4 Fast Food Ingredients Way Worse than Horse Meat
As you’re likely aware, Burger King UK recently admitted that its famous fast food symbol the Whopper (and its other burgers) were actually made using horsemeat. In an admission that came just hours after denying the presence of horse meat in the burgers, the secret ingredient has been broadcast on media stations worldwide as a breaking news piece. But what about the ingredients we know exist in many fast food creations and are actually far more concerning?
The fact that Burger King products contain horsemeat and the company denied the link to consumers before being forced to admit it due to DNA evidence reveals a few different things.
First of all, it sheds even more light on how fast food eaters truly have no idea what they’re eating — a revelation that will be further revealed by exposing the known chemicals in these products.
Secondly, it shows that Burger King either:
- Possibility A: Genuinely does not care about consumers and has denied the existence of horsemeat in their products as to not incite profit loss and media turmoil.
- Possibility B: Burger King genuinely has no idea what its own products contain. Whether it be horsemeat or other ingredients, they are honestly clueless.
It is debatable which of these possible scenarios is worse, however they both are concerning. Especially when you know what Burger King is telling you about. And that leads to the third thing that the horsemeat revelation tells us: considering the highly toxic chemicals and other admitted ingredients inside fast food products, a lack of true ingredients listing may mean an even more disturbing list of additives. As for what we do know, however, here are 4 fast food ingredients that are way worse than horsemeat:
1. Electronic Cigarette Filler, Synthetic Laxative
You may have fond memories of enjoying a Wendy’s Frosty, but the lengthy and gut-wrenching list of chemicals that create what is labeled as a ‘milkshake’ contain more than one bad surprise.
Wendy’s Frosty contains the typical ensemble of fast food components such as traditionally-GMO corn syrup, artificial flavorings, and a list of thickening agents. Of the 14 ingredients it takes to create the fast food top seller, one chemical stands out. Contained in the Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty, a laxative chemical and electronic cigarette filler known as propylene glycol is among the 25 new ingredients that make up this special Frosty.
Peer-reviewed research available on PubMed reveals that propylene glycol has been associated with neurotoxic effects in children and a reduction in the permeability of the blood brain barrier.
Propylene glycol is also used ”as the killing and preserving agent in pitfall traps, usually used to capture ground beetles.” It just so happens to even be illegal in cat food.
Wendy’s Toffee Twisted Frosty also contains mercury-filled high-fructose corn syrup.
2. Flour-Bleaching Agent Used in Yoga Mats, Foamed Plastics
If you were to use this yoga mat ingredient to produce food in another nation like Singapore, you would face fines up to $450,000 and 15 years in prison. In the United States, you can charge money and market the creation as the McRib. And that’s exactly what McDonald’s did. The McDonald’s McRib not only contains GMOs, deadly chemicals, and harmful fillers, but an ingredient known as azodicarbonamide. Banned in Australia, Europe, and Singapore, azodicarbonamide is used in the creation of foamed plastics like yoga mats.
The troubling chemical is one of the 70 ingredients that compromise the ‘pork’ in the McRib sandwich.
3. Silicone Breast Implant Filler
It really seems like McDonald’s is attempting to utilize a long list of banned ingredients in order to create its world famous fast food cancer bombs. McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets have a reputation as one of the worst food items on the planet for a reason.
The so-called ‘meat’ of the nugget is actually made up of 7 different ingredients — not chicken. These include sodium phosphate, safflower oil, wheat starch, dextrose, and a particularly dangerous substance known as autolyzed yeast extract. While not the silicone breast implant chemical, but it is very similar in nature to MSG.
McDonald’s chicken McNuggets are full of surprises for sure, also containing dimethylpolysiloxane. This is the chemical that is used in silicone breast implants and silly putty, or at least will be for a short while longer.
Dimethylpolysiloxane is actually being phased out as a breast plant filler due to safety concerns by the industry. It is still used by McDonald’s, however — at least in the US. McNuggets in Britain do not contain some of the dangerous chemicals that are so easily permitted in the US.
4. Chemical Salad
Is choosing the salad at a fast food establishment really the healthier choice? If you follow the marketing campaigns of these corporations, you may believe so. The sad truth, however, is that virtually every item sold in a fast food restaurant is tainted in some way with harsh chemicals and additives.
Take McDonald’s ‘healthy’ salads, for example. Not only does the ‘cilantro lime glaze’ and the ‘orange glaze’ used on many of these salads contain propylene glycol (the chemical discussed in #1 as the laxative and electronic cigarette filler), but a medley of others on this list as well.
Two chemicals, however, stand out with the salad. Disodium inosinate, and disodium guanylate both divulge the presence of MSG within the ‘healthy’ salad.
It may seem like old news to some, but the reality is that even ‘healthy’ fast food items are filled with toxic ingredients. Remember, it’s not about the food itself (salad, for example), but what it contains. Until we realize that lettuce may contain more than the eye can perceive, such as pesticides, herbicides, insecticides, preservatives, flavor enhancers, sweeteners, and more, it will be impossible to establish what ‘health’ really means.
Still no Facebook SHARE button!!! PLEASE add a FB share option. It should really not be this difficult to do!
or you could copy the link in the address bar. that should really not be difficult to do.
At the High5Kitchen our tagline is "maximize plant based whole foods and minimize process foods".
But there is still more to consider.
Many people are surprised to find out that foods they think of as not being processed have undergone some processing method: Raw almonds in California, right now, are not "raw" but have been pasteurized. According to the Almond Board, five methods of “pasteurization” are permitted: oil roasting, dry roasting, blanching, steam processing, and the use of propylene oxide (PPO),which is an extremely volatile liquid used in the production of polyurethane plastics.
