Know What's Really in Your Food

Did you know most food coloring is made from insects? Would you knowingly eat a bug? Well, if you eat Skittles, you do. Really!

We've all heard the stories about what's really in a hot dog, but do you know what's in many other foods that you eat? I was quite surprised the other day to see a Tweet on Twitter about Skittles, that took me to the Wikipedia page for Skittles that has this quote toward the bottom:

What's Really in Food Additive Coloring?:

"...[sic] Skittles contain the colouring E120, which is derived from cochineal insects, and the glazing agent shellac, which are produced from insects..."

Then, the Straight Dope informed us that Junior Mints are coated with the same 'shellac' coating that is made from a secretion from a particular type of beetle. So you're not really eating bugs, just the secretions of them.

I'm not sure that makes me feel any better about it. Yes, I realize some people in other countries eat certain bugs as a delicacy, but I just don't think I could bring myself to do it unless I was starving, and even then, it would probably have to be well done!

That started me thinking about other things that use coloring, and what else might actually be in our foods that we're not aware of. So my search began by looking at the listings of ingredients.

What's Really in High Fructose Corn Syrup?:

The first thing I noticed is that there are an amazing amount of foods with high fructose corn syrup in them that don't really need to be sweetened. For example, in a can of stewed tomatoes, do we really need high fructose corn syrup? Really? If I stewed my own tomatoes, I might add a pinch of cane sugar, but I would never add globs of high fructose corn syrup to it. The sugar is only to counteract some of the acidity, but not to 'sweeten' it.

Check the labels on your foods at the grocery store shelf, and you'll be amazed how many things contain high fructose corn syrup, sometimes called HCFS. The Huffington Post has a very interesting article on HFCS that talks about how high fructose corn syrup contains mercury, and how the FDA has known this for years. There's a lot of very bad things associated with HFCS. Worse yet, it's in nearly everything we buy off the shelf!

What's Really in Gelatin?:

Have you ever had Jell-o or anything containing gelatin? Did you know that the gelling agent in gelatin comes from cow and pig bones and cartilage? It does! If you're a true vegetarian, gelatin products are a no-no!

So do a little research today, and see if you can find out what's REALLY in some of your favorite foods. I would imagine there's a lot of foods out there right now that have some fascinating and particularly ickish ingredients!