Those Darned Chemicals V: The Final Confrontation

Finally–I have come to the end of the list of those dreadful, evil, awful synthetic chemicals that are allowed to dirty up all of our processed USDA Certified Organic foods.

Throughout the duration of this series, I have received emails from various left-leaning organizations, urging me to call my congressfolk over this issue and raise hell until the synthetics are banished and then there will be peace and love and happiness for the rest of eternity. Or, well, until the next thing ruffles our leftist feathers and we go off yammering to the congressfolk on yet another cause.

None of those emails gave any substantive information on what exactly those additives were and what we should be cheesed off about–all I got were the standard phrases, “synthetic chemicals,” “bowing to pressure from agribusiness corporations,” “big food corporations,” and “lowering government organic standards.”

None of the news stories I have read over the ‘net have been any more substantive than the oft-repeated Grist article I posted at the beginning of this series.

I find this to be dismaying, because I rather dislike the “follow the herd” mentality that seems to be in operation here. It certainly pisses me off a lot more than having some lecithin in my yogurt or low-methoxy pectin in my low-sugar jelly.

So, here is the deal with this post.

I am going to post the entire annotated list, all in one place, just so it is a more useful resource for people who might be curious about the additives in question.

Then, I am going to do a quick and dirty analysis of what I think of the list as a whole and a few items in specific. I want to stress that this is my opinion as someone who has studied culinary arts, nutrition and biology, formally and informally, for many years. I am not a medical doctor, a nutritionist or a biochemist, so take what I say not as the “gospel truth,” but as the opinion of an informed layperson. (And even if I did have a couple of PhD’s after my name, I still wouldn’t want you to take anything I say as “gospel truth,” because if there is one thing I learned as a journalist it is this–everyone has a natural bias built into themselves. No one has access to the complete and whole truth about any subject, no matter how prestigious their scholarly pedigree may be.)

So, without further ado, here is the complete list.

Annotated List of Synthetic Food Additives Allowed in USDA Certified Organic Foods

Alginates are linear copolymers (a specific kind of polymer, or long chain of molecules made up from structural units and repeating units strung together by chemical bonds) which form gums or gels. Commercially, these are derived from algae or bacteria, both of which are naturally ocurring lifeforms. Alginates are used to thicken food products such as soups and salad dressings, and are used in the pharmaceutical industry in the production of antacids.

Ammonium bicarbonate has been covered in my previous post on the subject, but I want to note that the USDA has allowed its use -only- as a leavening agent–this use has been determined safe by the FDA. Similarly, the use of the related compound, ammonium carbonate in the production of organic food products has been limited to use as a leavening agent. Interestingly, ammonium carbonate used to be derived from organic compounds such as hair, urine and horn–hence the old name of “salt of hartshorn.”

Ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C, is allowed to be used in any way in the production of organic foods. An antioxidant, ascorbic acid is used to help preserve processed foods and to boost the nutrient value of them; humans are one of the few animals incapable of producing our own vitamin c–a nutrient necessary to maintain life. It is found in many plant and animal sources including citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes, papaya, calf liver, oysters and cod roe. It is synthesized from glucose–a natural sugar.

Calcium citrate is the calcium salt of citric acid. (A salt is a ionic compound composed of positively charged ions and negatively charged anions with a crystalline molecular structure which has a neutral charge.) It is used as a preservative, and because it is both sour and salty, as a flavor enhancer. Studies have shown that calcium citrate dietary supplements may be better absorbed by the body than calcium carbonate to prevent bone density loss. It also may increase aluminum toxicity in people with kidney problems.

Calcium hydroxide has been used in food processing for thousands of years by Native Americans who used it in the production of posole, nixtamal or what we would now call masa. It is used to loosen and remove the outer hull of corn kernels, and in the process, renders more of the grain’s protein and vitamins available for absorbtion. This treatment of corn makes the grain more nutritious, allowing people to use it as a staple protein source. Without such treatment, those who eat corn as a staple food often develop the serious disease pellagra, which is a deficiency in niacin. It is still used to create posole or masa, and is also used in the production of sodas and some alcoholic beverages. (Masa is used in the making of corn chips and corn tortillas.)

Calcium phosphates (di-, mono- and tri-)are mineral salts found in teeth and bones, and are also often found as naturally occurring rock in various Middle Eastern countries. As a food additive it is used as a leavening agent, oxidizing agent, yeast food, nutritional supplement, anti-caking ingredient, and dough conditioner. Dough conditioners are ingredients used to help make yeast doughs rise higher and lighter–they contain carbohydrate yeast foods which help the yeast multiply more rapidly and produce more carbon dioxide, and they are particularly useful to make whole grain breads rise up light and airy as opposed to heavy and leaden. Dough conditioners often contain calcium and oxidizing agents, which helps strengthen the dough. Dough conditioners are often used by commercial bakeries in Europe and are becoming more commonly accepted in American bakeries; it is sold to American home bakers under the name of Lora Brody, a well-known cooking instructor. (I have a couple of cans of it myself and have used it frequently.)

A naturally occurring gas, carbon dioxide is part of the Earth’s atmosphere, and is used in food production to add bubbles to beverages, (a process called strangely enough, carbonation) and as a packing gas. It is utilized in packing fresh produce in sealed environments; in keeping out the oxygen, it limits the potential for oxidization, wilting and decomposition of such fragile produce as salad greens. There are two listings for carbon dioxide in the NOSB database–one for natural carbon dioxide and another for synthesized version; chemically, the two are identical in form and function, and chemically speaking, are indistinguishable.

Chlorine is used in the food industry as a bleaching agent for flour, and oxidizing agent and as a preservative, however, the NOSB allows its use in USDA Certified Organic products only as a disinfectant for food processing equipment, and only if residual chlorine levels on the equipment do not exceed the maximum residual disinfectant limit under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Chlorine is present in all public municipal drinking water systems where it is used as an anti-microbial agent.

Ethylene has been covered in my first post on this subject, but I will reiterate that it is a gaseous plant hormone that is emitted by various fruits and vegetables as a natural part of the fruit-ripening process and is used to ripen fruits while they are in storage. Bananas will not ripen off the tree without application of ethylene gas; ethylene that is produced naturally by a fruit, or in a laboratory, are chemically indistinguishable.

Glycerine is a naturally occurring substance in the human body, where it is known as glycerol; it is an important component of triglycerides, a component of body fat. When body fat is burned as fuel, glycerol is released into the bloodstream; it is then converted into glucose by liver and is burned for energy. In food products, it is most often used as binder, a humectant (an agent which is helps retain moisture) and as a solvent. Glycerine can be produced from animal fat or vegetable oils, and is the by-product of saponification, which is the reaction between a base and a fat which produces soap. It is also a by-product of the creation of biodiesel: a form of fuel that is derived from vegetable oils and is used as an alternative to petrochemicals.

Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a hair bleach and in low concentrations in medical applications such as disinfection, wound cleaning and debriding, and as a household cleaner. In food production, it is used as preservative, though I cannot find any information on exactly how it functions chemically in that capacity. Although sufficient quantities of food-grade (35%) hydrogen peroxide can be fatal when ingested, it is sometimes used in alternative medicine to treat various health issues. NOSB has allowed the use of hydrogen peroxide without restriction in the production of USDA Certified Organic foods. Hydrogen peroxide breaks down into water and oxygen, which leaves no dangerous pollutants after it has been used to sterilize something–unlike chlorine, which always leaves traces of itself behind.

Iron, in the form of ferrous sulfate, is an ionic compound which is made by the oxidization of pyrite (a naturally occuring mineral) or by treating iron with sulfuric acid. Iron is a necessary nutrient which used to enrich various products as regulated by the federal government (flour and breakfast cereals are among the products mandated to be enriched) as well as products that are recommended for iron enrichment by medical or nutrition professionals.

Bleached lecithin is derived from egg yolks or soybeans, either by a mechanical or chemical process. (Only bleached lecithin is considered synthetic by the NOSB–unbleached lecithin is considered non-synthetic; they are, however, both allowed in USDA Organic Certified foods.) Lecithin is found in all cell walls, and is used as an emulsifier and can be completely metabolized by humans, and is considered to be completely non-toxic. It is widely used in foods and pharmaceuticals that require an emusifying agent (an emulsifying agent is a substance which keeps two unalike liquids–such as vinegar and oil–mixed together) or a lubricant.

Magnesium chloride is only allowed by NOSB as a food additive if it has been derived from sea water; in order to do this, the sodium chloride (table salt) is removed from the solution, and then the water is evaporated. The white powder that is left behind is magnesium chloride, which is called nigari in Japanese. In Japan, it has been used for centuries as a coagulant in the making of tofu from soy milk; the tofu processed in this way has a very smooth and fine texture amd is called silken tofu.

Mono- and diglycerides are esters (an organic compound where an organic group is replaced by a hydrogen atom in an oxygen acid–I know, this probably just turned into mumbo-jumbo) of glycerol and fatty acids. Depending on how many fatty acids esterize with the glycerol, one can have monoglycerides, diglycerides or triglycerides, which are found in animal fats and plant oils. (Including in humans.) Triglycerides, when ingested, are broken down by enzymes into mono- and diglycerides and free fatty acids, which can then be used as energy by the body. In conventional food processing, mono- and di-glycerides are commonly used as emusifliers and humectants–they are what keeps many commercial peanut butters from separating. However, NOSB specifically states that they can only be used in USDA Certified Organic foods in the process of drum-drying of foods.

Nutrient minerals, are chemical elements such as chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium and zinc, are considered by medical and nutritional professionals to be necessary nutrients for sustaining human life. They are naturally found in the earth and in various plant and animal food sources, and can be derived from these sources or synthesized in various ways. They are allowed by the NOSB in USDA Certified Organic foods as required by federal regulation for enrichment or as recommended by nutritional or medical experts. (Iodized salt is a good example of a food product enriched in order to enhance health; enriched wheat flour is another example.)

Nutrient vitamins, such as vitamin A, the B-complex vitamins, vitamins C, D, E and K, are all organic (meaning, they contain carbon) molecules that are required in very small amounts for humans (and other animals) to thrive. Some are naturally occurring in foods, while others, such as vitamin D, are synthesized in the human body when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Since their discovery in the early twentieth century, vitamins have been used to enrich foods; accordingly the NOSB allows their use to enrich USDA Organic Foods if required by federal regulation or if it is recommended by nutritional or medical professionals.

Ozone consists of three oxygen atoms bound loosely together; it is an unstable molecular formation. A colorless gas at standard room temperature and pressure, is both a powerful oxidant and a corrosive, poisonous pollutant. It can be found in low concentrations naturally in the atmosphere, and it can also be formed from the more prevalant (and breathable) O2 by electrical discharges. (Ozone is that funny smell that is in the air during a big thunderstorm with lots of lightning.) It is also what forms the ozone layer in our upper atmosphere, which shields the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

In industrial application, ozone is used to sterilize water and food production surfaces, to wash fruits and vegetables and to remove yeast and mold particles from the air. Ozonated water (water into which O3 gas has been dissolved) is used to wash fresh produce. This treatment reduces the bacterial and fungal population on the fruits and vegetables by 90% without leaving behind a residue as chlorine treated water does. Since it is an unstable molecular formation, the byproduct of ozone is oxygen gas, which is most certainly not harmful.

Pectin (low-methoxy) is a naturally occuring heterogenous polysaccharide found in the cell walls of plants. Pectin, both low-methoxy (synthetic) and high-methoxy (non-synthetic) , is used to cause liquids to gel; low methoxy pectin is to make low-acid, low-sugar jellies and preserves, while the non-synthetic high-methoxy pectin is used to make the usual high-sugar fruit preserves, jams and jellies.

Pectin, which naturally occurs in high concentrations in apples and citrus fruits, is nutritionally classified as a water-soluble fiber and considered by health professionals as a necessary part of a healthy diet.

Despite being used for various purposes in conventional food processing, phosphoric acid is allowed by the NOSB to be used only in cleaning food contact surfaces and equipment in the production of USDA Certified Organic Foods. In non-organic food processing, it is used to acidify various products, including popular cola sodas. It is an agricultural chemical, so it is cheap and plentiful, but there is evidence to suggest that drinking large amounts of such beverages may disturb the normal balance of calcium-phosphorus ionic ratio in the bloodstream. When this happens, in order to compensate, the body may metabolize calcium from the bones, resulting in a loss of bone density. The popularity of cola drinks may be a factor in the appearance of increasing numbers of young women and older men with low bone density or osteoporosis.

Potassium acid tartrate, also known as cream of tartar when sold for household use, is generally derived from the acidic tartarate crystals that are a byproduct of wine fermentation. It is used, along with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) as a leavener in many old recipes; it is also often used to stabilize egg whites when they are beaten into foam. In food processing it is used as the acidic portion of a chemical leavener, and is used as an acidic ingredient and a buffer.

Potassium carbonate is notated by the NOSB to only be used for FDA-approved applications where natural sodium carbonate is not an acceptable substitute. That said, sodium carbonate, or soda ash, is used in the manufacure of monsodium glutamate and soy sauce. (One suspects it is used in the soy sauces that are not naturally fermented.) It is also used as a neutralizing agent.

Potassium citrate is used as a buffer to lower the acidity of foods. It is also used medically to lower the acidity of the urine to prevent the formation of kidney stones, or to treat a potassium deficiency.

Also known as lye, potassium hydroxide is used in the process of saponification, or turning fats into soap. Lye is also used in conventional food production to chemically peel fruits and vegetables, however, this usage is prohibited by the NOSB. However, it is traditionally used in the production of Dutch cocoa, and has been used for centuries in the production of hominy and masa. In this preparation, he outer seed coat of corn is stripped away by soaking the grain in a solution of potassium hydroxide (often in the form of wood ash) or calcium hydroxide and water. After rinsing the corn, the lye is washed away with the seed coat, and the corn is made more digestible and nutritious as more of the protein is available to be metabolized.

