Flame Retardant–Laced Soda

What it is:
The toxic flame retardant chemical
brominated vegetable oil, or BVO, was initially used to
keep plastics from catching on fire.
Where it is: For decades, the food industry has been
adding it to certain sodas, juices, and sports drinks,
including Mountain Dew, Fanta Orange, Sunkist
Pineapple, and some Gatorade and Powerade flavors.
BVO's purpose? To keep the artificial flavoring
chemicals from separating from the rest of the liquids.
Why it's bad:
Scientists have linked too much BVO to
bromide poisoning symptoms like skin lesions, memory
loss, and nerve disorders.

Paint Chemical in Salad Dressing


What it is:

Titanium dioxide is a component of the
metallic element titanium, a mined substance that is
sometimes contaminated with toxic lead.
Where it is: Commonly used in paints and sunscreens,
big food corporations add it to lots of things we eat,
too, including processed salad dressing, coffee
creamers, and icing.
Why it's bad:

The food industry adds it to hundreds of
products to make dingy, overly processed items appear
whiter. "White has long been the symbolic color of
'clean,'" explains food industry insider Bruce Bradley,
who shares the tricks, traps, and ploys of big food
manufacturers on his blog, BruceBradley.com . "Funny,
when you use real food, you don't need any of these
crazy additives—I think I prefer the real deal."

Maggoty Mushrooms


What it is:

Maggots are fly larvae, tiny rice-shaped
creatures that feast on rotting foods.
Where it is:

The Food and Drug Administration legally
allows 19 maggots and 74 mites in a 3.5-ounce can of
mushrooms.
Why it's bad:

While maggots do have their place in the
medical world—they can help heal ulcers and other
wounds—most people think it's pretty gross to eat
them!
If you need another reason to ditch canned goods,
consider this: Most are lined with bisphenol A, or BPA ,
a plastic chemical that causes unnatural hormonal
changes linked to heart attacks, obesity, and certain
cancers.

Flesh-Eating Bacteria


What it is:

Grocery store meats are commonly infused
with veterinary medicines, heavy metals, and staph
bacteria, including the hard-to-kill, potentially lethal
MRSA strain.

Where it is:

Unfortunately, the problem is far from
rare. A study published last year in the journal Clinical
Infectious Diseases found that half of grocery store
meat tested harbored staph bacteria. Researchers ID
the overuse of antibiotics in industrial agriculture as a
major cause in the rise of superbugs in our grocery
store food.

Why it's bad:

MRSA kills about 19,000 people a year in
America—that's more annual deaths than from AIDS in
the U.S. Purchasing grass-fed meat and eggs from
organic farmers is a more sustainable choice.

Herbicide-Flavored Food


What it is:

Glyphosate, the active chemical
ingredient in the popular weed killer,
Roundup, is a hormone-disrupting chemical
now used primarily on corn and soy crops
genetically engineered to withstand a heavy
dousing of the chemical. Nonorganic
farmers dumped 57 million pounds of
glyphosate on food crops in 2009,
according to U.S. Department of Agriculture
(USDA) figures.

Where it is:

Roundup is so heavily used
around homes and in farm fields that it's
now being detected in streams, the air, and
even rain. Because it's a systemic herbicide,
it's actually taken up inside the plant…
meaning we eat it. Yep, it's legally allowed
in our food, and in an amount that worries
scientists. It's found in most nonorganic
packaged foods because most contain
corn- or soy-derived ingredients, the crops
that are most often heavily doused with
Roundup.

Why it's bad:

Glyphosate exposure is
linked to obesity, learning disabilities, birth
defects, infertility, and potentially
irreversible metabolic damage. To avoid
pesticides in products, eat organic and
avoided processed foods as much as
possible. And use caution— "all natural"
foods often are chockfull of pesticides and
genetically engineered ingredients.

Beaver Anal Gland Juice


What it is:

It's a bitter, smelly, orange-
brown substance known as castoreum,
explains Bradley. "In nature, it's combined
with the beaver's urine and used to mark
its territory."

Where it is:

It's used extensively in
processed food and beverages, typically as
vanilla or raspberry flavoring.

Why it's bad:

This gross ingredient won't
show up on the label. Instead, companies
using it in making processed food list it as
"natural flavoring." This poses a dilemma
for vegans and vegetarians—and anyone
who wants to avoid eating any creature's
anal excretions.

Sex Hormones in Milk

What it is:

Today's cows produce double
the amount of milk they did just 40 years
ago, thanks largely to a genetically
engineered, synthetic hormone called
recombinant bovine somatotropin, or rBST.

Where it is:

It could be in milk that's not
organic or not labeled as rBST free.

Why it's bad:

Scientists link rBST to
prostate, breast, and colon cancers. It's
banned in other countries, and although
still legal here, many dairies are moving
away from it due to consumer demand.
Choose organic milk to ensure that the
cows producing your milk are fed a diet
free of antibiotics, hormones, and
pesticides.

