"The evidence seemed to indicate clearly that the forces that were at work were not to be found in the diseased tissues, but that the undesirable conditions were the result of the absence of something, rather than the presence of something." Dr. Price concluded it was the absence of nutrients.
What are processed foods lacking? What is added that disrupts them? What exactly goes into foods produced in a factory? The following Food Awareness Quiz from momsAWARE is designed to help us ask these questions. These aren't commonly known facts, so the purpose is not to score well—it's designed to help awaken us to the clear connection between our health and foods stripped of their nutritional value.
Here is a sampling of the 15 questions featured on the quiz:
- This is the ingredient list for which product?
UNBLEACHED ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMINE MONONITRATE {VITAMIN B1}, RIBOFLAVIN {VITAMIN B2}, FOLIC ACID), SOYBEAN OIL, SUGAR, SALT, EMULSIFIERS (MONOGLYCERIDES, SOY LECITHIN), DEXTROSE, MONOSODIUM GLUTAMATE (FLAVOR ENHANCER), ONION POWDER, BAKING SODA, DEHYDRATED COOKED CHICKEN, HYDROLYZED CORN AND YEAST PROTEIN, SPICE EXTRACTIVES, DISODIUM INOSINATE AND DISODIUM GUANYLATE (FLAVOR ENHANCERS). CONTAINS: WHEAT, SOY.
a. Ramen noodles
b. Campbell's Chicken & Stars Soup
c. KFC Popcorn Chicken
d. Nabisco Chicken in a Biskit 
The symbol pictured at right, the radura, is commonly found on food packaging. The radura signifies:
a. Organic
b. Genetically modified organism (GMO)
c. Irradiated food
d. Additive-free- Acrylamide, a chemical deemed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) and the International Agency for Research on Cancer to be a "probable human carcinogen," is commonly used in caulking, food packaging, and some adhesives. Food and cigarette smoke are the two major sources of exposure. Which of the following foods contains the highest level of acrylamide?
a. General Mills Cheerios
b. Hershey's Cocoa
c. Kettle Chips Lightly Salted Natural Gourmet Potato Chips
d. Blue Diamond Smokehouse Almonds - The following oil is classified by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a biochemical insecticide, acknowledging that this substance "has low chronic toxicities."
a. Canola oil
b. Peanut oil
c. Safflower oil
d. Cottonseed oil - TBHQ (tert-Butylhydroquinone), a chemical preservative which is a form of butane, is also used as a corrosion inhibitor in biodiesel. Which of the following consumer products does NOT contain TBHQ?
a. McDonald's Chicken McNuggets
b. McDonald's Big Mac
c. Keebler Vanilla Wafers
d. Purina dog food - The United States is the largest producer of corn in the world. According to the EPA, 80% of all corn grown in the U.S. is used for:
a. Food for animals
b. Processed foods
c. Ethanol
d. High fructose corn syrup
Quiz Answers
ReplyDeleteQuestion 1: d. Nabisco Chicken in a Biskit
Question 2: c. Irradiated food
The radura is the international symbol indicating a food product has been irradiated. Food irradiation is the process of exposing food to ionizing radiation to destroy microorganisms, bacteria, viruses, or insects that might be present in the food. The central dot is the radiation source. The two circle segments ("leaves") are the biological shield to protect the workers and the environment. The outer ring is the transport system; the lower half of it is shielded from radiation by the biological shield and resembles the loading area; the upper broken half symbolizes the rays hitting the target goods on the transport system.
Question 3: c. Kettle Chips Lightly Salted Natural Gourmet Potato Chips
The products ranked as follows:
Cheerios: 266
Blue Diamond Almonds: 457
Hershey’s Cocoa: 909
Kettle Chips: 1265
According to the FDA:
Acrylamide causes cancer in laboratory animals in high doses. As a result, acrylamide is considered a potential human carcinogen. However, it is not clear whether acrylamide causes cancer in humans at the much lower levels found in food. Scientists have conducted epidemiological studies of people exposed to acrylamide in the workplace and through the diet. The studies did not show increased cancer risk with acrylamide exposure. However, these studies do not rule out the possibility that acrylamide in food can cause cancer because they have limited power to detect this effect.
Question 4: a. Canola oil
According to the EPA's Canola Oil Technical Fact Sheet:
The Agency has waived the generic data requirements for canola oil, except for certain technical chemistry information. Available literature indicated that this substance has low chronic toxicities. In addition, FDA has granted GRAS (Generally Recognized As Safe) status to low erucic acid rapeseed oil for use as an edible fat or oil in human food.
Question 5: b. McDonald’s Big Mac
From the ingredient list for Chicken McNuggets:
Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.
From the ingredient list for Purina Veterinary Diets Hypoallergenic Canine Formula:
Starch, hydrolyzed soy protein isolate, vegetable oil, calcium phosphate, partially hydrogenated canola oil preserved with TBHQ, powdered cellulose, corn oil, potassium chloride, vegetable gums (gum arabic, guar gum). . .
From the ingredient list for Keebler Vanilla Wafers:
ENRICHED FLOUR (WHEAT FLOUR, NIACIN, REDUCED IRON, THIAMIN MONONITRATE [VITAMIN B1], RIBOFLAVIN [VITAMIN B2], FOLIC ACID), SUGAR, SOYBEAN AND PALM OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS, CONTAINS TWO PERCENT OR LESS OF SALT, HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP, LEAVENING. . .
Question 6: a. Food for animals
From the EPA website:
According to the National Corn Growers Association, about eighty percent of all corn grown in the U.S. is consumed by domestic and overseas livestock, poultry, and fish production. The crop is fed as ground grain, silage, high-moisture, and high-oil corn. About 12% of the U.S. corn crop ends up in foods that are either consumed directly (e.g. corn chips) or indirectly (e.g. high fructose corn syrup). It also has a wide array of industrial uses including ethanol, a popular oxygenate in cleaner burning auto fuels.
Well I flunked at 50%! But I gained shocking insight worth an A plus. Somehow seeing those ingredients for the crackers hit me, more strongly somehow than when I read the small print ingredients on a box, that there is not only nothing nutritious, there's all this toxic junk. That truly drove home your point for me about what's missing, as well as what's wrong, in processed food.
ReplyDeleteI did finally stop driving thru for the occasional Big Mac when I'm hurrying somewhere, when I read somewhere else that McDonalds has stopped putting a pink goo mixture into their hamburgers. The accompanying picture of the "goo" looked like a thick pink soft serve ice cream. Cringe! Anti foaming agents on your list for nuggets makes one wonder why there would be foam?
I take a group of kids out sometimes & they all beg for McDonald's, to the point that they say they don't like much else. I wonder if it has deranged their sense of taste, even.
Thanks for a great quiz. I'm going to test my friends;)
Karen