December 29, 2023 • 16 mins
This episode focuses on the surprising facts involving our food and the chemicals we are all allowed to consume, the loopholes that allow manufacturers to hide what they are putting in our food, and the lack of research on those chemicals.
But there is hope! Great advocacy is leading to closing loopholes and empowering the FDA to be more efficient in regulating our food, but we are not there yet!
Stick around to the end of the episode to hear my top ten ways of eliminating toxins and chemicals from the body...
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
The Advocate for Success. Season 1, Episode 9. Chemical Characteristics of Food
(00:08):
Produced by, Elton Thomas.
Empowerment, can be expressed, through your apparell.
Visit the MissionAdvocate Store on Etsy, at Etsy.com/shop/MissionAdvocate.
(00:30):
Stick around for the end of this podcast, to hear the top ten
things you can do, to limit your exposure to chemicals in food.
I have been HAZWOPPER certified for over 20 years, working in chemical filling and aerosols.
In my training, I have learned much about how regulations allow for
various amounts of chemicals to be placed in household products, including, food.
(00:54):
Right out of high school, I did not have much money and was looking for my first job.
I was making a small income of $400 a month, but after
bills and rent, there was just a little left over for food.
I would also donate plasma, alternating twice one week and three times the next to get by.
When it came to purchasing food, cheap was the number one rule.
(01:17):
Dried packs of ramen noodles and the 99-cent menu at McDonald's were my primary options for my food intake.
After I got my first job, my earnings increased,
However, my dietary habits did not change.
By my mid-twenties, my health was not doing very well (01:33):
high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides.
It was not until I became certified in Hazardous Management Operations that I started thinking
about food differently and establishing boundaries of what I would allow into my body.
(01:55):
The chemical characteristics of food refer to the types and amounts of nutrients such as
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, and fiber that are present in a given food.
Nutrients are essential for human health, and they must be ingested in proper proportions to ensure a balanced diet.
Chemicals are necessary for the manufacture of most foods, and they
(02:19):
also contribute to a person’s eating experience through flavorings and colorings.
Most chemicals used in the production and preparation of food are not harmful
unless they are exposed to people for prolonged periods at high levels.
Scientists help safeguard against these harmful effects by establishing safe levels of exposure and providing
scientific advice for regulators who set regulations on what gets put in our food.
(02:44):
Most foods are perishable, and they must be treated to extend their shelf life – this is called preservation chemistry.
In order to preserve foods, manufacturers often use a variety of technological treatments such as chemical, physical, and biological processes.
These are typically applied with a sanitizing purpose (destroying pathogens) or with the aim
(03:07):
of diversification - obtaining from a particular raw material a variety of different products.
Technological treatments also alter the chemical composition of foods, by adding or removing chemicals or changing their properties.
Food can be contaminated with a large number of chemicals arising
from industrial and agricultural production, as well as from environmental pollution.
(03:30):
Some of these are contaminants that are present in the environment - for example, nitrates and BPA - and
others are produced by the food industry itself, - for instance, perchlorate, thiocyanate, potassium bromate, and synthetic dyes.
Most of these are harmless if not consumed in high quantities, but some have been shown to have negative
(03:52):
impacts on our health, such as the neurodevelopmental effect from perchlorate and the thyroid hormone disruption caused by phthalates.
Phthalates are a class of chemicals commonly found in many types of food — from
fast food to fresh fruits and vegetables. The chemicals get into food mainly through packaging
and food handling equipment, like cellophane, paper and paperboard, and plastic in contact with food.
(04:17):
Perchlorate is one of approximately 10,000 chemicals allowed for use in food
and food packaging – and it’s also an ingredient in rocket fuel.
The Food and Drug Administration approved perchlorate for use in plastic packaging and food handling equipment for dry
food – like cereal, flour, spices, and many other additives – to reduce the buildup of static charges.
(04:40):
Every year, new research emerges that demonstrates the ways in which the chemicals in our
food affect us—these range from causing cancer and infertility to behavioral problems in children.
