By Lori Harvey
Health Writer
Earlier this year the “pink slime” debacle hit the news. Finely textured beef that was made from tendons and other undesirable parts of a cow to be put into ground beef. It’s been in there for years but just came into the spot light this year. This debacle has been blamed for many meat processing plants closing and jobs lost.
At the same time, another scandal came out that was quickly buried. Chicken nuggets are a popular item that is served at McDonald’s and in school lunches. I used to buy them as a quick dinner once in awhile but after hearing about this, I threw the rest of them away.
According to the Omnivore’s Dilemma and Organic Authority, there are 38 ingredients in chicken nuggets. Let’s take a look at some of the ingredients -
Health Writer
Earlier this year the “pink slime” debacle hit the news. Finely textured beef that was made from tendons and other undesirable parts of a cow to be put into ground beef. It’s been in there for years but just came into the spot light this year. This debacle has been blamed for many meat processing plants closing and jobs lost.
At the same time, another scandal came out that was quickly buried. Chicken nuggets are a popular item that is served at McDonald’s and in school lunches. I used to buy them as a quick dinner once in awhile but after hearing about this, I threw the rest of them away.
According to the Omnivore’s Dilemma and Organic Authority, there are 38 ingredients in chicken nuggets. Let’s take a look at some of the ingredients -
Sodium Phosphates: Used in some products as a laxative, but is mainly used as a texturizer and emulsifier which stops all the nasty oils from separating within the nugget.
Dimethylpolysiloxane: This is an “antifoaming agent” that is an oil derivative made from silicon. It keeps the fryers from foaming up and boiling over. It’s also put in shampoos and used in the making of contact lenses.
TBHQ: Is an alarming ingredient. A derivative of petroleum. This is the same stuff you put in your car. It’s sprayed on the nugget directly or into the box to preserve freshness. It is also a form of butane-lighter fluid. A single gram of TBHQ can cause “nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse,” so they must not use to much of it. Eating five grams of TBHQ can kill according to the author of the Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Hydrogenated Soybean Oil: If you are at all concerned about yours or your family’s health, you should avoid any product that contains hydrogenated, or even worse, partially hydrogenated (trans fat) oils. That’s right, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils are trans fat. If you think they removed trans fat from our foods, think again.
Sodium Aluminum Phosphate: Is a new product to the food industry and hasn’t been thoroughly tested. Although aluminum has been widely researched to cause Alzheimers and dementia. Sodium aluminum phosphate is also used in eye drops and pesticides.
Modified Food Starch: This is cornstarch that has been chemically altered and added to the nugget to help glue everything together.
Autolyzed Yeast Extract: Is a less expensive form of monosodium glutamate. Monosodium glutatmate is that nasty addictive stuff that keeps you coming back for more and has been reported to cause numerous health concerns such as severe allergies, cancer and heart disease.
Ready to dive into some chicken nuggets?
Dimethylpolysiloxane: This is an “antifoaming agent” that is an oil derivative made from silicon. It keeps the fryers from foaming up and boiling over. It’s also put in shampoos and used in the making of contact lenses.
TBHQ: Is an alarming ingredient. A derivative of petroleum. This is the same stuff you put in your car. It’s sprayed on the nugget directly or into the box to preserve freshness. It is also a form of butane-lighter fluid. A single gram of TBHQ can cause “nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse,” so they must not use to much of it. Eating five grams of TBHQ can kill according to the author of the Omnivore’s Dilemma.
Hydrogenated Soybean Oil: If you are at all concerned about yours or your family’s health, you should avoid any product that contains hydrogenated, or even worse, partially hydrogenated (trans fat) oils. That’s right, hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated oils are trans fat. If you think they removed trans fat from our foods, think again.
Sodium Aluminum Phosphate: Is a new product to the food industry and hasn’t been thoroughly tested. Although aluminum has been widely researched to cause Alzheimers and dementia. Sodium aluminum phosphate is also used in eye drops and pesticides.
Modified Food Starch: This is cornstarch that has been chemically altered and added to the nugget to help glue everything together.
Autolyzed Yeast Extract: Is a less expensive form of monosodium glutamate. Monosodium glutatmate is that nasty addictive stuff that keeps you coming back for more and has been reported to cause numerous health concerns such as severe allergies, cancer and heart disease.
Ready to dive into some chicken nuggets?