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The Health Effects of Food Additives

Alina Wang
3/7/11
History -Eggplant, Clementine


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Food additives used today are hazardous to our health. Food additives have not always
been used, but since they were introduced, notable health problems have risen. Food additives
include color dyes, sulfites, preservatives, GMO's (genetically modified organisms), and other
substances used to modify food (thickeners, flavorings, stabilizers). Health problems that are
believed to be caused by food additives are cancer, birth defects, neurological problems, obesity,
asthma, and many common allergies. It is evident that food additives are harmful and bad for us.

Food additives were first used for multiple reasons. Preservatives in food are used to slow
down spoilage (antioxidants) or to prevent mold (antimycotics) . Other additives can color food
or change the taste and texture. Drug and food laws are always enforced to regulate the use of
food additives, but still, many people get sick. An enforced part of these laws is the Delaney
Clause, which is a consumer-protection law in which any additives shown to cause cancer would
be banned immediately. Despite this, some additives known to cause cancer, like sodium nitrate
which is found in most cured meats, are still used and eaten often. These additives in food are not
the only problem, but in food producing, pesticides and fertilizers can get contaminated with
food products.

In the past many food additives were fist used and believed safe, but after further study
they were proven toxic, and banned. It is truly shocking how many incidents and recalls have
happened from food additives. Many color additives used in the past century have caused
sicknesses and diseases like liver cancer, bladder cancer, intestinal cancer, organ damage, and
heart problems. The majority of the additives used today could just be so. After a few more years
of research, it is possible that some food additives we currently use will be proven toxic and
banned. Already, recent testings on artificial food colorings have shown dangers that were not
exposed before.

A lot of sickness has been caused by food additives, but they have a great positive impact
as well. Because of additives, you can eat a bag of chips and drink a juice box at lunch. Before
additives, most foods needed to be bought fresh daily. Food additives are necessary, for our
convenience, it is just that they are now over-used and some more dangerous additives have been


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developed and utilized. Food manufacturers should use original, natural preservatives like salt or
vinegar, and foods that cannot be preserved by those should be eaten fresh.
More money used be used for research on safer, effective food additives. This will benefit
the entire human kind. With the technology we have today, if we spent more time and money on
it, it's very possible to develop new, safe additives. If this happened, it is positive that cancer
rates would drop, and other sicknesses would decrease as well.


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