However, despite a law passed over 60 years ago requiring that the FDA and the food
industry consider the cumulative health effects of chemicals in our diets, these concerns are largely ignored.
(05:03):
A significant factor contributing to this neglect is the GRAS loophole, standing for Generally Recognized as Safe, that
allows manufacturers to keep their own decisions about what chemicals they will allow in our food a secret.
This rule means that we are not aware of the many chemicals that have been deemed
by manufacturers to be “generally recognized as safe” and do not undergo rigorous safety reviews.
(05:27):
Regulations should be strengthened and updated to ensure that the safety of all chemicals in our food is considered,
including those used in food contact articles - where there is a risk that they can migrate into foods.
A transparent prioritization strategy is required that determines which chemicals are reassessed first.
This should also include consideration of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their non-monotonic dose response.
(05:57):
There are two primary issues here.
The first is that the FDA needs to require research of the cumulative effects of chemicals placed in food.
For example, if five micrograms of a chemical show no harmful immediate impacts, but 100
micrograms do show harmful health impacts, then the FDA will likely allow for five micrograms.
(06:20):
What is unknown, is what health issues may arise from taking five micrograms, over a period of time.
Manufacturers, then, are allowed to make a judgement call on whether or not a
chemical is dangerous, even without doing any research to prove or disprove it.
The second issue is that manufacturers are not required to list all the chemicals that are added to food.
(06:44):
This keeps the public from doing their research on the first issue.
For instance, I learned that processed coffee has over 2,000 chemicals
that are not listed because they fall below the reportable range.
Long-term research has yet to be done on those chemicals to see what health issues may arise after prolonged exposure,
and since they are not listed, no one outside that company can research to verify that they are safe.
(07:09):
Another fact I learned about coffee is that buying the beans will not have those chemicals since
they are not processed; thus, if you buy the coffee beans and grind them yourself, then you
will not be exposing yourself to the processed chemicals; however, still could be exposed to pesticides and
other general contaminants found wherever those beans made contact from the farm to the store.
(07:35):
A wide variety of chemicals are allowed to be put into
our food, from preservatives and flavorings to anti-oxidants and coloring agents.
Depending on the chemicals, they can have both positive and negative effects on our health in
the short or long term, from increasing cancer risk to causing behavioral problems in children.
But what many people don’t realize is that the FDA, which regulates the use of chemicals in
(08:00):
foods, doesn’t always keep up with the latest scientific research on how these additives affect our health.
In fact, more than 10,000 chemicals have been deemed safe by the FDA without ever being thoroughly tested for safety.
The FDA has given these chemicals the green light based on secret, industry-funded studies that
often do not fully consider how these additives might impact humans in the real world.
(08:25):
This is mainly because of what’s called the GRAS loophole, which was created in 1958 as
part of the Food Additives Amendment to the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Initially, it was supposed to apply only to common ingredients with established safety records, such as salt, vinegar, and flour.
(08:47):
However, the chemical industry has taken advantage of it to allow it to bypass total safety reviews
for a whole host of chemicals, including many that are now known to cause serious health harm.
In the decades since the GRAS loophole was first introduced, there has been
a sea change in scientists’ understanding of these additives and their health impacts.
(09:08):
But instead of updating the safety rules to reflect this new knowledge, the FDA chose to continue using
a more straightforward and less rigorous system where companies notify the FDA that they want to introduce a
new chemical into our food supply rather than submit a formal petition to the agency for approval.
This has resulted in a situation where 98.7 percent of the 7,668 chemicals that have been added to our
(09:33):
food since 2000 came in through the GRAS loophole, according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group.
Chemicals found in our food can come from both intentional and accidental sources, such as
the use of pesticides on crops or from chemical substances used in processing or packaging.
They can also be naturally occurring or result from the breakdown of artificial
(09:56):
substances that enter the environment and are then ingested by animals and plants.
What’s worse is that the chemicals are often much more dangerous for children than adults.
They are smaller and tend to put their hands in their mouths
more, which means they end up ingesting higher levels of these chemicals.
They are also more likely to be affected by the long-term effects of these chemicals,
(10:18):
as their developing bodies take longer to mature and because they have a higher metabolism.
