Food Additive Health
Effects & Toxics in Plastic Packages
https://www.ewg.org/research/food-additive-science/
EWG advice for families: Read
ingredient labels to avoid these additives. Choose fresh whole foods when
possible.
Food
Additives
To
Avoid
|
Chemical
|
Function
|
Health
Harm
|
Products
That May Contain Food Additives*
|
|
Brominated vegetable oil
|
Emulsifier
|
Harm to the nervous system
|
Soda, sports drinks
|
|
Potassium
bromate
|
Dough conditioning
|
Increased risk of cancer
|
Bread, noodles, dough-based products
|
|
Nitrate and nitrite
|
Antimicrobials (meat preservatives)
|
Increased risk of cancer
|
Processed meat
|
|
Propyl paraben
|
Antimicrobials (preservatives)
|
Endocrine disruption
|
Corn tortillas
|
|
Butylated
hydroxyanisole
(BHA);
butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT); propyl gallate; tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ)
|
Antioxidants (preservatives)
|
Increased risk of cancer
|
Processed meat, ready-to-eat cereal, flour-based snacks
|
|
FD&C colors (Red 3, Red 40, Yellow 5, Yellow 6, Blue 1, Blue
2, Green 3)
|
Synthetic colorants
|
Neurobehavioral problems in children
|
Candy, ready-to-eat baked goods, chips and snacks, cereal, soda
|
|
Titanium dioxide
|
Mineral colorants
|
Change to the immune system in the digestive tract
|
Candy, ready-to-eat baked goods, ice cream
|
|
Acesulfame potassium,
advantame
,
aspartame, neotame, saccharin, sucralose
|
Non-nutritive synthetic sweeteners
|
Weight gain and change to metabolism
|
Diet beverages and other prepared beverages, ice cream
|
* These are the most common categories where food
additives can be found. The food additives included in this table can be found
in many different products, including some not listed here. The only way to
know whether a specific product contains a particular ingredient is to read the
ingredient label.
A food preservative
used to prolong the shelf life of Pop-Tarts, Rice Krispies Treats, Cheez-Its
and almost 1,250 other popular processed foods may harm the immune system,
according to a new peer...
EWG’s analysis of EPA ToxCast data showed that the preservative tert-butylhydroquinone, or TBHQ , has been found to harm the immune system both in animal tests and in non-animal tests known as high-throughput in vitro toxicology testing.
Food
Packaging Chemicals That Can Harm Health
|
Chemical
|
Health
Harm
|
|
BPA
|
Endocrine disruptor
|
|
PFAS
|
Harm to the immune system, harm to the developing fetus,
|
|
Phthalates
|
Endocrine disruptors
|
Ge netically Modified Food- Adverse Health Effects
According to several studies, health issues such as asthma, attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), heart difficulties, cancer, obesity, and
others are caused by harmful additives and preservatives. Some food additives
may interfere with hormones and influences growth and development.
Many
additives have teratogenic effects and regular use should be avoided.
Food Additives to be Avoided: Aspartame, Trans Fats, High Fructose Corn
Syrup, Sodium Nitrate(cancer), MSG, Artificial Food Colorings, BHA/
BHT(
cancer), Potassium Bromate(bread/cancer),Butane(chicken
nuggets/cancer),
Propal
gallate(fats/cancer)
EWG
DIRTY DOZEN FOOD CHEMICALS TO AVOID
[(nitrates & nitrites/cancer
),Potassium
bromate(bread/cancer), Propyl paraben(pastries/D&R
h), BHA(cured meat/cancer), BHT(cereals/cancer), PFAS(plastics/
cancer,immu,repro
), artificial colors(D&R), artificial
sweetners
(
hormones,metab
),titanium
dioxide(candy/DNA), BVO(drinks/neuro),
TBHQ(
pop tarts, etc./immune), heavy metals]
100
Food Additives to Avoid
(& why)
