanoes. You can make atomic bombs out of Uranium... that's a natural substance found somewhat abundantly throughout the Earth's crust.

"All Natural"? Okay then.

harlett anathema: ahahaha...i can be soooOH full of noise........

from what i have gathered.......Homemade ALMOND MILK is the BEST..

you need a really good blender..
some muslim cloth.
some parchment paper
your sweetener of choice should you choose to sweetened it,i am about certain when i make my FIRST BATCH i'll sample unsweetened and sweetened with all natural molasses just a scant teaspoon full there about i am unsure because i haven't ever tasted any or made any almond milk yet..... from what i have read vegans are using a date??? or fig???? to sweetened theirs... mean while molasses is a natural perservative... and sweetener..

vegans complain of refrigerator shelf life.......while some sites say.....4 day shelf life is the max... which means you'll be making small batches...


you will soak your green almonds for at least 12 hours in cold water to softened them.. rumor i gathered is.. the longer you soak them the richer ,creamier and silkier your milk will be...i'll be cold water soaking mine for at least 24 hours.....i will remove any floating almond skins..will drain the almonds then i will measure in fresh cold water... it's something like 3 cups of cold water to 1 cup of soaked green almonds...in a sauce pans and i am gonna blanch those green almonds before i grind them with that water into walla fresh almond milk...

your then going to strain your almond mash through the muslim cloth squeeze out all of the excess almond milk.....you just made.....

and......now your gonna line a baking pans cookie sheet with parchment paper put your oven on the lowest tempt.. and dry out the ground almond meal... whirl again in your blender... and walla you have almond flour for a batch of cookies or for a pie crust ...

harlett anathema: okay....here.....run you some experiments...

my first experiment...distilling with ALCOHOL....I used 100 proof grain alcohol...man was it strong and darn near un drinkable.. we couldn't take just a shot of it..

ahhhhhhh------haaaaaaaaa......after i stuffed some mediocre pot into that bottle..of 100 proof grain alcohol...schook it every other day... for 2 weeks.....it became as smooth as smooth gets you couldn't smell the alcohol..taste the alcohol... and what happened is after you got over your numb lip... was a constant flushing and washing of a warmth calming sensation that erased all of your bodies aches and pains.....


you can get yourself a pint bottle of rum...jack daniels....and a bag of vanilla beans...

stuff either bottle with the vanilla beans....leave to distill.....now...it's three monthslater...open your bottle of mccormack vanilla extract and your still distilling vanilla extract.. which bottle has a very little waffing of alcohol scent.. and instead smells like dreamy vanilla.. YOURS does.and in another couple of months your distilled vanilla is gonna be even more dreamy...

md's don't treat us for our worm infestations cause getting worms is natural for all animals..but we heart worm our dogs every month or feel gulity...

harlett anathema: ridding oneself of worms... and killing off candida albicans have very similar side effects...you will feel as sick as you did while the infestations grew ...when you are eliminating them from your body...

Big Bopper: I love to eat. I live to eat. I try to stay in shape so I can eat. I'm in hot yoga this month so I can eat more. Age is taking the joy of living away, but yoga has given my appetite back. When my month is up, I'll skate, ice hockey, for a while until tennis starts...all so I can eat. I work my butt off so I can eat.

I eat very few prepared foods, preferring real food I see being cooked. I'm not 100% sure of the sources of the whole foods I buy, but doing it all myself feels much better. I even bake my bread with whole wheat flour, make my pizza dough, and bake meat pies with unbleached flour. I make soup with chicken backs and necks, so the only poison in my soup is fed to the birds.

I just feed me what feels good, but these people with kids should be watching what they feed them.

Deb_NY: Has anyone tried the Paleo diet? It's not a fad diet. It's clean eating, non-processed, grass fed meats and organic vegetables ---- nothing in packaging. It's a diet that makes you aware of all the GMOs and poisons that the FDA approves of. Google it. All of the wheat that you eat, breads, pastas, etc., are all contaminated. Eliminate sugar and gluten. Research Paleo!

LiptonCambell: DId....did their account get closed in less than 2 hours?

Corwin: Perhaps pushing fad-diets is considered spamming.

Speaking of Spam (the canned variety), I really like that stuff. They say it was created during WW2 as a meat-source for British soldiers in the field, as well as British citizens, when good meat was scarce... so they could take any old chunks of mystery-meat (lips and butt-holes), salt it, and pack it into a can.

So a lot of Brits were dining on this this stuff, and many acquired a taste for it. And now, the Spam brand is actually a bit pricey... I opt for the off-brand "luncheon meat" that's only about a buck a can. You can eat it cold on a sandwich with a little mustard, you can fry it, bake it in honey and hot-mustard (a family favorite when I was a kid), or even crumble it over a salad.

I personally don't care what it's made of..... I'm eatin' it.

Big Bopper: When it comes down to it...yeah, I'll eat nearly anything that tastes good.

Deb...I live the Paleo diet, but not to ridiculous extremes. Have you tried to grow and cook everything you eat? What a lot of work. Start by eliminating pre-made foods from your shopping list, using all the canned and frozen pre-made stuff you have already bought.

Then kick it up a notch or two...plant a garden, building your own soil from manure and seaweed using no chemicals, weeding it all by hand. Self sufficiency is near impossible in the climate I live in, but growing as much as I can is a great lesson. Plus...I grow the best tasting tomatoes I've tried. I don't buy the plastic ones in the shops.

We should all grow as much food as we can.