No way to know, without labels and there are none, which processing method is used for your "raw" almonds. Of course, if you buy organic almonds, you by pass the PPO pasteurization process, which in this case, and in general, we recommend.
From what I understand horse meat is very high in testosterone .I don't know the health implications but I would think that might cause more problems for women then men.like I said I don't know you will have to look into that yourself.
Go to farmer's markets, grow your own food. It's honestly not that hard, and does not lead to a $500 grocery bill. Fast food companies and processed food companies want you to THINK you're saving money but in the end, your medical bills surpass that so-called "$500 grocery bill". Just something to think about.
another important thing to know is that if you want to start a garden this year, make sure you get Heirloom seeds that have not been crossed with anything out of the *ordinary*. Unfortunately true heirloom sweet corn is getting harder and harder to find because of cross pollination. GMO corn being grown in a farm field a mile away can cross pollinate your corn if the wind is right. Suddenly your heirloom sweet corn has been crossed with GMO feed corn. But it’s worth growing as many heirloom veggies as you can. there are a lot of very reputable companies that sell and swap seeds with other gardeners. Another benefit of this is that you can save your heirloom seeds for next year. If you buy hybrid seeds from your local store, you may get a nice crop, but the seeds you save from them will grow something completely different from the parent plant which very well may be GMO seeds as well. It’s worth doing a little research before you plant.
Not sure if Pasteurized Almonds are in Almond Milk. But i think its just as important to stay away from processed foods ie foods that are far removed from their natural state. a LIQUID form of ALMONDS is highly processed. IMHO (tho i realize you didnt ask for it, just thot i'd throw in my 2 cents anyway. hope you dont mind) – IMHO you shud be just as concerned with how processed a food Almond Milk is. unprocessed and raw (truly raw) is what's easiest for our body to process and best for us; and also has the least amount of additives (non-nutritive, sometimes harmful, agents).
Thanks Anthony! I rarely eat processed foods and follow a mostly plant-based diet, except some organic milk. Although I prefer organic, I can only afford produce, seeds, grains, nuts etc. when the prices are relatively affordable.
The almond milk you buy in stores is nothing like home made and yes its full of unnecessary rubbish and made with suspect ingredients. Make your own, 1 cup almonds – 2 or 3 cups of water and a couple of dates, whizz it up and strain if you like. YUM
I got as far as the words "propylene glycol" and quit reading. While it is a chemical (*gasp!*) and it may indeed sound scary, and it is admittedly a component in other products (since, you know, that's what all chemicals do), propylene glycol does not have any toxic effects upon consumption. Once it enters the body, it metabolizes to pyruvic acid (a ketone used for energy), acetic acid (which also has a negative connotation but is really vinegar), and/or lactic acid (used in digestion). Even if you consume it at a rate of 10 g/L (a heck of a lot) every day for two years. There is also no sign of fetal or developmental toxicity. Algae can handle 19 g/L without any adverse effects. Daphnia (water fleas) have been tested up to almost 5 g/L without any toxicity.
The reason that it's banned from being used in cat food is that they are susceptible to an ailment called Heinz body anemia (based on their genetic make-up; not because the law-makers like cats better than people). This ailment is also why cats (and dogs) should not eat onions. Onions are banned in pet food as well soooo… NOBODY EAT ONIONS!
What's really funny is that propylene glycol is used in almost all dried fruits/food as a humectant (specifically dried coconut). And there's also this sweet table (about uses of propylene glycol in mg/L) which might send the author of the article into a panicked pantry-clearing frenzy:
Food CategoryUsualMax
Alcoholic Beverages0.665.88
Baked goods0.792.44
Cheese0.070.62
Chewing gum0.683.00
Confection, frosting50.7350.86
Fats, oils0.140.32
Frozen dairy1.372.13
Fruit Juice0.490.82
Gelatins, puddings0.360.69
Gravies0.490.98
Hard candy0.721.35
Meat products0.230.53
Milk products0.230.38
Nonalcoholic beverages0.381.24
Other grains0.010.01
Poultry0.010.10
Processed vegetables0.005.00
Reconstituted vegetables0.060.06
Snack foods0.020.92
Soft candy0.891.44
Sweet sauce3.104.21
The reason it's in electronic cigarettes is because it's a solvent. That means it's a liquid that dissolves something (a solute). So, it's the liquid that is holding the flavor and the nicotine. While it's terrible that they'd make propylene glycol do this, it's not causing negative effects to the e-cigarette smoker. . Yes, it's in Wendy's Frosty. It's also in almost every other type of ice cream.
Most of this information comes from HSDB (Hazardous Substances Data Bank).
Alright, that's enough of my rant. I apologize. Non-scientific people (e.g. the Natural Society) scaring people with science gets me heated. I'm sure there are some bad chemicals in fast food, but I'm also sure there are bad chemicals in other food. And there are some chemicals that we do not know the long-term effects of. I know that fast food is not as good for you and, based solely on the way that it's prepared, has negative effects. That, in itself, should be enough to make people stop and think. Using scare tactics is unnecessary and irresponsible.
Thanks, Cate!!!
Thank you for your article. One thing you missed totally with the problem of horse meat is the phenylbutazone which is given to horses in the US. The FDA has banned its use for horses used for human consumption since it is a carcinogen. There is no withdrawal period according to the FDA testing standards. So…I cannot agree with your article. Please do research before you lead people astray. Thanks.