# 8 "Foods" We Eat in the USA That are Banned in Other Countries



## Melanie Mayo (Apr 1, 2010)

Brominated vegetable oil, olestra, food coloring, BHA and BHT: sound familiar? Most of us try to avoid these types of food additives anyway, but did you know that they are banned in many other countries as not safe for human consumption?

Check out the interesting breakdown from Buzzfeed.


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## mamapigeon (Dec 16, 2010)

Yuck! I was not aware of all of these.


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## JenVose (Jun 17, 2013)

An eye-opening read. I'll definitely be looking for these ingredients in foods in the future - I know I've seen "bromated" things before and I had no clue what the process was, even after looking it up!


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## Viola (Feb 1, 2002)

I've seen bromated flour, which is flour enriched with potassium bromate, which is a carcinogen. I read labels looking for that. It is banned in some countries. Brominated vegetable oil is oil with bromine, and it's been banned in some countries, but from what I've read, it's OK in Canada wherea bromated flour is not. In any event, if you're reading lables, I guess look for it everywhere.

Oh, I just see that bromated flour was on the buzzfeed list also.


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## Viola (Feb 1, 2002)

I just saw this article posted in my facebook feed. http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2013/06/21/eight_toxic_foods_a_little_chemical_education.php


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## Monica S (Oct 31, 2012)

Last night I watched the documentary A Place at the Table - about food insecurity, hunger and food poverty in the United States. It may not seem related to this thread, but there are so many connections. The agro-industry gets huge subsidies from the Government for crops like corn, wheat, soy. As a result, most food items that are super processed and bad for you also happen to be the cheapest. Fruit and vegetables - as they're produced by small farmers - get no subsidies - thus they are more expensive and unaffordable. People with lower incomes who are also located in "food deserts" (as the documentary calls the places where fresh produce and quality foods never make it into the local grocery stores), have no choice but to buy the low quality items who may also be "infused" with some of the toxic ingredients mentioned in the article posted above.


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## Monica S (Oct 31, 2012)

My point is, that there are so many chemicals added to our food that you'd have to spend a huge amount of time in the isles of the grocery store reading all the labels and making sure X, Y, Z toxic ingredient is not on the list. I've personally decided to stick to a few simple rules like: try to buy as much as possible at farmers' markets, don't buy processed foods, cook at home from scratch.

(Also the documentary above talks a lot about meals in schools - which rings very close to home for a community like Mothering)


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## JenVose (Jun 17, 2013)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Monica S*
> 
> Last night I watched the documentary A Place at the Table - about food insecurity, hunger and food poverty in the United States. It may not seem related to this thread, but there are so many connections. The agro-industry gets huge subsidies from the Government for crops like corn, wheat, soy. As a result, most food items that are super processed and bad for you also happen to be the cheapest. Fruit and vegetables - as they're produced by small farmers - get no subsidies - thus they are more expensive and unaffordable. People with lower incomes who are also located in "food deserts" (as the documentary calls the places where fresh produce and quality foods never make it into the local grocery stores), have no choice but to buy the low quality items who may also be "infused" with some of the toxic ingredients mentioned in the article posted above.


Monica, you really got to the point of the matter in your second post - farmer's markets. If these sources got more promotion, it would make a huge difference for all families. By cutting the shipping costs, etc., that drive up fresh produce, farmer's markets not only help people to get a better quality of foods - they can also do so more affordably! I can get organic, grain-fed eggs that I still question at my local grocery store for around $5, or I can get fresh eggs and actually meet the grower for around $3 per dozen! And the deals on fresh fruit and veggies are even better, not to mention that because those at the farmer's markets were picked at the peak of ripeness (not weeks earlier to compensate for transit times, etc.), they're both better nutritionally and better tasting! And that money benefits the local economy, as well, and those lower-income farmers who are not receiving the government subsidies!

We'll be taking an anniversary trip out-of-state this weekend and I was checking for a farmer's market in the area because I thought it would be nice to eat out the first night then make an early trip the next morning to the farmer's market and eat nothing but what we could get there for the rest of our stay. When we're home, Saturday morning breakfasts are frequently a surprise from our local farmer's market as we do our weekly shopping. As I was looking for markets in Louisiana, I noticed that they have a farmer's market voucher program for low-income seniors where they provide a certain amount that can only be used at registered farmer's markets or local farms, and a directory of where these fresh foods can be obtained and the vouchers used. If states would begin providing at least this info, if not an extra incentive, to all people who qualify for some type of food subsidy, maybe the word would get out that eating healthy doesn't have to come at the highest price, as it does in the local grocery store!


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## Cyllya (Jun 10, 2009)

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *JenVose*
> 
> Monica, you really got to the point of the matter in your second post - farmer's markets. If these sources got more promotion, it would make a huge difference for all families. By cutting the shipping costs, etc., that drive up fresh produce, farmer's markets not only help people to get a better quality of foods - they can also do so more affordably! I can get organic, grain-fed eggs that I still question at my local grocery store for around $5, or I can get fresh eggs and actually meet the grower for around $3 per dozen! And the deals on fresh fruit and veggies are even better, not to mention that because those at the farmer's markets were picked at the peak of ripeness (not weeks earlier to compensate for transit times, etc.), they're both better nutritionally and better tasting! And that money benefits the local economy, as well, and those lower-income farmers who are not receiving the government subsidies!


Eh, my local farmers' markets contain all sorts of processed junk too, including stuff from the Buzz Feed list. Some of it is sold in bulk by weight, some of it is sold in plastic containers (also by weight, but with the weight and resulting total price labeled on each container), some of it sold by item, e.g. pies and whatnot.


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