Silicon dioxide is a naturally occurring mineral that has seventeen distinct crystalline forms. Examples include quartz and opal, glass or sand. Silicon dioxide is most often used as a water-absorbtive agent and an anti-caking agent in powdered food products so that they will continue to flow freely.

Sodium citrate, like calcium citrate (see above), is the sodium salt of citric acid. Because it is both sour and salty in flavor it is commonly known as “sour salt” (which is also a name that citric acid itself goes by for household use), and it is used commonly as a flavoring agent and preservative in foods. It is used in both club soda and in lemon-lime sodas to give them their sour flavors. In blood collection, it is also used as an anticoagulant. It is most often derived from citric acid , which is a weak acid found in citrus fruits. The process of deriving sodium citrate (which is also used in the formulation of environmentally friendly detergents) from citric acid currently involves a difficult starch-based fermentation process which results in non-environmentally friendly waste products such as heavy-metal contaminated gypsum. Experimentation to create a more ecologically-friendly method of extraction is currently underway.

Both potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide are commonly known as lye, or caustic lye, and are both used in similar ways in industry and food processing. Most often, sodium hydroxide is used to make soap, however, it is also commonly used in conventional food processing to do a lye wash or chemical peel on fruits and vegetables. This use, however, is prohibited by the NOSB, so instead, it is more likely to come into use in the processing of raw cocoa into Dutch cocoa.

Dutch cocoa is darker and less acidic than untreated cocoa powder, and it the cocoa most commonly used in baking everywhere around the world, except the United States.

Other uses to which sodium hydroxide is put in food processing include the production of caramel coloring, poultry scalding (this is a process that loosens the feathers so they can be plucked from the carcass more easily) soft drink processing, the softening of olives and the making of the traditional Scandinavian favorite, lutefisk. (If you are wondering, lutefisk is a dried whitefish soaked in lye to soften it.) The NOSB also prohibits the use of sodium hydroxide in any process for which sodium bicarbonate, a harmless substance, can be used instead, such as buffering an acidic product or as a leavening agent.

Sodium phosphates are a group of chemicals used in many capacities in conventional food processing: they are used as buffers, whipping agents, foaming agents, neutralizing agents and dietary supplements. They also are the subject of much contention, and the NOSB has a great deal of documentation regarding these chemicals; the first link given in this annotation is to a lengthy document prepared by the board on the subject of this chemical group, its chemical properties and derivation, and its purposes in food processing. (If you are concerned about this group of chemicals–and make no mistake, some of them are highly toxic substances, then I suggest you read the document–there was no way for me to condense it into any sort of useful one paragraph blurb.)

Currently, the NOSB allows the use of these chemicals only in the production of dairy products where they act as emulsifiers, keeping the fat and protein in cheese from separating out. They are also used as a boiler water additive where it functions as an anti-bacterial, and in the cleaning of food processing equipment. (Some of you may be aware of the use of trisodium phosphate–TSP–as a heavy duty degreaser and cleanser. If you are familiar with it, recall the warnings contained on the instructions on the label of the stuff. )

Tocopherols may be more familiar to the common person by the name of vitamin E, which is a powerful antioxidant in the body, protecting cells from the damaging affects of substances known as free radicals which can cause cellular damage that may result in cancer or cardiovascular disease. These substances are commonly found in foods such as green leafy vegetables, vegetable oils, nuts and wheat germ. In food production, it is used as a preservative, where it delays the degradation of oils and fats into rancidity. It is used in snack foods, cereals and naturally expressed vegetable oils. According to the NOSB, tocopherols must be derived from vegetable oils when rosemary extracts are not a suitable alternative.

Xanthan gum, as noted in my very first commentary regarding this subject, is a polysaccharide (a molecule made up of a chain of simple sugars bound together by glycosidic linkages) that is produced by the fermentation of glucose or sucrose (naturally occurring simple sugars) by the bacteria, Xanthomonas campestris. It is used to increase the viscosity, or thickness of fluids. Very small amounts of it are capable of greatly increasing the viscosity of a given liquid, and it is stable under a wide range of temperatures and pH. It is considered as a safe food additive in both the US and Europe. It is also used to replace gluten in a variety of gluten-free baked goods prepared for the growing number of people who suffer from celiac disease, which is a genetic inability to tolerate gluten.

There it is, folks. The List.

Now, what are my final comments regarding these synthetic chemicals?

The vast majority of them are harmless or beneficial, and are really nothing over which to get one’s knickers in a knot. Many of them are naturally occurring or are derived from natural substances, so while they are technically synthetic, they are not some strange thing purely cooked up in a lab. Some of them have completely non-synthetic versions, which are functionally no different on a molecular level than the synthetic ones.

For example, ascorbic acid, calcium citrate, ferrous sulfate, nutritive minerals, nutritive vitamins, pectin and tocopherols are all beneficial to health. In addition to serving as preservatives, acidifiers, thickeners and flavor enhancers, these additives can enhance the nutritional profile of processed foods.

Others of these chemicals, such as the two different versions of lye, potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide, on the face of it, are very dangerous–they are caustic and highly toxic. However, both of these chemicals have a very long history of traditional useage in various cultures in the processing of cocoa, codfish and corn, all without massive loss of human life. This historical use leads me to believe that when used with care in food processing, both potassium hydroxide and sodium hydroxide are likely harmless, and in the case of processing corn, positively beneficial.

Similarly dangerous-sounding chemicals are chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, ozone and phosphoric acid; however, none of these additives are placed directly -into- processed foods themselves. Instead, they are used to clean food processing equipment and raw materials, and are used in water purification.

The only two additives in this entire list which truly trouble me are the sodium phosphates and silicon dioxide. Sodium phosphates bother me because some of them are very toxic, and silicon dioxide bugs me because I don’t really like to think about sand in my food.

However, in general, I trust the NOSB to make sound judgements regarding the safety of the food additives allowed in organic foods, so I realize that my worry about sand in my food is a bit emotional and silly. (Though those sodium phosphates still make me wary.)

My basic feeling is this: so long as American consumers demand that there be organic convenience foods like cold cereals, crisp crackers, fruity yogurt drinks, fizzy natural sodas, macaroni and cheese mixes and bread, and so long as we prefer to eat ripe bananas and tofu, we are going to have to accept some additives in our food. Additives serve a lot of functions which make processed foods edible, tasty and last longer than a day or two. They also help clean processing equipment and keep it free of harmful foodborne bacteria.

So, if we want bacteria-free cereal, tofu, soda, bananas and gluten-free baked goods–we are going to have to have some chemicals in our food.

If you don’t want any of them, then take my advice: don’t eat processed foods.

Or tofu.

Or bananas.

It is just that simple.

Thus we come to the end of the “Those Darned Chemicals” drama, where you can hear Barbara mutter, “I’d like a drink of ethanol, if you please.”