Fortunately, things may finally change.
A bill co-sponsored by Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky would close the GRAS loophole and force the FDA to review some
of the most harmful chemicals used in our foods, as well as some that have already been banned in Europe.
(10:40):
And the state of California is poised to become the first in the nation to ban five chemicals—brominated vegetable
oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red Dye Number 3—from all foods sold, distributed, or made in the state.
The thought that I am eating unknown chemicals, well, that is not a good feeling.
(11:06):
While we have made many advances in science, we still need to
reach a complete understanding of how chemicals impact the human body long-term.
We do need a way to preserve food as we already throw away so much, and if
we did not have preservation, then think about how much more food would go to waste.
Many manufacturers, though, are just looking for cheaper fillers to put in food to replace the more expensive healthy alternatives.
(11:32):
Supercomputers are used to process chemical compounds to find cheap fillers to put into our
food, and that's how we can see particles of rubber, plastic, and even sometimes metals
in our food that fly under the radar of reporting because of the GRAS loophole.
The sad reality is that there is no way for an American to totally avoid these
(11:54):
chemicals since they are unreported and can be found anywhere from organic foods to processed foods.
So the question then becomes, what can we do to limit exposure to these chemicals?
Here are ten tips on how you can lower your exposure to chemicals in foods.
Number Ten (12:10):
Drink plenty of water with your snacks and meals.
Water is an excellent solvent to break down food and separate chemicals in your body.
The dilution of water can lower the exposure from 500 parts per million to as low
as 300 parts per million, and may even absorb some chemicals released from the body.
Number Nine (12:31):
Wash your food.
When possible, rinse and wash your food.
For fresh fruit and veggies, slice them up and give them a good rinse.
Number Eight (12:42):
Heat your food.
Many toxins evaporate at temperatures as low as 125 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
For microwavable meals, do an extra round of heating after removing the plastic seal covering the
top, add a little water like a spoonful, and place a paper towel over the top.
(13:03):
Any toxins that evaporate will mix with the steam and get caught in the paper towel.
Number Seven (13:08):
Eat processed foods in small amounts—the stomach is only as big as your fist.
Eating small amounts of processed foods will limit your exposure as well as help you keep good health and weight.
It also enhances tip number ten, which means drinking water will have a higher yield of dilution.
Number Six (13:28):
Keep in mind that non-GMO, organic, and hormone-free foods
still can have chemicals they do not have to publicize.
These claims may be hiding a deeper, darker, secret about what you are actually consuming.
Number Five (13:43):
Use high-quality oils with your meals.
Oils like extra virgin olive oil have been filtered extensively to remove contaminants.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil can help remove chemicals that are fatty
soluble, like how water can help dilute and release water-soluble chemicals.
Number Four (14:03):
Include fiber in your regular intake of food.
Fiber from veggies and a natural supplement called psyllium powder can help
clean your digestive system of chemicals left over from consuming processed foods.
Consuming fiber before meals may slow down digestion; however, it will also block chemicals and nutrients.
(14:24):
Eating fiber after meals may not clean all the substances out,
but it will clean the leftover chemicals and flush them through.
Number Three (14:33):
Eat one-ingredient foods.
Even though non-processed foods may have unknown chemicals, the truth is that one-ingredient foods will have much
fewer chemicals than processed foods, thus making it much easier to eliminate these chemicals from the body.
One-ingredient foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, eggs, and other foods that come in their natural form.
Number Two (14:58):
Wash your hands before and after handling food.
I wanted to throw this one in here because one of the main
ways we add chemicals to our food is by our own contamination.
Powder-free latex gloves are another great way of limiting self-exposure to our foods.
And finally, the number one thing we can do to limit our exposure to chemicals from food is to exercise.
(15:23):
When we exercise, we raise our body temperature and sweat.
The raising of the body temperature will cause many toxins to evaporate and then exit the body
through sweating, flushing out toxins and chemicals; thus, exercising on a regular basis is a great way
not only to stay healthy but also to detoxify the body of toxins and chemicals.
