Common Adulterants in Processed Food

Who can resist the temptation to eating potato chips, nuggets, French fries, sugary cereals, hot dogs, and other processed foods! Yes, the popularity of processed food is only ascending. Why not opt for healthy alternatives? Most processed foods contain sugar, salt, preservatives, fat, sodium and other harmful adulterants. Having unadulterated food is the secret behind staying healthy.

Adulterants in processed food and after-effects

• Defectively canned low or medium-acid foods, fermented food, etc. contain clostridium botulinus toxins A,B,E or F, which causes double vision, muscular paralysis, and death due to respiratory failure
• Canned meats and improperly processed milk contain the bacteria clostridium.perfringens (Welchii) type A, which causes nausea, abdominal pains, diarrhoea, and gas formation

• Cold drinks contain brominated vegetable oils, which cause anemia and enlargement of the heart
• In a variety of processed food, sulphur dioxide and sulphite are used beyond safe limit as preservatives; they cause acute irritation of the gastro-intestinal tracts
• Processed foods containing anti-caking agents, etc. are mixed with asbestos; it may cause cancer
• Processed protein products often contain urea, melamine and other non-protein nitrogen sources that add value to protein content
• Chemical additives used to add color, flavor, and enhance shelf life of processed food cause serious health hazards
• Jams and jellies may be actually a mixture of glucose, coal-tar dye, apple scraps, timothy seed, etc.
• Table sugar, shigella sonnei, urea, starch, acids, formalin, soap, detergents, melamine, etc. are often mixed with milk to maintain thickness and increase shelf life; these adulterants affect the liver, kidneys, digestive system, and cause other health problems
• Nuggets, French fries, etc. are high in preservatives, salt, and fat content, and the list goes on

Consuming processed foods continuously negatively impacts upon our health. Given the affordability, convenience, and long shelf life, processed foods have no wonder become a part and parcel of urban life however we should not give in into this convenience and be very aware while purchasing unadulterated processed foods to eat safe, and stay healthy. Let's spread the word, make the people aware and fight adulteration together!