For more information on the list of both natural and synthetic chemicals allowed by the NOSB in USDA Certified Organic Foods, check out the official list. Also look at their “National List in the Final Rule” page.

To find out what these additives are used for, and for general information on health and nutrition, look at the Nutrition Data Food Additive Finder and the Center for Science in the Public Interest’s list of food additives, as well as their section on food safety issues and nutrition policy.

Those Darned Chemicals, Part IV: What, Me, Worry?

I grew up in Chemical Valley.

Well, that isn’t the official name of my hometown, but it might as well be.

Charleston, West Virginia, the medium-sized capitol of the state, is situated along the Kanawha River valley, where it is bracketed on both the east and west sides with chemical plants.

DuPont, Union Carbide and Monsanto all have plants within spitting distance of the Kanawha River, while Union Carbide’s Technical Center–the site where experimental “pilot plants” are tested–is sited just above the city in the hills above South Charleston. Downriver, Dow, FMC, the German company, Bayer, and Fike Chemical all have plants, many of the clustered around the town of Nitro, which was named for the munitions plants situated there during World Wars I and II.

My grandfather and Dad both worked for Union Carbide for their entire adult lives; currently, an uncle and an aunt work in chemical plants, and my ex-father-in-law is a chemist at DuPont.

I grew up with air that smelled of chlorine, a river tainted with carbon tetrachloride, and the knowledge that if we heard something like an air-raid siren in the night, something bad had happened at one of the plants, and it might mean a relative’s death. My grandfather had a cancer on his neck as a result of accidental exposure to something toxic, and nearly everyone I know who lives there is plagued with chronic colds, sinus infections, asthma or other respiratory diseases, all attributed to the low air quality due to the presence of so many chemical plants.

One of the plants was, at the time I was living in Charleston, the only other site in the world where a pesticide containing methyl isocyanate–the gas that killed thousands in Bhopal, India– was made. When my Dad, who worked at Union Carbide, told me that the same process was used in the South Charleston plant, I was confronted with the knowledge that what had happened in India could happen to us.

Even though I was half a world away, I grew up in the shadow of the deaths at Bhopal, and I know what it is like to be afraid of chemicals.

Fear and mistrust of the chemical industry is nothing new in the United States. Bhopal happened twenty years ago, but is still fresh in the minds of many people. Closer to home for many Americans is the memory of the residents of Love Canal in Niagra Falls, New York, who had high rates of cancer and birth defects due to their houses being built over a former toxic waste dump for Hooker Chemicals and Plastics Corporation. Meryl Streep’s powerful performance in the film Silkwood, helps Americans recall the fate of Karen Silkwood, a chemical technition at the Kerr-Mcgee plutonium fuels production plant; she was unknowingly exposed to dangerously high amounts of radiocative plutonium at the plant. She died in a car wreck on the way to blow the whistle on the lax safety of her workplace; some speculate that she was run off the road to shut her up.

Facts aside, popular fiction often uses the chemical industry as bad guys, further bolstering American mistrust of chemicals.

The origin story of the Green Goblin, a perennial foe of comic hero, Spider-Man, is a tale of hubris, chemicals and greed. A corrupt industrialist, Norman Osborn created an intelligence-enhancing serum, which turned green and blew up in his face, making him into a maniacal murderer who took to inventing pumpkin bombs and flying razors which helped him in his quest to kill Spider-Man.

An even older neo-Luddite screed against human meddling with chemicals comes from the H. G. Wells tale, “The Food of the Gods,” a story which became fodder for a string of B-movies about giant rodents and insects wreaking havoc and eating people just because a scientist decided to create the “perfect food” to help mankind. They test it out on various creatures, which then grow into giant monstrousities, and

Even the newly released film, “Serenity,” a continuation of Joss Whedon’s cancelled science-fiction/western television series “Firefly,” carps on the dangers of chemical interference with human life.

So, from all sides, Americans are bombarded with the message that “chemicals are bad, and are not to be trusted.”

The problem with that message is that it is not exactly true.

It’s not true because everything in the world is made up of chemicals.

Our bodies are made up of chemical compounds. Our metabolism works by way of complex chemical reactions in our lungs, guts, bloodstream and brain.

The air we breathe, the water we drink–these are chemicals.

Our food, whether we are talking about an apple straight from the tree, or an apple-flavored candy that never saw a tree in its life–our food is all made up of chemicals.

All of matter is made up of atoms and molecules, elements and compounds, solutions and substrates. The Universe is one big chemistry lab, in a metaphorical sense.

Another point I would like to reiterate is this: there is no structural, elemental or chemical difference between molecules that occur in nature and those created in a lab.

None whatsoever.

H2O is always water. If it comes out of a river it is water, if it comes out of your tap it is water, if it is synthesized in a lab from oxygen and hydrogen–it still is water. And when you drink it, the water from all of these sources will be metabolized in your body in the exact same way.

There is no functional difference between, say, carbon dioxide that is respired from our lungs, and carbon dioxide that is created in the lab. Either one could be used to carbonate a soda made from organic fruit juice, water and expressed cane juice or to replace the oxygen in a bag of organically grown salad greens, and there would be no functional difference between those products.

CO2 is CO2.

End of story.

Now, I am not saying that there are no chemical compounds in the world we should worry about. Agent Orange still sucks, the deaths at Bhopal still happened and I still don’t want artificially hydrogenated vegetable oils in my food. I am just saying that unquestioning and automatic fear of chemicals is unwarranted.

Chemicals are natural–that is just the way it is.

Knee-jerk, emotional fear of chemicals is not rational, and that irrational fear is being manipulated by some folks in the Organic Consumers Association in order to pursue their own agenda.

In reviewing and researching the list of synthetic chemical food additives allowed by the NOSB for USDA Certified Organic foods, I have found only one or two compounds that I think are the least bit questionable. Many of these compounds are naturally occuring molecules, and their non-synthetic counterparts are also on the list of allowable additives for organic processed foods, which I assume would not send the OCA into a tizzy of worry and fear-mongering.

Most of these chemicals are not that bad.

And in fact, some of them, particularly the vitamins and minerals, are actually benefical, and no rational individual could possibly object to them.

That is, if they knew what they were objecting to.

Annotated List of Allowable Food Additives:

Ozone consists of three oxygen bound loosely together; it is an unstable molecular formation. A colorless gas at standard room temperature and pressure, is both a powerful oxidant and a corrosive, poisonous pollutant. It can be found in low concentrations naturally in the atmosphere, and it can also be formed from the more prevalant (and breathable) O2 by electrical discharges. (Ozone is that funny smell that is in the air during a big thunderstorm with lots of lightning.) It is also what forms the ozone layer in our upper atmosphere, which shields the earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

In industrial application, ozone is used to sterilize water, food production surfaces, to wash fruits and vegetables and to remove yeast and mold particles from the air. Ozonated water (water into which O3 gas has been dissolved) is used to wash fresh produce. This treatment reduces the bacterial and fungal population on the fruits and vegetables by 90% without leaving behind a residue as chlorine treated water does.

