Do you know there are certain foods that are stuffed with ingredients that aren’t supposed to be there?
Like any profitable businesses the food industry is also well-versed in bait-and-switch tactics. Large food companies are constantly looking for ways to reduce costs, and unfortunately one of the quickest methods is to serve consumers artificial, highly processed or inferior ingredients that mimic the real thing.
In this article, you will learn 11 of the most adulterated food products in the market.
1. Wasabi Or Horseradish?
Wasabi we all know it well…right? Do you think that wasabi you ate with Sushi was original? Chances are that you have probably never eaten real wasabi. It is estimated that more than 80 percent of the “wasabi” you get in Japanese restaurants doesn’t actually contain any trace of wasabi. The supply of real wasabi is far lower than the demand and that is the reason for fake wasabi. Real wasabi has a more herbal, smoother and cleaner taste than harsher pungent taste that we often experience. Also, Real wasabi is a rhizome that’s expensive for its roots and stalks, costs around $100 per pound, and is a highly perishable product that’s usually made to order.
How to spot fake wasabi?
If the packaging label does not say 100% Pure Wasabia japonica then you can be certain that you what you are eating could have the following ingredients (even if they are not mentioned on the label).
• Horseradish
• FDA Colours – Yellow #5 & Blue #1
• Mustard powder
• Tumeric powder
• Chilli powder (sometimes)
Photo Credit http://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/herbs/horseradish/growing-horseradish-how-to-grow-horseradish.htm
2. Truffle Oil Or Tapenade ?
Much of the truffle oil that you see today in the markets is nothing but a chemical concoction created and replicated in labs using compounds that give the kind of aroma exquisite truffle oil would give. These probably are made with lab-synthesized 2, 4-dithiapentane, a petroleum based chemical compound that is naturally present in real truffles by mixing this with olive oil. This information got spread to the normal consumers when The New York Times newspaper, dated May 16, 2007, published an article called “Hocus Pocus and a Beaker of Truffles,” by Daniel Patterson.
How to spot fake Truffle oil?
When buying truffle oil from a grocery store, check the label and look for the words like “infused with truffles”, “extract”, “aroma”, “flavor”, “natural flavor” or even “essence” on the label indicate the same thing—not real truffle.
Photo Credit http://populayer.com/2015/01/09/beauty-from-dinning-room-to-the-vanity-table-truffle-oil-in-skincare/
3. Corn Syrup Or Maple?
Real maple syrup is harvested seasonally (during spring) from the sap of a maple tree. It takes 40 to 50 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of original maple syrup. Now if you compare the costs at which these syrups are available normally you would know the truth yourself. Anything that you see labeled as “maple-flavored syrup,” “pancake syrup,” or “original syrup,” is most likely high-fructose corn syrup blended with chemical compounds and thickeners like cellulose gum. U.S. food regulations prohibit imitation syrups from having the word “maple” in their names. That’s exactly the reason why such products have names like “Original Syrup”, “Pancake Syrup”, “Table Syrup”, and “Waffle Syrup”.
How to spot fake maple syrup?
Imitation syrup has a milder and less “mapley” taste than actual maple syrup. Some people, especially children, prefer this milder taste. Once you develop a taste for the real thing, it gets very easy for you to spot the fake syrups.
Photo Credit http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2013/08/disturbing-link-high-fructose-corn-syrup-honey.html
4. White Tuna Or Escolar?
White tuna is very popular in the seafood industry and Sushi restaurants for its light color and mild-flavored flesh. However at a 2013 study by an Ocean preservation organization found that 84% of the time, fish marketed as white tuna was actually escolar which is a cheap species of mackerel that’s banned in Japan and Italy because of its gastrointestinal side effects. If you must get your hands on white tuna, buy direct and consider the following aspects mentioned below,
– Ask the restaurant or market about where the fish comes from.
– If the price is too good to be true, pick something else.
– Whenever possible try to buy a whole fish. Whole fish looks different even when their fillets look similar.
– Look for logos from the Marine Stewardship Council and ensure that the seafood is properly labeled.
Photo Credit http://www.joesushilakewood.com/2015/02/withdrawal-of-white-tuna-sushi/
5. Whipped Cream Or Hydrogenated Vegetable?
The whipped cream that we consume in our desserts is most likely neither whipped nor cream. Until some few years ago, the most well-known brand of imitation whipped cream -Cool Whip didn’t even contain milk or lactose. The current formula includes milk and cream, but hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn syrup, xanthan and guar gums, and some more artificial flavoring agents. You might think that cool whip has lesser calories and it could help you control your weight but on the contrary real cream might be a healthier option considering the chemicals that you would consume with artificial whipped creams.
