Part 3: Poison in Food (Adulteration)

Abe V Rotor

Here is an outline of food adjuncts and additives, which are reported to be the cause of many ailments and death cases.

1. Seeds of ipil-ipil ground with coffee cause falling hair. It is also a growth retardant due to its mimosin content.

2. Seeds of papaya when dried can pass for black pepper. Papaya fruit contains healthful papain. We do not know the effects of too much papain, or those of other chemical constituents of the seed, content to the body.

3. Vetsin or mono-sodium glutamate retards mental and skeletal growth specially in children. Vetsin may cause drowsiness after eating. To some people the effect is palpitation and irritability. Burglars silence dogs with pandesal containing vetsin. An overdose is fatal to the animal.

4. Formalin is used to extend the shelf life of fish. The malpractice is to inject it in large fishes, or mixed it with the ice water for small ones. Formalin is a strong poison. It is used in embalming. Formalin was detected in buko juice, which led to the decline of the once flourishing local industry.

5. Cyanide in vegetables was first detected in Benguet when the farmers discovered that the water coming from mine tailing had insecticide property. It was later traced to cyanide compounds used in the mining industry. Cyanide is a very strong poison. It is used in gas chamber in the US.

6. Nitrate or salitre is the chief preservative and food color used. in tocino, longaniza and corned beef. One can easily detect in the urine by analysis and smell. Salitre is known to be carcinogenic.

7. Food dyes make food colorful, but be careful. One time I was shocked to discover my urine crimson red. As I prepared to go to the hospital I examined all the food that I had taken that morning. There, innocently wrapped in cellophane, kneaded into balls, as we know sampaloc (tamarind) candy is made, was the culprit. I took one candy ball and immersed it in a glass of water and stirred. Like ink the glassful of water turned red like the Nile. Jubos - shoe dye, was used as food dye!

8. Aspartame has taken the place of saccharine, the original diet sugar. There has been a decline in the intake of diet soft drinks in the US due to unexplained side effects, ranging from high blood pressure to allergic reactions. Why is decaffeinated coffee no longer as popular as before? Will fatless fat (Olestra) ever get FDA's nod? This is a kind of fat that will not make us fat.

9. The cheap kind of vinegar is diluted glacial acetic acid, the same kind of acid used in photography and other industrial processing.

10. Cancer-causing aflatoxin is high in peanut butter. It is just being practical to sell the good seeds as whole peanut, while those of inferior quality are ground into butter. And why is cirrhosis of the liver higher in the south than in the rice-eating regions? It is because corn is more predisposed to the aflatoxin fungus than other cereals.

Modern living indeed has many drawbacks. Artificial food, additives and preservatives are common in our food, which we take everyday. ~

Living with Nature 3, AVR