Pectin (low-methoxy) is a naturally occuring heterogenous polysaccharide found in the cell walls of plants. Pectin, both low-methoxy (synthetic) and high-methoxy (non-synthetic) , is used to cause liquids to gel; low methoxy pectin is to make low-acid, low-sugar jellies and preserves, while the non-synthetic high-methoxy pectin is used to make the usual high-sugar fruit preserves, jams and jellies.

Pectin, which naturally occurs in high concentrations in apples and citrus fruits, is nutritionally classified as a water-soluble fiber and considered by health professionals as a necessary part of a healthy diet.

Despite being used for various purposes in conventional food processing, phosphoric acid is allowed by the NOSB to be used only in cleaning food contact surfaces and equipment in the production of USDA Certified Organic Foods. In non-organic food processing, it is used to acidify various products, including popular cola sodas. It is an agricultural chemical, so it is cheap and plentiful, but there is evidence to suggest that drinking large amounts of such beverages may disturb the normal balance of calcium-phosphorus ionic ratio in the bloodstream. When this happens, in order to compensate, the body may metabolize calcium from the bones, resulting in a loss of bone density. The popularity of cola drinks may be a factor in the appearance of increasing numbers of young women and older men with low bone density or osteoporosis.

Potassium acid tartrate, also known as cream of tartar when sold for household use, is generally derived from the acidic tartarate crystals that are a byproduct of wine fermentation. It is used, along with sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) as a leavener in many old recipes; it is also often used to stabilize egg whites when they are beaten into foam. In food processing it is used as the acidic portion of a chemical leavener, and is used as an acidic ingredient and a buffer.

Potassium carbonate is notated by the NOSB to only be used for FDA-approved applications where natural sodium carbonate is not an acceptable substitute. That said, sodium carbonate, or soda ash, is used in the manufacure of monsodium glutamate and soy sauce. (One suspects it is used in the soy sauces that are not naturally fermented.) It is also used as a neutralizing agent.

Potassium citrate is used as a buffer to lower the acidity of foods. It is also used medically to lower the acidity of the urine to prevent the formation of kidney stones, or to treat a potassium deficiency.

Also known as lye, potassium hydroxide is used in the process of saponification, or turning fats into soap. Lye is also used in conventional food production to chemically peel fruits and vegetables, however, this usage is prohibited by the NOSB. However, it is traditionally used in the production of Dutch cocoa, and has been used for centuries in the production of hominy and masa. In this preparation, he outer seed coat of corn is stripped away by soaking the grain in a solution of potassium hydroxide (often in the form of wood ash) or calcium hydroxide and water. After rinsing the corn, the lye is washed away with the seed coat, and the corn is made more digestible and nutritious as more of the protein is available to be metabolized.

Silicon dioxide is a naturally occurring mineral that has seventeen distinct crystalline forms. Examples include quartz and opal, glass or sand. Silicon dioxide is most often used as a water-absorbtive agent and an anti-caking agent in powdered food products so that they will continue to flow freely.

And with that, I will end for today and pick up tomorrow with sodium citrate.

I know that the suspense is killing you, and you are probably on the edge of your seats, wanting to know how the drama known as “Those Darned Chemicals” will end.

You just have to be patient and tune in tomorrow when you will hear Morganna say, “Oh my god! I don’t want sand in my food!”

And Zak will pipe in with, “Why, back in the day, when we were poor, we ate crawdads, and when there were no crawdads, we ate sand!”

Barbara will say, “No crawdads were hurt in the writing of this post.”

Until tomorrow, folks.

Those Darned Chemicals, Part III: What are Food Additives, and Why Worry About Them?

Since I am doing this series (and I am glad to see that people are enthusiastic about it) on the topic of what synthetic chemicals are allowed in processed foods given the USDA Certified Organic seal of approval, I think I should probably talk a little bit about food additives in general and what they are doing in our food in the first place. Then, I’ll discuss health issues surrounding the idea of food additives and why some people should be concerned about some additives, while other ones are likely to be completely harmless.

After that, we will return to our regularly scheduled annotated listing of the permissible food additives in the special seal-of-approval foods.

Strictly speaking, food additives are any substances which are added to food items to change its flavor, increase its shelf life, to improve its texture, or to improve its appearance. Humans have been using food additives for thousands of years, particularly for thier preservative function: salt, sugar, vinegar and spices have all played thier part in preserving food in the form of pickles, cured meats, jams and jellies, cross-culturally, for centuries. Technically speaking, smoke is a process, not a food additive, but for the purpose of my current project where the presence of carbon dioxide and ethylene gas in organic foods are being debated by consumer groups, I would consider woodsmoke, a traditional way to help dry and preserve meat, to be a food additive.

Preservatives act in many different ways to extend the shelf life of a given food item. Some of them create a hostile environment to bacteria, molds and fungi, thus making it harder for them to successfully live and grow on or in a food so that they cannot cause it to spoil. Bacteria, molds and fungi are living organisms which require water, food, a balanced pH, and a comfortable temperature in which to live, grow and reproduce–change or remove one or more of these requirements, and you disrupt the ability of some or all of these organisms to thrive on your food and make it unsafe to consume. (Some harmful bacteria require oxygen to live, while others thrive in oxygen-free environments, which is why I did not add air to the list of necessities for bacterial life, though in many cases, removing oxygen from an environment will protect food from some bacteria.)

Table salt, a household staple which most people consider to be a mere ingredient in food, is actually one of the first and still most commonly used food additives, both in the home and in food processing plants. It was also probably the very first preservative used by early man. As a preservative, it inhibits the growth of bacteria and other harmful organisms by drying out the food product, making it an inhospitable environment. It also makes food taste good, and when used in sufficient concentrate, changes the texture and appearance of the food item.

Salt is a naturally occurring chemical, and can be mined from the earth in the form of rock salt, or be obtained by evaporating sea water. It is a necessary part of our diet; our own blood and mucus membranes are saline.

Some preservatives are anti-oxidants; they retard the effects of oxygen on plant and animal tissues and slow down the process of oxidized decomposition. Anti-oxidants added to food include ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C, another necessary nutrient.

Changing the texture of food is accomplished by food additives that act as leaveners, anti-caking agents, anti-foaming agents, thickeners, emulsifiers, bulking agents and humectants.

Leaveners have been in use in the kitchen since early man first came into contact with wild yeast by leaving dough out before cooking it on a griddle and discovered that the bubbly dough cooked up lighter and with a delightful flavor and texture. Leaveners include yeast, which is a living organism, which was the first and only leavener in use for centuries, and various chemical leaveners which work by way of an explosive exothermic reaction when an acid and a base come into contact with liquid and/or heat. Chemical leaveners first came into use in the nineteenth century and changed the way in which baking was accomplished both in the home, and by professional bakers, and many new bread, cookie, cake, and cracker recipes were the result. (Prior to the discovery of chemical leaveners, the way in which one got a cake to rise was through the use of well-beaten egg whites, a process that required lots of muscle and stamina in the days before electric mixers.)