(15:45):
That concludes the top ten list of things we can do to limit chemical exposure from foods and this podcast.
Thank you for listening, and may you stay safe and healthy.
The Advocate for Success. Season 1, Episode 9. Chemical Characteristics of Food
(00:08):
Produced by, Elton Thomas.
Empowerment, can be expressed, through your apparell.
Visit the MissionAdvocate Store on Etsy, at Etsy.com/shop/MissionAdvocate.
(00:30):
Stick around for the end of this podcast, to hear the top ten
things you can do, to limit your exposure to chemicals in food.
I have been HAZWOPPER certified for over 20 years, working in chemical filling and aerosols.
In my training, I have learned much about how regulations allow for
various amounts of chemicals to be placed in household products, including, food.
(00:54):
Right out of high school, I did not have much money and was looking for my first job.
I was making a small income of $400 a month, but after
bills and rent, there was just a little left over for food.
I would also donate plasma, alternating twice one week and three times the next to get by.
When it came to purchasing food, cheap was the number one rule.
(01:17):
Dried packs of ramen noodles and the 99-cent menu at McDonald's were my primary options for my food intake.
After I got my first job, my earnings increased,
However, my dietary habits did not change.
By my mid-twenties, my health was not doing very well (01:33):
high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and high triglycerides.
It was not until I became certified in Hazardous Management Operations that I started thinking
about food differently and establishing boundaries of what I would allow into my body.
(01:55):
The chemical characteristics of food refer to the types and amounts of nutrients such as
carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, and fiber that are present in a given food.
Nutrients are essential for human health, and they must be ingested in proper proportions to ensure a balanced diet.
Chemicals are necessary for the manufacture of most foods, and they
(02:19):
also contribute to a person’s eating experience through flavorings and colorings.
Most chemicals used in the production and preparation of food are not harmful
unless they are exposed to people for prolonged periods at high levels.
Scientists help safeguard against these harmful effects by establishing safe levels of exposure and providing
scientific advice for regulators who set regulations on what gets put in our food.
(02:44):
Most foods are perishable, and they must be treated to extend their shelf life – this is called preservation chemistry.
In order to preserve foods, manufacturers often use a variety of technological treatments such as chemical, physical, and biological processes.
These are typically applied with a sanitizing purpose (destroying pathogens) or with the aim
(03:07):
of diversification - obtaining from a particular raw material a variety of different products.
Technological treatments also alter the chemical composition of foods, by adding or removing chemicals or changing their properties.
Food can be contaminated with a large number of chemicals arising
from industrial and agricultural production, as well as from environmental pollution.
(03:30):
Some of these are contaminants that are present in the environment - for example, nitrates and BPA - and
others are produced by the food industry itself, - for instance, perchlorate, thiocyanate, potassium bromate, and synthetic dyes.
Most of these are harmless if not consumed in high quantities, but some have been shown to have negative
(03:52):
impacts on our health, such as the neurodevelopmental effect from perchlorate and the thyroid hormone disruption caused by phthalates.
Phthalates are a class of chemicals commonly found in many types of food — from
fast food to fresh fruits and vegetables. The chemicals get into food mainly through packaging
and food handling equipment, like cellophane, paper and paperboard, and plastic in contact with food.
(04:17):
Perchlorate is one of approximately 10,000 chemicals allowed for use in food
and food packaging – and it’s also an ingredient in rocket fuel.
The Food and Drug Administration approved perchlorate for use in plastic packaging and food handling equipment for dry
food – like cereal, flour, spices, and many other additives – to reduce the buildup of static charges.
(04:40):
Every year, new research emerges that demonstrates the ways in which the chemicals in our
food affect us—these range from causing cancer and infertility to behavioral problems in children.
However, despite a law passed over 60 years ago requiring that the FDA and the food
industry consider the cumulative health effects of chemicals in our diets, these concerns are largely ignored.
(05:03):
A significant factor contributing to this neglect is the GRAS loophole, standing for Generally Recognized as Safe, that
allows manufacturers to keep their own decisions about what chemicals they will allow in our food a secret.
