Food for Thought: Bizarre Ingredients We Eat

The Bizarre & Nasty Ingredients We Eat!

My weekly grocery shopping happens in one of two forms: The Mad Dash or The Turtle Pace. 

• The Mad Dash is when I grab  tried and true foods and run. 
• The Turtle Pace is when I have a lot of label reading to do (and am kid-free #canigetanamen). 

Obviously The Turtle Pace is a must when you are reading labels and comparing products. Label reading gets tricky and frustrating about 10 seconds in. That's one reason I started posting Try This, Not That food product comparisons. My intention is that it will alleviate some of the stress associated with label reading. While most of the Try This, Not That posts focus on the calorie copntent and nutrient breakdown (carbs, fat and protein), they do not breakdown the ingredients. 

There are some ingredients that are commonly used that might make your stomach hurt! I'm a visual person and when I came across this graphic my eyes nearly popped out of my head --> human hair and anit-freeze! 

No Sir. 

It's time we get educated on what these "mystery" ingredients really are.

Despite the fact that there are certain regulations on what a food label should contain, the labels often give us only partial information. Have you ever wondered about the meaning of L-cysteine, an ingredient that can be found on labels on some types of breads? This weird-name ingredient is an amino acid used in the baking industry as dough conditioner, and the cheapest and most common way to synthesize it is from human hair. 

Or were you aware that cellulose, an ingredient found in different kinds of food, is actually wood pulp processed and manufactured for food supply?

Take a close look at the infographic below and learn the origins and meaning of 14 bizarre food ingredients.

foodpackaginglabelslabels. A special thank you to Dana for providing the graphic details!