Food additives.

[lovetorun]

When it comes to food shopping, I'm a label reader.I've noticed an interesting trend: manufactured foods have a lot more different kinds of ingredients than in the "old days" . When my Mom made a cake, "from scratch" back in the day (1950's, 60's) she used about 7-8 ingredients. The other day at a supermarket bakery I counted 53 different ingredients in a cake. Flavorings, preservatives, 4 different artificial colors(!), color retention chemicals, 5-6 kinds of sweetners etc. etc.


And this isn't just cakes...it's any kind of manufactured food.

I know the "reasoning" behind all this i.e. marketing, shelf life etc. but it makes me wonder what the adverse health effects of this might be.

[Jack Slocombe]

You'll probably die a little early. But on the positive side, that eases overpopulation.

[SQUACKEE]

If food additives were bad for you Marlow would have died 20 years ago.

[mcgato]

I work for a food company, and one of our big initiatives is to simplify the label deck and make as many ingredients as possible "natural."

[kuha]

I work for a food company, and one of our big initiatives is to simplify the label deck and make as many ingredients as possible "natural."

Of course, arsenic, mercury, and uranium are all "natural."

[Jack Slocombe]

Remember, the rule is, "extend the life of the food, not the eater".

[lovetorun]

I think simple is good...foods were better (both taste and nutritive value) when prepared fresh and eaten fresh. These days cooking from scratch is almost a lost art.