This rule means that we are not aware of the many chemicals that have been deemed
by manufacturers to be “generally recognized as safe” and do not undergo rigorous safety reviews.
(05:27):
Regulations should be strengthened and updated to ensure that the safety of all chemicals in our food is considered,
including those used in food contact articles - where there is a risk that they can migrate into foods.
A transparent prioritization strategy is required that determines which chemicals are reassessed first.
This should also include consideration of endocrine-disrupting chemicals and their non-monotonic dose response.
(05:57):
There are two primary issues here.
The first is that the FDA needs to require research of the cumulative effects of chemicals placed in food.
For example, if five micrograms of a chemical show no harmful immediate impacts, but 100
micrograms do show harmful health impacts, then the FDA will likely allow for five micrograms.
(06:20):
What is unknown, is what health issues may arise from taking five micrograms, over a period of time.
Manufacturers, then, are allowed to make a judgement call on whether or not a
chemical is dangerous, even without doing any research to prove or disprove it.
The second issue is that manufacturers are not required to list all the chemicals that are added to food.
(06:44):
This keeps the public from doing their research on the first issue.
For instance, I learned that processed coffee has over 2,000 chemicals
that are not listed because they fall below the reportable range.
Long-term research has yet to be done on those chemicals to see what health issues may arise after prolonged exposure,
and since they are not listed, no one outside that company can research to verify that they are safe.
(07:09):
Another fact I learned about coffee is that buying the beans will not have those chemicals since
they are not processed; thus, if you buy the coffee beans and grind them yourself, then you
will not be exposing yourself to the processed chemicals; however, still could be exposed to pesticides and
other general contaminants found wherever those beans made contact from the farm to the store.
(07:35):
A wide variety of chemicals are allowed to be put into
our food, from preservatives and flavorings to anti-oxidants and coloring agents.
Depending on the chemicals, they can have both positive and negative effects on our health in
the short or long term, from increasing cancer risk to causing behavioral problems in children.
But what many people don’t realize is that the FDA, which regulates the use of chemicals in
(08:00):
foods, doesn’t always keep up with the latest scientific research on how these additives affect our health.
In fact, more than 10,000 chemicals have been deemed safe by the FDA without ever being thoroughly tested for safety.
The FDA has given these chemicals the green light based on secret, industry-funded studies that
often do not fully consider how these additives might impact humans in the real world.
(08:25):
This is mainly because of what’s called the GRAS loophole, which was created in 1958 as
part of the Food Additives Amendment to the 1938 Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
Initially, it was supposed to apply only to common ingredients with established safety records, such as salt, vinegar, and flour.
(08:47):
However, the chemical industry has taken advantage of it to allow it to bypass total safety reviews
for a whole host of chemicals, including many that are now known to cause serious health harm.
In the decades since the GRAS loophole was first introduced, there has been
a sea change in scientists’ understanding of these additives and their health impacts.
(09:08):
But instead of updating the safety rules to reflect this new knowledge, the FDA chose to continue using
a more straightforward and less rigorous system where companies notify the FDA that they want to introduce a
new chemical into our food supply rather than submit a formal petition to the agency for approval.
This has resulted in a situation where 98.7 percent of the 7,668 chemicals that have been added to our
(09:33):
food since 2000 came in through the GRAS loophole, according to an analysis by the Environmental Working Group.
Chemicals found in our food can come from both intentional and accidental sources, such as
the use of pesticides on crops or from chemical substances used in processing or packaging.
They can also be naturally occurring or result from the breakdown of artificial
(09:56):
substances that enter the environment and are then ingested by animals and plants.
What’s worse is that the chemicals are often much more dangerous for children than adults.
They are smaller and tend to put their hands in their mouths
more, which means they end up ingesting higher levels of these chemicals.
They are also more likely to be affected by the long-term effects of these chemicals,
(10:18):
as their developing bodies take longer to mature and because they have a higher metabolism.
Fortunately, things may finally change.
A bill co-sponsored by Democratic Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky would close the GRAS loophole and force the FDA to review some
of the most harmful chemicals used in our foods, as well as some that have already been banned in Europe.
