This day in age, lots of people are worrying about what’s in their food. While some opt for the organic route, and others may choose to go vegan. But there may be some ingredients we can’t exactly escape. A new study shows that insects and other junk is making its way into our food and it's been on ingredients lists all along.
John Swartzberg of Berkley’s School of Public Health recently researched a number of foods we consume on the daily.
- For instance, shredded cheese contains powdered cellulose to prevent the cheese from clumping. It’s made from a variety of plants including wood (so you're better off buying a brick and shredding it yourself).
- Some frozen foods like burritos and pizza contain an amino acid, L-Cysteine. It’s used to improve the texture of dough and contains hair or duck feathers.
- If those don’t freak you out, well your stomach may churn knowing that some red juices contain bugs. Carmine is a natural red food dye used in juices and some yogurts and the only way to make it is by boiling cochineal insects.
- Oh and those jelly beans you had over Easter, they’re made with confectioner’s glaze. That particular ingredient is shellac made from insects in Asia, also the same shellac used as wood finish.
Thing is, all of these ingredients are FDA approved and are “generally recognized as safe.”
Source: CBS Los Angeles