For those of you not in the food industry, or those whom are unfamiliar with the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) regulation of it:

there are thousands of substances that are federal legal to be added to food in the United States.

Industrial Age by Jan Tik

Eafus or Everything Added to Food in the United States is a publication by the FDA cataloging the many additives food manufactures may use. From the FDA:

EAFUS – The “Everything Added to Food in the United States” (EAFUS) database is an informational database maintained by CFSAN under an ongoing program known as the Priority-based Assessment of Food Additives (PAFA). PAFA contains administrative, chemical and toxicological information on over 2000 substances directly added to food, including substances regulated by the FDA as a direct food additive, secondary direct food additive, color additive, GRAS and prior-sanctioned substance. In addition, the database contains only administrative and chemical information on approximately 1000 such substances. Information about the more than 3000 total substances comprise EAFUS. For a complete listing of EAFUS substances, see the EAFUS list.

I came across a physical copy of the publication recently and was rather startled. In defense of print media, the actual text seemed surprisingly more concrete. 150 pages of chemical names and notations, one on each line. The list may spark the ambition of a creative food scientist, but how do each of these affect the health of our country?

With the exception of those inspired by Ferran Adrià’s work it is hard to think that these additives are being introduced to food for any reasons other then economics. In other words, food producers are looking for cheaper ways to manufacture food. After all the cultivation of food from the real circle of life can be quite exhaustive. Just ask any one of our farming ancestors.

Would you let the government sell the United States food supply contract to these manufactures? If not keep an open eye out for the USDA trying to weed out the independent producer.

Links

Eafus at Amazon
EAFUS: A Food Additive Database

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