(10:40):
And the state of California is poised to become the first in the nation to ban five chemicals—brominated vegetable
oil, potassium bromate, propylparaben, and Red Dye Number 3—from all foods sold, distributed, or made in the state.
The thought that I am eating unknown chemicals, well, that is not a good feeling.
(11:06):
While we have made many advances in science, we still need to
reach a complete understanding of how chemicals impact the human body long-term.
We do need a way to preserve food as we already throw away so much, and if
we did not have preservation, then think about how much more food would go to waste.
Many manufacturers, though, are just looking for cheaper fillers to put in food to replace the more expensive healthy alternatives.
(11:32):
Supercomputers are used to process chemical compounds to find cheap fillers to put into our
food, and that's how we can see particles of rubber, plastic, and even sometimes metals
in our food that fly under the radar of reporting because of the GRAS loophole.
The sad reality is that there is no way for an American to totally avoid these
(11:54):
chemicals since they are unreported and can be found anywhere from organic foods to processed foods.
So the question then becomes, what can we do to limit exposure to these chemicals?
Here are ten tips on how you can lower your exposure to chemicals in foods.
Number Ten (12:10):
Drink plenty of water with your snacks and meals.
Water is an excellent solvent to break down food and separate chemicals in your body.
The dilution of water can lower the exposure from 500 parts per million to as low
as 300 parts per million, and may even absorb some chemicals released from the body.
Number Nine (12:31):
Wash your food.
When possible, rinse and wash your food.
For fresh fruit and veggies, slice them up and give them a good rinse.
Number Eight (12:42):
Heat your food.
Many toxins evaporate at temperatures as low as 125 to 150 degrees Fahrenheit.
For microwavable meals, do an extra round of heating after removing the plastic seal covering the
top, add a little water like a spoonful, and place a paper towel over the top.
(13:03):
Any toxins that evaporate will mix with the steam and get caught in the paper towel.
Number Seven (13:08):
Eat processed foods in small amounts—the stomach is only as big as your fist.
Eating small amounts of processed foods will limit your exposure as well as help you keep good health and weight.
It also enhances tip number ten, which means drinking water will have a higher yield of dilution.
Number Six (13:28):
Keep in mind that non-GMO, organic, and hormone-free foods
still can have chemicals they do not have to publicize.
These claims may be hiding a deeper, darker, secret about what you are actually consuming.
Number Five (13:43):
Use high-quality oils with your meals.
Oils like extra virgin olive oil have been filtered extensively to remove contaminants.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil can help remove chemicals that are fatty
soluble, like how water can help dilute and release water-soluble chemicals.
Number Four (14:03):
Include fiber in your regular intake of food.
Fiber from veggies and a natural supplement called psyllium powder can help
clean your digestive system of chemicals left over from consuming processed foods.
Consuming fiber before meals may slow down digestion; however, it will also block chemicals and nutrients.
(14:24):
Eating fiber after meals may not clean all the substances out,
but it will clean the leftover chemicals and flush them through.
Number Three (14:33):
Eat one-ingredient foods.
Even though non-processed foods may have unknown chemicals, the truth is that one-ingredient foods will have much
fewer chemicals than processed foods, thus making it much easier to eliminate these chemicals from the body.
One-ingredient foods include fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh meats, eggs, and other foods that come in their natural form.
Number Two (14:58):
Wash your hands before and after handling food.
I wanted to throw this one in here because one of the main
ways we add chemicals to our food is by our own contamination.
Powder-free latex gloves are another great way of limiting self-exposure to our foods.
And finally, the number one thing we can do to limit our exposure to chemicals from food is to exercise.
(15:23):
When we exercise, we raise our body temperature and sweat.
The raising of the body temperature will cause many toxins to evaporate and then exit the body
through sweating, flushing out toxins and chemicals; thus, exercising on a regular basis is a great way
not only to stay healthy but also to detoxify the body of toxins and chemicals.
(15:45):
That concludes the top ten list of things we can do to limit chemical exposure from foods and this podcast.
Thank you for listening, and may you stay safe and healthy.
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