Hidden Ingredients in Food
There are many ingredients in our food that manufacturers are not required to disclose, because our food labeling law is so inadequate.
There is no requirement to disclose palm oil, for example, even though many consumers want to avoid food that contains palm oil, because of the destruction palm oil plantations are causing to rain forests in Asia an elsewhere, and to the habitats of Orangutan.
Trans fats
Nor is there any requirement to disclose trans fats in food, even though these artery clogging and artificially produced fats can increase your chance of developing coronary heart disease.
GE ingredients
And there is no requirement to disclose the vast majority of genetically engineered ingredients in food, even though GE foods have never undergone any proper safety testing and most consumers want to avoid them.
Lack of disclosure
And in New Zealand manufactures and retailers don't need to tell us where our food comes from.
The majority of consumers who made submissions on the recent FSANZ review of food labeling said they wanted all of these ingredients to be declared on a label. But the food industry has lobbied vigorously against disclosing any of these ingredients, because they fear that consumers might not want to buy their food if they knew some of the hidden ingredients it contained.
Food manufacturers see the label as a marketing tool to help them sell their food, and they don't want anything on a label that might deter people from buying their food.
In an unguarded moment, a Monsanto executive once explained why Monsanto was so opposed to any form of GE labeling. He said having a GE label on food would be a bit like having a skull and crossbones on it — and no one would want to buy the food.
That's the reason food manufacturers are so opposed to traffic light labeling as well — they know that most consumers wouldn't want to buy food with a red dot on it, indicating that it was unhealthy.
Unfortunately the food industry is winning the battle so far — and ensuring that many ingredients in food remain hidden — because successive governments have not been prepared to get offside with this powerful lobby group.
Links