Anti-caking agents are added to powdered food products to keep them from clumping; anti-foaming agents are similarly self-explanatory–they keep liquid food products from foaming. Thickeners are usually based on some sort of starch which absorbs some of the liquid in a food and makes the rest of the liquid thicker. (Thickeners have been and are used in home and restaurant cookery in the form of flour, cornstarch, arrowroot powder, tapioca starch, beurre manie and roux; in jams and jellies, pectin, which occurs naturally in fruit, acts to thicken the sugar and fruit juice solution.)

Emulsifiers are used to keep oil particles suspended in water; if you have ever made mayonnaise at home, you have employed egg yolks as an emulsifier. Bulking agents are non-nutritive additives that increase the bulk of a product without changing its caloric or nutritive value. Humectants straddle the fence between acting as preservatives or as texture-altering additives; they are hydrophilic and hydroscopic ingredients that keep foods moist. In baking, sugar is considered to be hydroscopic, and baked goods with a considerable amount of sugar stay moist longer than those which do not–in such cases, sugar can be seen as acting as a humectant.

When we get to the categories of additives which are used to change the flavor and appearance of foods, we step into the controversial realm of artificial flavors and colors. However, before we deal with the artificially derived flavors and colors, we should examine the additives that have been used for centuries to do the same things. Salt, sugar and vinegar have been used in many cultures not only to preserve foods, but also to alter their flavors. Spices and herbs have been similarly used. Natural plant extracts have also been in use in many cultures for thousands of years to change the color of foods to make them more festive or visually appealing. Turmeric, paprika beet juice, spinach juice and caramelized sugar are just a few examples of plant-based coloring agents that have been used to dye foods in the past and present.

Artificially derived flavors and colors, however, have become sources of worry to many consumers, and often with good reason. Among the lists of banned food additives, the largest category is the artificial colors that have been found to be detrimental to health, with synthetic (and some natural) flavorings following closely in number. Many of these additives were found to be carcinogens, or just plain toxic, and have thus been removed from the list of government-approved food additives in the US. (However, they may still be legal to use in other parts of the world. When eating processed food in other countries, be cautious.)

A lot of really great information on what food additives are, and what they are used for and information on how safe they really are (or are not) with sound medical/scientific/nutritional advice on which ones to avoid and which ones to not worry about can be found at the website of the Center for Science in the Public Interest. This organization works hard lobbying Congress, educating the public and working with the FDA and the USDA on issues of food safety; instead of using scare tactics, they provide consumers with factual information that they can use to make good nutritional choices for themselves and their families. When the CSPI sends out an action alert, it is filled with as many facts as possible, allowing the consumer to judge whether or not the issue is one to be concerned over, which is more than I can say for recent conduct of the Organic Consumers Association.

And now, back to Those Darned Chemicals!

Annotated List of Allowable Food Additives:

Iron, in the form of ferrous sulfate, is an ionic compound which is made by the oxidization of pyrite (a naturally occuring mineral) or by treating iron with sulfuric acid. Iron is a necessary nutrient which used to enrich various products as regulated by the federal government (flour and breakfast cereals are among the products mandated to be enriched) as well as products that are recommended for iron enrichment by medical or nutrition professionals.

Bleached lecithin is derived from egg yolks or soybeans, either by a mechanical or chemical process. (Only bleached lecithin is considered synthetic by the NOSB–unbleached lecithin is considered non-synthetic; they are, however, both allowed in USDA Organic Certified foods.) Lecithin is found in all cell walls, and is used as an emulsifier and can be completely metabolized by humans, and is considered to be completely non-toxic. It is widely used in foods and pharmaceuticals that require an emusifying agent or a lubricant.

Magnesium chloride is only allowed by NOSB as a food additive if it has been derived from sea water; in order to do this, the sodium chloride (table salt) is removed from the solution, and then the water is evaporated. The white powder that is left behind is magnesium chloride, which is called nigari in Japanese. In Japan, it has been used for centuries as a coagulant in the making of tofu from soy milk; the tofu processed in this way has a very smooth and fine texture amd is called silken tofu.

Mono- and diglycerides are esters (an organic compound where an organic group is replaced by a hydrogen atom in an oxygen acid–I know, this probably just turned into mumbo-jumbo) of glycerol and fatty acids. Depending on how many fatty acids esterize with the glycerol, one can have monoglycerides, diglycerides or triglycerides, which are found in animal fats and plant oils. (Including in humans.) Triglycerides, when ingested, are broken down enzymes into mono- and diglycerides and free fatty acids, which can then be used as energy by the body. In food processing, mono- and di-glycerides are commonly used as emusifliers and humectants–they are what keeps many commercial peanut butters from separating. However, NOSB specifically states that they can only be used in USDA Certified Organic foods in the process of drum-drying of foods.

Nutrient minerals, are chemical elements such as chromium, cobalt, copper, fluorine, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, selenium and zinc, are considered by medical and nutritional professionals to be necessary nutrients for sustaining human life. They are naturally found in the earth and in various plant and animal food sources, and can be derived from these sources or synthesized in various ways. They are allowed by the NOSB in USDA Certified Organic foods as required by federal regulation for enrichment or as recommended by nutritional or medical experts. (Iodized salt is a good example of a food product enriched in order to enhance health; enriched wheat flour is another example.)

Nutrient vitamins, such as vitamin A, the B-complex vitamins, vitamins C, D, E and K, are all organic (meaning, they contain carbon) molecules that are required in very small amounts for humans (and other animals) to thrive. Some are naturally occurring in foods, while others, such as vitamin D, are synthesized in the human body when the skin is exposed to sunlight. Since their discovery in the early twentieth century, vitamins have been used to enrich foods; accordingly the NOSB allows their use to enrich USDA Organic Foods if required by federal regulation or if it is recommended by nutritional or medical professionals.

That is all for today; I don’t want to make too many huge posts with large amounts of reading to digest at a time. Tune in again tomorrow for the fourth episode of Those Darned Chemicals when you will hear Morganna say, “My Mom is a geek, “and Zak will reply, “And this surprises you how?”

And then Barbara will say, “You all can order pizza for dinner, dammit. This geek ain’t cookin’ unless she gets some more respect around here!”

Those Darned Chemicals, Part II: What is Really Going On Here?

Before I continue with my alphabetical list of the thirty-five synthetic food additives that the USDA currently allows food producers to include in products that are granted the USDA Certified Organic label, I want to talk about how I view food additives in general.

Food additives are a necessity for most processed foods. Some of them are harmless compounds which act as anti-oxidants, which help extend the shelf life of the food item. Some are actively beneficial to the functioning of the human body and are added to enrich the nutrient value of the product: vitamins and minerals fall into this category. Others are used as flavor enhancers, thickeners or leaveners, which improve the products taste, mouthfeel and texture; these products have their counterparts in our own kitchens in the form of sugars, salt and spices, cornstarch or roux and yeast, baking powder and baking soda.

