University Daily Kansan / Thursday, April 27, 1989
Health
11
Without phosphoric acid, cola such as Coke and Poni would become contaminated with bacteria.
They use it to stay awake in class, satisfy a good tooth or shred a thirst
Pepsi would become contaminated with bacteria. But with phosphoric acid, colas may contribute to weak bones or osteoporosis later in life, said Albert Burstahler, professor of chemistry.
Phosphoric acid is just one of more than 2,700 types of food additives used in the United States, of which Americans consume about 2 billion pounds a year.
Additives are used in almost everything, ranging from fast food to fruit and salad, from junk food to vegetables. They are often added to food products to add color, add flavor, produce bubbles of gas, sweeten, flavor and more.
Unlike pesticides, additives are used as an actual ingredient in food, rather than a preventive
Bon Coleman, public relations manager for the Coca-Cola Company, said in a telephone interview from Atlanta that Coke contained 5 milligrams of phosphorus and 10 milligrams of Diet Coke content per ounce.
Without them, tons of food would rot on the supermarket shelves each day and even more tons would become contaminated by insects and bacteria, making the food inedible.
The FDA regulates all forms of food additives under the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetic Act of 1938, the 1958 food additives amendment and the 1960 color additives amendment.
There is no doubt that additives are needed to maintain the world food supply, but evidence from scientists, environmentalists and the Food and Drug Administration indicates that food additives may do a significant amount of harm as well as good.
"I have become more and more convinced that a lot of chronic diseases are caused by environmental factors." Burgstahler said. "The dietary component is much higher than has been real-
In the case of phosphoric acid, Burgstahler said that without an equal consumption of calcium-rich products like milk, the excess acid pulls calcium out of the skeleton, causing a thinning of the
Don Brooks, production manager for PepsiCo,
Inc. said in a telephone interview from Pooria,
Ill., that Pepsi contained 4.6 milligrams of phosphorus and 0.8 mg of Diet Pepsin contained 4.4 milligrams per ounce.
What they really are . . .
what they really are... Below are examples of chemical and natural additives included in certain foods.
Preservatives:
Slows spoiling caused by bacteria and molds.
Examples: salt, sugar, sodium nitrate, citric acid.
Foods typically treated:
bread, cheese, cake, fruit,
vegetables, bacon and other meats.
Emulsifiers:
Disperses droplets of one liquid in another liquid. Examples: lecithin, mono and diglycerides. Foods treated: ice cream, mayonnaise, salad dressing, margarine, shortening.
Coloring agents:
Antioxidants:
Adds aesthetic appeal to foods.
Examples: natural color dyes and
colors in food packaging.
Foods treated: soft drinks, butter,
sauage, pudding, cereal.
Slows拌油 of fats.
Examples: propyl gallate, BHA,
BHT, lecithin.
Foods treated: cooking oil and
shortening, potato chips, crackers,
salted nuts and cereal.
Acidulants:
Provides a tart taste or masks undesirable aftertastes.
Examples: phosphonic acid,
citric acid, fumaric acid.
Foods treated: citrus and fruit
soft drinks, desserts, gravy, soup
cheese, salad dressing.
Flavorers:
If *p.* food additive is classified as GRAS, or generally recognized as safe, it is not subject to research and testing unless evidence arises to suggest that the additive is harmful.
Manufacturers of all new additives must submit research information to the FDA, which the agency then analyzes and makes a judgment on the safety of the product.
But the list of products once generally recognized as safe but now under scrutiny is growing. One of the more famous casualties is red dye Nano, a synthetic widespread consumer concern in the mid-1990s.
Added to enhance or mask flavor
The FDA banned red dye No.2 in 1976, causing
Examples: saccharin, NutraSweet,
monosodium glutamate.
Foods treated: ice cream, soft
drinks, candy, pickles, salad
dressing, and most processed
heat-and-serve foods.
Stabilizers and thickeners:
Source: Environmental Science: An Introduction, by G.T. Miller, 1988
Provides smooth texture and consistency,
and prevents separation of ingredients.
Examples: gum arabic, dextrin, gelatin,
seawed extracts.
Foods treated: cheese spread, ice cream,
beer, soft drinks.
a great deal of consumer concern and confusion.
Mars Inc., manufacturer of M&Ms, stopped distributing red M&Ms immediately even though they did not use red dye No. 2.
"There was a lot of concern and confusion, and rather than explain to millions of customers that the dye we used was not the one under scrutiny, we just took the red M&Ms off the market," said Hans Fuczynski, external director for Mars in Hackettstown, N.J. "Now that I look back, maybe we overreacted. After all, you didn't see jelpO or Kool Aid going pale."
Mars began redistributing the red M&Ms in 1987.
Three more red dyes. Ns, 3, 33, and 36, are presently undergiding FDA review.
Another product that is on the GRAS list but has come under question is sufure. Sulfite is used as a preservative in foods ranging from alcoholic beverages to gelatin to baked goods and relishes.
beverages to gelatin to take goods to the kitchen.
Its use in fresh fruits, vegetables and salad bars was banned in 1987, but many commonly-used foods still contain sulfite.
The use of sulfite in potatoes has come under scrutiny in recent congressional hearings. According to the FDA, 17 deaths have possible links to the use of sulfite in potatoes.
In a 1988 article in FDA Consumer magazine, the FDA contended that some deaths that occurred after eating french fries or hash browns may have been linked to sulfite. It is speculated that people who suffer from asthma may be more likely to have adverse reactions to the product.
Congressional hearings recently have been held on the issue, and they had been proposed to ban the use of plastic bags in fresh water pots.
The proposal, however, does not include packaged food such as frozen french fries or hash browns, which account for 14 percent of the complaints about sulfite received by the FDA.
An important factor in FDA regulation of food additives is the Delaney Clause of 1986, which states that any food found to have a link to cancer histories or in animals must be banned from the market.
Researchers have found the requirement too restrictive, and they need to modify the clause to make it more adequate to Congress.
Saccharin, a sweetener that has been linked to cancer in animals, is still allowed in food products accompanied by a warning label. Julia Hewleyg, FDA consumer affairs officer, said in an interview that G., that the product would be acceptable as a food additive until May 1, 1992, when the FDA must make a ruling on its safety.
it is very expensive and time consuming to look at the possibilities of cancer in each compound," said Morris Faiman, professor of pharmacology and toxicology. "Everything can be found to be tonic. You must balance out the risk to benefit ratio of the product.
"Food additives are a necessity, and they are in just about everything in the supermarket. You have to decide to just enjoy life or else live on it. And anyway, water has chemicals in it too."