Continuing with our discussion on additives, let us discuss about accidentally administered additives. Some 10,000 substances make their way into food during growing, processing, and packaging; some of these accidental additives can pose more of a health threat than preservatives and other direct additives. Some foods, for example, contain traces of pesticides sprayed on crops or applied to the soil. Environmental pollutants in foods, such as PCBs, mercury, and lead, are harmful when ingested in large quantities.
Sometimes allergic reactions that are blamed on foods or intentional additives are actually triggered by an unintended one. For example, a person who has never had a food allergy may inexplicably develop a rash after drinking milk. Allergists have traced the symptoms in some cases to penicillin used to treat mastitis in cows. The resulting small amounts of penicillin in milk would not be harmful for most people, only to those who are allergic to the drug.
{ 0 comments… add one now }