Some food additives I take umbrage with, and avoid: high fructose corn syrup is one of them, and transfats in the form of partially or fully hydrogenated vegetable oils is another. The studies I have read on these additives which appear in nearly non-organic processed food item in American grocery store shelves, have made me suspect that these ingredients are injurious to my health and the health of others, and so I refuse to eat food which contains them.

So, I do understand why consumers might be skeptical about the role of food additives in processed food, as I myself am not a great consumer of processed foods for the very reason that I believe that they contain ingredients which may be harmful. However, it seems more sensible to me to simply avoid most processed foods entirely than to find fault with the food additives which are necessary in order to create palatability, leaven the product, enhances its nutrative value and lenthen its shelf life.

In researching this current conflagration over the use of synthetic chemicals in the production of processed foods which are certified as organic by the USDA, I have found among that list of additives many items which are used for reasonable purposes, which are not harmful to health, and some in fact, which are health-enhancing.

How, for example, can anyone object to vitamins and minerals being added to a product?

This makes me wonder how many people are actually aware of what they are protesting about. I do hate to sound like I am coming down on the side of the USDA (which I have reason to mistrust for their handling of the BSE crisis) and the big food corporations (whom I mistrust for many reasons) , but I see a distinct dearth of actual information available to consumers from the Organic Consumer Association regarding this list of additives. Mind you, I had to search diligently on the USDA website to get the list, but I -did- find it there, with all the information I needed to do further research on the topic myself.

I do not like outright lies; but I find half-truths even more odious and insidious.

Spin is ugly no matter who is doing the spinning.

I have been receiving information and calls to action from any number of different outlets regarding these additives, asking me to communicate with my congresscritters and email the USDA and all sorts of very responsible, civic-minded, good voter citizen actions. However, none of the information that has been sent me in this very active campaign sponsored by the OCA has contained the whole truth of what exactly it is that I am supposed to be protesting.

This worries me.

It seems to me that if the OCA were truly concerned with what people put into their mouths, then they would give out as much information as possible on these additives and let people make up their own minds about it. They would perhaps urge people to boycott brands that utilized these additives, and specifically state scientific research which concluded that these additives were detrimental to health.

But it seems to me that there is another agenda here. It looks as if the OCA is stirring up people’s mistrust of government agencies (a mistrust which is not always unreasonable–look at FEMA’s recent laughable performance in emergency managment) and sometimes misguided fears regarding all things chemical, synthetic and “unnatural.” They seem to want people to be fearful, in order to accomplish a goal–one best articulated by Ronnie Cummins, the
national director for the OCA, who voices fears that the National Organic Standards Board (the independant advisory committee which drafted the rules governing what is and is not considered to be organic for the USDA, and which decides what additives are permissible) may be dismantled and abolished.

In the Alternet article I posted yesterday, he is quoted as saying that the NOSB is “the primary thing that stands between us and the corporate agribusiness takeover of the organics industry.” (Italics mine.)

I believe in that phrase, he has shown the OCA’s agenda; they wish to block large corporations from participating in the organic food marketplace.

One way to do that is to attack the way in which they manufacture food. Over and over, spokespersons for the Organic Trade Association have said that these food additives, some of which are labelled as synthetic, but which are derived from natural sources, allow the food companies to produce organic processed food to fulfil consumer demands for same, at as low a price as possible. Alternative ingredients, which fall under the definition of “natural,” are more expensive, and would drive the cost of producing these foods up.

And to whom would that rise in price fall?

The consumers, of course.

And people already complain about how expensive organic foods are.

I’ll leave my ruminations with that little fact for the readers to chew on while I return to my annotated list of food additives.

Annotated List of Allowable Food Additives:

Calcium phosphates (di-, mono- and tri-) is a mineral salt found in teeth and bones, and is often found as naturally occurring rock in various Middle Eastern countries. As a food additive it is used as a leavening agent, oxidizing agent, yeast food, nutritional supplement, anti-caking ingredient, and dough conditioner. Dough conditioners are ingredients used to help make yeast doughs rise higher and lighter–they contain carbohydrate yeast foods which help the yeast multiply more rapidly and produce more carbon dioxide, and they are particularly useful to make whole grain breads rise up light and airy as opposed to heavy and leaden. Dough conditioners often contain calcium and oxidizing agents, which helps strengthen the dough. Dough conditioners are often used by commercial bakeries in Europe and are becoming more commonly accepted in American bakeries; it is sold to American home bakers under the name of Lora Brody, a well-known cooking instructor. (I have a couple of cans of it myself and have used it frequently.)

A naturally occurring gas, carbon dioxide is part of the Earth’s atmosphere, and is used in food production to add bubbles to beverages, (a process called strangely enough, carbonation) and as a packing gas. It is utilized in packing fresh produce in sealed environments; in keeping out the oxygen, it limits the potential for oxidization, wilting and decomposition of such fragile produce as salad greens. There are two listings for carbon dioxide in the NOSB database–one for natural carbon dioxide and another for synthesized version; chemically, the two are identical in form and function, and chemically speaking, are indistinguishable.

Chlorine is used in the food industry as a bleaching agent for flour, and oxidizing agent and as a preservative, however, the NOSB allows its use in USDA Certified Organic products only as a disinfectant for food processing equipment, and only if residual chlorine levels on the equipment do not exceed the maximum residual disinfectant limit under the Safe Drinking Water Act. Chlorine is present in all public municipal drinking water systems where it is used as an anti-microbial agent.

Ethylene has been covered in my first post on this subject, but I will reiterate that it is a gaseous plant hormone that is emitted by various fruits and vegetables as a natural part of the fruit-ripening process and is used to ripen fruits while they are in storage. Bananas will not ripen off the tree without application of ethylene gas; ethylene that is produced naturally by a fruit, or in a laboratory, are chemically indistinguishable.

Glycerine is a naturally occurring substance in the human body, where it is known as glycerol; it is an important component of triglycerides, a component of body fat. When body fat is burned as fuel, glycerol is released into the bloodstream; it is then converted into glucose by liver and is burned for energy. In food products, it is most often used as binder, a humectant (an agent which is helps retain moisture) and as a solvent. Glycerine can be produced from animal fat or vegetable oils, and is the by-product of saponification, which is the reaction between a base and a fat which produces soap. It is also a by-product of the creation of biodiesel: a form of fuel that is derived from vegetable oils and is used as an alternative to petrochemicals.

Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a hair bleach and in low concentrations in medical applications such as disinfection, wound cleaning and debriding, and as a household cleaner. In food production, it is used as preservative, though I cannot find any information on exactly how it functions chemically in that capacity. Although sufficient quantities of food-grade (35%) hydrogen peroxide can be fatal when ingested, it is sometimes used in alternative medicine to treat various health issues. NOSB has allowed the use of hydrogen peroxide without restriction in the production of USDA Certified Organic foods.

That is it for today. Tomorrow, look for another episode of “Those Darned Chemicals,” when you will hear Zak say, “I thought iron was supposed to be good for you!”