How to spot fake whipped cream?
If your whipped cream doesn’t start deflating after a few minutes at room temperature then it’s a sure sign that it’s filled with some stabilizing chemicals.
Photo Credit http://www.free2bmediet.com/tasty-tuesday-homemade-whipped-cream-recipe/
6. Blueberries Or Fauxberries?
This could be another bad news for food lovers. The blueberry pieces that you see on your muffin, bagel, cereal, cereal bar or other breakfast treats might just be imitation blueberry. It could be a concoction of dextrose, citric acid, cellulose gum, palm kernel oil, flour, artificial red and blue dyes and some more artificial flavors.
Blueberries are abundant in Vitamin C, phytonutrients anti-inflammatories and have high amounts of anti-oxidants. They help combat cardiovascular diseases, therefore very popular and high in demand.
Next time you buy the canned blueberry from the grocery aisle, read the back of the package. If you want to play totally safe then buy actual blueberries and use them for your desserts.
Photo Credit http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-make-your-own-blueberry-syrup/
7. Movie Popcorn Or Popcorn From Trans-Fats?
It’s great to enjoy a bag of buttered popcorn while watching your favorite movie, just as long as you realize the buttery topping on your popped snack is about not real.
Most movie theater popcorn is cooked in an oil product that is mostly hydrogenated coconut oil, a highly toxic trans-fat. The one “flavoring agent” used in popcorn “butter” is called diacetyl. This has been associated with lung disease among workers in the factories where it’s made.
Best is to avoid this outrageously expensive snack that also has some hazardous health effects.
Photo Credit http://www.bizzydookidsfest.com/news/delicious-popcorn-be-served-bizzydoo-kids-fest
8. Chicken Nuggets
You can call chicken nuggets as tasty, crunchy, and juicy but do not call them chicken. The white meat of the chicken is the most expensive that so many manufacturers of this frozen delicacy have opted for a mixture of different chicken parts mashed up together then battered and fried. The fat and salt content in them is extremely high and often the actual meat content is less than half the weight. It will mostly contain fat, bone, connective tissue, nerve, and epithelium in equal or greater quantities than chicken meat. Best alternative would make these at home using fresh minced chicken mix it with some bread crumbs, eggs and seasoning.
Photo Credit http://www.slate.com/articles/life/food/2012/12/robert_c_baker_the_man_who_invented_chicken_nuggets.html
9. Crab Sticks
Those imitation crab sticks attractively wrapped in packages at the supermarket are very tempting: they look like real crab; they even taste a lot like crab, and are less expensive and always available. Do you think they can be real for the price that they are available?
It’s definitely not real crab for the price—there is real fish but together in there could be harmful ingredients like monosodium glutamate (MSG), salt, preservatives, Hydrolyzed Soy, potassium Chloride, Disodium Inosinate and Guanylate Modified Tapioca Starch, Carrageenan, Yam Flour, Corn, and Wheat Proteins, Sodium Pyrophosphate, Carmine, Paprika and other additives.
Photo Credit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crab_stick
10. Bacon Bits
Bacon continues to be all the rage for all of us in different food items, but you won’t be too pleased to know that these “bacon bits” are technically vegan ! These crispy bites lack any animal products and are made out of artificially flavored textured soy flour and other ingredients including caramel color, yeast extract, maltodextrin, and flavor enhancers called disodium guanylate disodium and inosinate. For people who are allergic to MSG, this is a product to stay away from.
Also irrespective of whether you eat meat or don’t, you may want to skip this fake food. If you want the real taste of bacon on your potato, scrambled eggs, pizzas then simply chop up a slice of the real thing and sprinkle it on.
Photo Credit http://www.kdrose.com/home/maple-bacon-cupcakes
11. Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate juice is another food category that has been under the scanner by food authorities. So it’s with no little amount of frustration to find that “pomegranate” juice is often diluted with grape or pear juice, sugar, and high-fructose corn syrup. There have also been some reports of completely “synthetic pomegranate juice” that which didn’t contain any traces of the real juice.
100% all-natural pomegranate juice is very expensive and could be twice the price of more common juices. So this should give you more of an incentive to make sure you’re buying a high quality brand. While buying juices from the grocery store avoid these common junk ingredients: high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, artificial flavors and colors, sucralose, sodium citrate, acesulfame potassium, sodium hexametaphosphate, modified cornstarch, cellulose gum, sodium benzoate… and any other word(s) that are difficult to pronounce!
Photo Credit http://www.stylecraze.com/articles/best-benefits-of-pomegranate-juice-for-skin-hair-and-health/
