There’s Something About The Ketchup In Grocery Store That They Are Not Telling you…
In an age when consumers have become increasingly suspicious of processed food, the Internet has become a powerful platform for activists who want to hold Big Food accountable.
It’s no huge secret that food products sold in different countries have slightly different ingredients used in making them. But we do tend to forget this fact in our day-to-day lives, and this usually becomes apparent to us only when we go abroad.
One of the highest-profile of these new food crusaders is Vani Hari, better known by her online moniker, Food Babe. Among her victories: a petition that nudged Kraft to drop the artificial orange color from its mac and cheese, and another one that helped get Subway to do away with the common bread additive azodicarbonamide — which Hari noted was also used in making yoga mats.
It is appalling to witness the examples I am about to share with you. The U.S. food corporations are unnecessarily feeding us chemicals – while leaving out almost all questionable ingredients in our friends’ products overseas.
The point is the food industry has already formulated safer, better products, but they are voluntarily only selling inferior versions of these products here in America. The evidence of this runs the gamut from fast food places to boxed cake mix to cereal to candy and even oatmeal – you can’t escape it.
When Vani looked at the ingredients, she was shocked to see that manufacturers load their products with the preservative BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) and artificial coloring while the British, Canadian, and Australian versions come without these harmful additives.
According to AWM:
While you might think that many common products like Heinz ketchup and Mountain Dew soda have the same ingredients no matter what country they’re served in, you’d be wrong. Manufacturers put different ingredients into their products in American than they do in European countries because American regulations don’t require them to be as “caring” for the consumer. As a result, Americans ingest far more sugar, chemicals, and additivities than other people around the globe. It can’t be good for American public health.
More details of this shocking report from Foodbabe:
McDonald’s French Fries
Let’s start with McDonald’s French Fries. They make their iconic french fries in the U.K. with a few simple ingredients: potatoes, oil, dextrose, salt—but in the U.S they’re made with “natural beef flavor” and sodium acid pyrophosphate, and are fried in oil laced with the anti-foaming agent dimethylpolysiloxane – the main ingredient in silly putty (1). They’ve somehow figured out how to cook their fries without all these extra ingredients overseas, so why not here?
Quaker Instant Oatmeal Packets
Did you know Quaker Oats Strawberries & Cream has ZERO strawberries? In the U.S. Quaker mimics the look and taste of real strawberries by using “Flavored and Colored Fruit Pieces” comprised of dehydrated apples, artificial strawberry flavor, citric acid, and the artificial dye Red 40. It’s a total scam!
Meanwhile in the U.K. Quaker doesn’t even attempt to sell that garbage and doesn’t make any products like this. The closest counterpart they have is a product called “Oat So Simple” that has REAL strawberries in it—light years ahead of the popular U.S. version made with artificial dyes and artificial flavors.
Mountain Dew
Pick up a bottle of Mountain Dew in the U.K. and you’ll find that it gets its bright yellow color simply from beta carotene (a natural color derived from carrots and other plants). Meanwhile, PepsiCo sells a very different version of Mountain Dew in America. Here in the States, instead of using natural colors to give it a tantalizing look, Mountain Dew is artificially colored with a petroleum-based dye called Yellow #5. Although artificial dyes are common in America, that doesn’t make them okay to eat. They’ve been linked to several health issues and may be contaminated with carcinogens (2). They certainly are not as safe as beta carotene. And it gets worse…
The U.S. version of Mountain Dew contains brominated vegetable oil (BVO) – which is an ingredient BANNED in Europe (3). Way back in 2014, PepsiCo announced they would remove BVO from all of their American drinks following a successful petition by activist Sarah Kavanagh (4). But they still have not removed BVO from Mountain Dew, nearly 5 years later. Meanwhile, they continue to sell BVO-free Mountain Dew in other countries.
Kellogg’s Frosted Flakes Cereal
At first glance the ingredients in Frosted Flakes in the U.S. and U.K. look nearly identical. The main difference is the addition of the preservative BHT (butylated hydroxytoluene) in the U.S. version. Controversial research links BHT to cancer (9) and it’s believed to be an endocrine disruptor that interferes with your hormones (10) BHT isn’t permitted in cereals in Europe, so Kellogg’s reformulated their cereals to sell them legally overseas. Following our 2015 petition to get BHT out of American cereal (11) Kellogg’s removed BHT from several brands (like Rice Krispies), but still use it 4 years later in Frosted Flakes despite selling it BHT-free in the U.K.
Doritos
Both versions of Doritos are horrible, but American Doritos are covered in artificial dyes made from petroleum (Red #40, Blue #1, and Yellow #5). These dyes have been found to be contaminated with carcinogens, such as benzidine (2) In the U.K., these dyes require a warning label that says “May Have an Adverse Effect on Activity and Attention in Children” (7). No one wants to put that on their product! That’s why they don’t use artificial dyes in Doritos overseas and instead color Doritos more simply with paprika extract and annatto. The Doritos in the U.K. are also non-GMO, while the American versions are made with GMO corn contaminated with glyphosate weed killer (8).