And then you will hear Barbara say, “Why didn’t I study my chemistry more diligently?” as she tears her hair out by the roots.

And then Morganna will say, “Are you still writing about those darned chemicals Mom? When’s dinner?”

Those Darned Chemicals

You know, I get curious when I get a whiff that there is a bit of fuss going on over nothing.

Or if the fuss isn’t exactly over nothing, it is out of proportion with the cause of the ruckus.

After I read the article about the “thirty-eight synthetic chemicals” that the USDA is thinking of permanently allowing in processed foods labelled “USDA Certified Organic,” and found that while two of them are labelled by the USDA as “synthetic” they are created through partially natural processes or are chemically indistinguishable from naturally derived chemicals, I got to wondering about the other chemicals that a bunch of organic consumers are so het up about.

So, I looked all over Organic Consumer Association website to see if I could find a list of the thirty-eight offending synthetic food additives, and found nada.

Nothing.

Just general references to those pesky “thirty-eight synthetic chemicals.”

You know, it seems to me, that before one gets mad about something, one should have a clear understanding of exactly what it is one is tweaked over. It just seems responsible. So, I found it odd that the OCA didn’t have a list or a link to a list of these thirty-eight secret herbs and spices, I mean, chemicals, that are currently allowed in Certified Organic foods. I mean, if the OCA really wanted to educate consumers about what they are putting into their bodies, you’t think they’d put the list right out there, along with an explanation, in mostly plain English, of just what is so objectionable about all of those food additives.

But this is not the case.

So, I went to the USDA, and lo and behold, found a list of the food additives, both synthetic and non-synthetic, that are both allowed and disallowed in the processing of foods labelled as “USDA Certified Organic.”

And I decided to post the list of the “Black Thirty-Eight” (actually only thirty five, but who is keeping count besides me?) here, and then do a little research on what exactly these chemicals are, what they are used for, and how they are made. Just glancing at the list, I did see that many additives have very specific specifications on how and when they are used in the processing of organic foods, and in the cases of both synthetic and non-synthetic additives, it is obvious to me that some thought has gone into the decision-making process and at no time was carte blanche given to the food processors to just put whatever they want in foods labelled as “organic.”

In point of fact, several additives are allowed for use -only- in foods that are labelled, “made with organic ingredients,” which is not the same thing as “USDA Certified Organic,” which tells me that while the OCA may not agree with how the National Organic Standards Board has done its job, I feel that the board is doing its best to keep the federal organic label as meaningful, and yet make it possible for food processors to create diverse products for the growing consumer interest in organic goods.

Again, I say this: if the addition of these products disturbs anyone, then perhaps they should rethink their support for processed foods of any sort, and should only consume foods that come to them in as unprocessed a state as possible.

At any rate, here is the list of food additives. In a series of posts, I will go through each additive on the list, giving all the information I can find on the use of it in food processing, how it is derived, and any possible harmful side effects of it. This series will be posted over days–I have no idea how many days, and will be supplemented by my usual, more colorful and entertaining posts.

When I am done with my annotations, perhaps I will take a look at the non-synthetic food additives–the ones which are apparently okay with the OCA, and see what they are used for and from what they are derived.

If nothing else, this should remind me of the chemistry classes I took umpteen years ago, and why I found them to be so fascinating, if somewhat difficult.

Of great use to me in this research is a list of food additives on the Nutrition Data website,
and Wikipedia.

Enjoy.

The List:

alginates
ammonium bicarbonate
ammonium carbonate
ascorbic acid
calcium citrate
calcium hydroxide
calcium phosphates
carbion dioxide
chlorine
ethylene
glycerine
hydrogen peroxide
iron (ferrous sulfate)
lethicin, bleached
magnesium carbonate
magnesium chloride
magnesium stearate
mono- and diglycerides
nutrient minerals
nutrient vitamins
ozone
pectin, low-methoxy
phosphoric acid
potassium acid tartrate
potassium citrate
potassium hydroxide
potassium iodide
potassium phosphate
silicon dioxide
sodium citrate
sodium hydroxide
sodium phosphate
sulphur dioxide
tocopherols
xanthan gum

You will note that there are actually only thirty five chemicals on that list.

That is because a couple of the chemicals are listed twice, because they have been examined more than once and the regulations on them have changed slightly and the USDA makes note of that.

Apparently, reporters cannot figure that out.

Now that the list is out of the way, here are the first six synthetic chemical food additives that are currently and may be permanently allowed to be used in processing USDA certified organic food.

Annotated List of Allowable Food Additives:

Alginates are linear copolymers (a specific kind of polymer, or long chain of molecules made up from structural units and repeating units strung together by chemical bonds) which form gums or gels. Commercially, these are derived from algae or bacteria, both of which are naturally ocurring lifeforms. Alginates are used to thicken food products such as soups and salad dressings, and are used in the pharmaceutical industry in the production of antacids.

Ammonium bicarbonate has been covered in my previous post on the subject, but I want to note that the USDA has allowed its use -only- as a leavening agent–this use has been determined safe by the FDA. Similarly, the use of the related compound, ammonium carbonate in the production of organic food products has been limited to use as a leavening agent. Interestingly, ammonium carbonate used to be derived from organic compounds such as hair, urine and horn–hence the old name of “salt of hartshorn.”

Ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C, is allowed to be used in any way in the production of organic foods. An antioxidant, ascorbic acid is used to help preserve processed foods and to boost the nutrient value of them; humans are one of the few animals incapable of producing our own vitamin c–a nutrient necessary to maintain life. It is found in many plant and animal sources including citrus fruits, peppers, tomatoes, broccoli, potatoes, papaya, calf liver, oysters and cod roe. It is synthesized from glucose–a natural sugar.

Calcium citrate is the calcium salt of citric acid. (A salt is a ionic compound composed of positively charged ions and negatively charged anions with a crystalline molecular structure which has a neutral charge.) It is used as a preservative, and because it is both sour and salty, as a flavor enhancer. Studies have shown that calcium citrate dietary supplements may be better absorbed by the body than calcium carbonate to prevent bone density loss. It also may increase aluminum toxicity in people with kidney problems.

Calcium hydroxide has been used in food processing for thousands of years by Native Americans who used it (sometimes in the form of wood ashes) in the production of posole, nixtamal or what we would now call masa. It is used to loosen and remove the outer hull of corn kernels, and in the process, renders more of the grain’s protein and vitamins available for absorbtion. This treatment of corn makes the grain more nutritious, allowing people to use it as a staple protein source. Without such treatment, those who eat corn as a staple food often develop the serious disease pellagra, which is a deficiency in niacin. It is still used to create posole or masa, and is also used in the production of sodas and some alcoholic beverages.

That is it for today. Look for a continuation of “Those Darned Chemicals” tomorrow, when you will hear Barbara say, “Doesn’t anyone study chemistry in college anymore?”

And then you will hear Zak say, “Are you still going on about those darned chemicals?”

And Morganna will say, “Mom, what’s for dinner?”

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