8.RP.1.2

Chemical risks in food` Carcinogens (cancer-exacerbating agents). Today, the FDA only allows 10 colors in foods, four of which are restricted to specific uses. This restriction suggests some risks remain. Check out the color additives section of the FDA. Artificial sweeteners are used in beverages, candies, chewing gum, yogurts, and many other products to provide sweetness without the calories. The question is: are they safe? Controversies have swirled around most of It used to be that diets meant cutting down on the fat and calories, more exercise, more fish in the diet, more fruits and vegetables. That was a healthy diet 50 years ago.Has human anatomy changed? No, but food has changed a lot. Foods that were healthy 50 years ago may not necessarily be healthy in 2010. Today, according to Stephen Perrine, author of "New American Diet," we have all sorts of chemicals in our foods, pesticides, growth hormones, antibiotics, and plastic pollutants, to name a few. He says they aren't good for the environment, they aren't good for our bodies, and they also cause you to be overweight.Perrinesays certain toxins in your food can contribute to weight issues and obesity.


 * Chemicals that hurt your body **

The chemicals that disrupt the function of our hormonal system are called obesogens. Obesogens can cause heart disease, diabetes, obesity, and high cholesterol. These chemicals are found in many of the most popular foods we eat and enter our body through a variety of sources: natural compounds found in soy products, artificial hormones fed to the animals we consume, plastic pollutants in some food packaging, chemicals added to processed foods, and pesticides sprayed on our produce.We don't just want our food to taste good these days: It also has to look good. As a result, food producers use any of 14,000 laboratory-made additives to make our food appear fresher, more attractive or last longer on the shelf. The longer manufacturers use these additives, the more we learn about their impacts. While some additives are harmless, others cause everything from hives and asthma to nausea and headaches in some people. Some experts recommend avoiding foods listing more than five or six ingredients or ingredients of longer than three syllables and purchasing foods that contain such natural additives as fruits and vegetables. This ubiquitous sweetener helps maintain moisture while preserving freshness. A little fructose isn't a problem but the sheer quantity of "hidden" fructose in processed foods is startling. The consumption of large quantities has been fingered as a causative factor in heart disease. It raises blood levels of cholesterol and triglyceride fats, while making blood cells more prone to clotting and accelerating the aging process. Almost 90-percent of salmon sold in supermarkets today come from farms. The diet of farmed salmon doesn't include crustaceans, which contains a natural astaxanthin that causes pink flesh in wild salmon. As a result, producers add astaxanthin to farm-salmon diets for that fresh-from-the-water appearance. Astaxanthin is manufactured from coal tar. Researchers in the early 1900s developed many artificial colors from coal-tar dyes and petrochemicals. Over the years, the FDA banned many of these chemicals as proven the additives. Sucralose, rebiana, and neotame appear to be safe, but acesulfame-potassium, aspartame, and saccharin may pose a slight risk of cancer. But research on all of them is relatively limited, especially considering how widely they are used, and surprises might occur. For instance, a 2010 study found that artificially sweetened drinks probably caused preterm deliveries; the researchers suspected that aspartame was the culprit (the study needs to be confirmed by other scientists). Synthetic "high-potency" sweeteners were the rule until about 2009 when rebiana, which is purified out of stevia leaves, became marketed widely in the United States. Rebiana, which has "taste challenges," allowed companies to claim for the first time "all natural" on their artificially sweetened (with a natural ingredient, that is) products. Companies advertise their artificially sweetened foods as being almost magical weight-loss potions. The fact is, though, that losing weight is real hard, and people need to make a real concerted effort to eat fewer calories and exercise more. Artificial sweeteners can make the struggle a little more pleasant. Diacetyl is the chemical that gives microwave popcorn that delicious buttery flavor without the use of any butter. Unfortunately, extensive exposure to diacetyl can lead to a serious, irreversible, and rare condition known as bronchiolitis obliterans. First seen in workers at a microwave popcorn packaging plant, the condition is commonly known as “popcorn lung.” One consumer (who, somewhat freakishly, ate around four bags of microwaved popcorn a day) has developed the disease, and researchers recently discovered that small amounts of diacetyl can cause lung and airway damage in mice


 * Public Health.**

The contamination of food by chemical hazards is a worldwide public health concern and is a leading cause of trade problems internationally. Contamination may occur through environmental pollution of the air, water and soil, such as the case with toxic metals, PCBs and dioxins, or through the intentional use of various chemicals, such as pesticides, animal drugs and other agrochemicals.Since 1976, Who has implemented the Global Environment Monitoring System - Food Contamination Monitoring and Assessment Programme (GEMS/Food), which has informed governments, the Codex Alimentarius Commission and other relevant institutions, as well as the public, on levels and trends of contaminants in food, their contribution to total human exposure, and significance with regard to public health and trade.Food additives and contaminants resulting from food manufacturing and processing can also adversely affect health. Sound scientific risk assessment to define exposure levels of no health concern for such chemicals form the basis for national and international food safety standards.

By: Philip Buffa III


 * Work Cited Page**

1. Reed, Dr. James L. "Chemicals in corn sugar." //Harmful Chemicals in sugars//. 6 June 2008. Web. 7 April 2012.

2. Raindear, Dr. Carter P. "Chemicals together." //Harmful Chemicals in food//. 25 Aug. 2009. Web. 20 March 2012.

3. Slouse, Jackford V. "The world of chemicals." //The dangers in food//. 18 May 2010. Web. 27 March 2012.

4. Pearsonn, Dr. Micheal N. "Chemicals all around us." //Food//. 5 Sept. 2008. Web. 2 Apr. 2012.

5. Mcain Jr., Greyson. "The dangers around us." //chemicals/food//. 19 Nov. 2007. Web. 19 Apr. 2012.