When you bite into a piece of bread, you expect it to be made out of grains, yeast, eggs and other natural ingredients. What you're probably not expecting is to also be biting into a chemical that can be found in shoes and yoga mats. A health research and advocacy group has found that the chemical, azodicarbonamide, can be found in about 500 widely available foods in grocery stores. That's sure to make you look twice at the ingredients' label.
"It's unacceptable that major food companies are using an unnecessary and potentially harmful chemical in their products, when it's clear they can make food without it," said Vani Hari, creator of FoodBabe.com, in an interview with Environmental Working Group. "These questionable additives are not supposed to be food or even eaten for that matter, but they do end up in the U.S. food supply and are consumed by millions of people, including children, every day."
The chemical was first brought to light when Hari found it in Subway's sandwich bread. Although Subway announced that it had plans to remove the chemical before the information was revealed, Hari quickly rallied the public to form a petition to remove the chemical.
Azodicarbonamide is a chemical that's usually used as a bleaching agent in bread. The Environmental Working Group has stated that it can be found within bagels, tortillas, hamburger and hotdog buns, pizza, pastries and other food products, according to The Almagest. While it can be used to enhance the performance of breads, though, it can also be found in shoes and yoga mats. In fact, the World Health Organization has stated that the chemical can induce asthma, other respiratory symptoms and skin sensitization.
"Americans have regularly eaten this chemical along with hundreds of other questionable foods additives for years," said David Andrews, senior scientist and co-author for the new analysis, in an interview with the Environmental Working Group. "That is why we are putting together an online database that will enable consumers to make more informed decisions about the foods they eat and feed to their family."
Want to see what products contain the chemical additive? You can check out the full list here.
