<i></i> <i></i> <i></i> 0<p> </p> <p>These days, our foods are filled with all kinds of dangerous chemicals and preservatives. It’s no wonder organic foods are making a comeback – people are becoming more aware of the origins of the stuff on their dinner table. We all have a right to know where our food comes from, how it is prepared and how well the hygienic standards are maintained during the whole process. Our health depends upon what we eat, after all.</p> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/word-image-1107.jpeg"/>Shutterstock.com <p>No matter how delicious they may be, some foods are just not worth it. Especially the 5 foods that we are about to expose in the following list. They are ridden with toxic substances and are available on the shelves of your local grocery store. We recommend opting for organic and fresh alternatives instead and avoiding these food products at all cost.</p> <h2>5. Ground Beef: Carbon Monoxide, Pink Slime and Ammonia</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/word-image-1109.jpeg"/>Shutterstock.com <p>Beef lovers, be wary. The pre-packaged ground beef you love so much has a lot of problems surrounding it. Firstly, carbon monoxide is injected in the packaging after the beef is sealed in. This prevents the beef from oxidising and maintains its pretty pink colour. This is telling of the fact that companies these days only care about the appearance of the food, not it is quality or how it affects your health.</p> <p>Secondly, the beef is also soaked in vats of ammonia before packaging to help reduce the germs in low-grade meat. Through this method, companies can avoid keeping up with hygiene standards and still sell you their not-so-fresh meat that could actually kill you, although not immediately.</p> <p>It is common knowledge that ammonia is one of the many substances humans are not supposed to ingest. Lastly, pink slime: a concoction formed by dropping the worst cuts of meat in a centrifuge and melting the fat away. In other words, ‘lean finely textured meat’. This pink slime is full of nasty germs and it’s further treated with ammonia, you know, just in case things didn’t look bad enough. Luckily, word travels fast; MacDonald’s and the National School Lunch Program have promised not to use any pink slime products.</p> <h2>4. Packaged Chicken: Salt Water Injections</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/word-image-1111.jpeg"/>Shutterstock.com <p>We all know that a high salt intake is not good for our bodies. But what most of us didn’t know was that most pre-packaged meats undergo a process that is just about horrifying. Saltwater is injected directly into the chicken to keep it juicy and plump. It also gives an opportunity for the company to increase the weight of the chicken and charge you more than they should.</p> <p>One serving of pre-packaged chicken contains more than 300 mg of salt, which is more than the daily advised amount. What are the long-term effects of salt water intake? High blood pressure, heart disease, stomach ulcers and cancer.</p> <h2>3. Canned Food: Bisphenol A</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/word-image-1113.jpeg"/>Shutterstock.com <p>Canned foods contain a dangerous compound known as Bisphenol A or BPA. It is an organic synthetic compound that was used in every plastic product. When word of hospitalizations spread, production was immediately stopped. The most worrying product? Baby bottles. Before this incident, BPA was the most commonly used chemical on the planet, with 4 tonnes used in polycarbonate plastics in 2015 alone.</p> <p>The FDA has said that the use of BPA has been completely stopped but experts are sceptical. They speculate that the toxic compound is still being used in the production of water bottles, CDs, DVDs, lining water pipes and food and beverage cans.</p> <p>The FDA adds that while BPA could be dangerous for infants, it is not for adults. But given its poor track record, we aren’t completely ready to take the FDA’s advice. After years of intensive studies, research groups have discovered that BPA is linked to obesity, mental and behavioural changes in children and thyroid problems. It is said that we should be particularly careful of highly acidic foods such as canned tomato sauces and soups because they break down and absorb BPA more readily than less acidic foods.</p> <h2>2. Soups and Creamers: Sand</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/word-image-1115.jpeg"/>Shutterstock.com <p>You expect sand in the Sahara Desert, not your bowl of soup. But sand happens to be a regularly added ingredient in soups and creamers. It helps the soup avoid absorbing excess moisture, making it clumpy and visually unappealing. Sand is definitely not appropriate to eat but it is also used in other products as a flow agent so that little bits don’t stick together. Most of these products we’ve been eating our whole lives. Ugh.</p> <h2>1. Ice-cream and Cheese: Cellulose</h2> <img src="https://cdnone.netlify.com/db/2017/12/word-image-1117.jpeg"/>Shutterstock.com <p>We’re sorry that we had to include your favourite snack and dessert. One of the predominant ingredients in ice-cream is cellulose, a substance found in wood pulp and cotton. It’s also found in corn naturally.</p> <p>One of its recently discovered forms is used as a filler in biological polymers due to its helpful thermal and mechanical properties. The cellulose made from wood pulp is used in paper, cardboard, textiles, building insulation and as an inactive filler in medicines. It is non-toxic, but is concerning regarding its use in the industrial industry.</p> <p>Some other uses are as an emulsifier in foods – it builds the body of the ice-cream, achieves the right texture of mass-produced batches and keeps the individual pieces of shredded cheese from sticking together. Humans simply can’t digest cellulose. Many people have reported having problems ingesting and digesting it. This by-product of wood pulp has been used in our food for decades. Cellulose derived from corn is relatively safer.</p> <p> </p> <h2></h2> <i></i>