Shampoo Chemicals in Produce


What it is:

Phthalates are plasticizing
chemicals used in everything from
pesticides and fragranced soaps and
shampoos to nail polish and vinyl shower
curtains.

Where it is:

A 2010 study published in the
journal Environmental Health Perspectives
found phthalates are winding up in our
food, too. The source could be direct
exposure to pesticides containing the
hormone-disrupting chemical. Or to
another potential source, human sewage
sludge applied as a fertilizer to farm fields.
The sludge can be tainted with shampoo
chemicals that wash down the drain—it all
winds up at the water-treatment plant, the
source of the sludge. (Note: Use of human
sewage sludge is banned in organic
farming.)

Why it's bad:

Phthalate exposure, even in
small amounts, has been linked to
behavioral problems in children, allergies
and asthma, eczema, and unhealthy
changes in our hormonal systems.

Human Hair and Feathers


What it is:

L-cysteine is a non-essential
amino acid made from dissolved human
hair (often from China) or duck feathers.

Where it is:

It's used as a commercial
dough conditioner to improve the texture
of breads and baked goods.

Why it's bad:

Eating something derived
from the human body violates Muslim
beliefs. Hair and duck feathers pose an
ethical dilemma for vegans, too.
Bake your own homemade bread (without
hair and feathers) using bread recipes from
the Rodale Recipe Finder.

crushed bugs

what it is:

Carmine, a bright red food
colorant, is actually the crushed abdomen
of the female Dactylopius coccus, an
African beetle-like insect.

Where it is:

Look for it in red candies and
red-tinted yogurts and juices (particularly
ruby red juices)—it's often listed as
carmine, crimson lake, cochineal, or natural
red #4 on ingredient labels, according to
Bradley.

Why it's bad:

Not only is the thought of
eating bug juice gross, but it also poses an
ethical issue for some vegetarians and
vegans.

Ammonia-cleansed Beef


What it is:

Factory-farm conditions are rife
with bacteria. On top of that, processing
plants mix meat from hundreds or
thousands of different cows, potentially
creating a public health hazard in the mix.
To try to make the meat "safer," industry
typically puts the beef through an ammonia
gas bath.

Where it is:

The USDA deems the gross
process safe enough, and allows the meat
to be sold without any indication that it
received the gas treatment. (The process is
banned in meats earning organic
certification.)

Why it's bad:

You might order your burger
with pickles or lettuce, but you likely don't
want a side of ammonia, a poisonous gas.
The kicker? Evidence suggests that blasting
beef with it might not even be fully effective
at killing germs. Look for organic, pasture-
raised meats for a safer option. Often, you
can buy these meats directly from local,
sustainable farmers.

Brain-Frying Fake Food Dyes


What it is:

Many artificial food dyes found
in hundreds of everyday foods are made
from petroleum-derived materials.

Where it is:

Dyes are used in cereals and
candy to make them more "fun" for kids, in
pickles to make them appear fresher, and in
place of actual real ingredients in a variety
of foods. Example? Betty Crocker Carrot
Cake Mix is actually a carrot-free product,
with "carrot flavored pieces" cooked up
from corn syrup and artificial colors Yellow
6 and Red 40

Why it's bad:


Orange and purple food dyes
have been shown to impair brain function,
while other dyes have been linked to ADHD
and behavioral problems in kids and brain
cell toxicity. You're getting ripped off, too.
It's cheaper for food companies to use fake
dyes than real ingredients. (Tropicana
Twister Cherry Berry Blast contains 0
percent berry and cherry juice, despite its
name.)

Shrimp Coated in Cleaning
Chemicals


What it is:

Depending on where your
shrimp comes from, it could be tainted
with chemicals used to clean filthy shrimp
farm pens. Just as gross, farmed shrimp
from overseas is often full of antibiotics,
mouse and rat hair, and pieces of insects.

Where it is:

Contaminated shrimp tends to
come from critters imported from overseas
shrimp farms. If you're looking for safer
options, choose domestic shrimp. For the
best options, consult the good fish list

.
Why it's bad:

Only about 2 percent of all
imported seafood is inspected, meaning
this nasty stuff is making its way onto your
plate.

Disease-Promoting Popcorn Bags


What it is:

An industrial nonstick chemical that falls
under the perfluorinated chemicals class is utilized in
certain food packaging.
Where it is: These suspect chemicals are commonly
used to coat the inside of popcorn bags to prevent
sticking and grease leakage. The same chemicals are
also in the nonstick coating of many pots, pans, and
baking sheets.

Why it's bad:

A study published in January 2012 in the
Journal of the American Medical Association found that
nonstick chemicals in popcorn bags significantly
damage the immune system, opening the floodgates
for a whole host of other health problems. Nonstick
chemicals are also linked to high cholesterol, sperm
damage and infertility, and ADHD. Popcorn—made the
good old-fashioned way, in a pot on the stovetop—is
still a great option