9 Worst Food Additives You Need to Stop Eating Now

Last Updated on January 7, 2021

You need to constantly check the labels of bread and crackers, also, you can find a wide variety of other baked goodies that don’t use potassium bromate as safer alternatives.

8- Sodium Benzoate and Benzoic Acid

Sodium Benzoate and Benzoic Acid are used to block the development of microorganisms in acidic foods, such as carbonated drinks, pickles, and some fruit juices.

Although they mostly affect only individuals with allergies, there’s a worse issue, which is that when sodium benzoate is used in drinks with ascorbic acid (aka vitamin C) they form small quantities of benzene, the chemical behind leukemia and other cancers.

Even though the amount of benzene is very small, you should better watch out for it, particularly in foods and beverages containing acid.

9- Food Colorings

nytimes.com

About 17.8 million pounds of food dyes, many of which are derived from petroleum, are consumed in the US, as stated by the Feingold Association.

Although some colorings are made with natural substances like carmine and beta-carotene, as well as 17 out of 24 synthetic dyes have been inhibited from use in American foods, there is still some fatal news.

Red 40 triggers lymph tumors in lab testing and is found in candy, desserts, drinks, and pet food.
Red 3 has shown thyroid tumors and chromosomal damage and is also used in candy and desserts, as well as baked goods.

Yellow 5 and 6 may lead to chromosomal damage, lymphocytic lymphomas, and kidney and thyroid tumors.

The best thing you can do is to make sure you only consume foods that use natural dyes or are dye-free. You may also consider visiting labelwatch.com to check on the components of popular brands’ products before shopping.