"Fake food--I mean those patented substances chemically flavored and mechanically bulked out to kill the appetite and deceive the gut--is unnatural, almost immoral, a bane to good eating and good cooking"
One of the most important factors governing quality of life is the quality of the food we eat. Julia Child certainly had it right. Fake food is immoral, and food adulteration and contamination whether purposeful or accidental is unacceptable. Sadly, there is a long history of food contamination. Even in the United States where the quality of living is considered with high regard, contaminants weasel their way into the food. This is where food chemistry comes in.-- Julia Child
What is Food Chemistry?
Food Chemistry is a science devoted to studying "the composition and properties of food and the chemical change it undergoes during handling, processing, and storage" (Fennema). It aims to perfect the quality of food and to prevent health issues from the consumption of unsafe food.
Goals
As a soon to be graduating chemistry major, I will be embarking on a journey into the world of food chemistry. Specifically, I will be focusing on the leaching of plastics (bisphenol A and phthalates) into food. This topic is nothing new since we have all heard about its dangers in the news, but there are some questions that have not been adequately addressed.
- What levels of bisphenol A and phthalates are safe for consumption?
- How dangerous are these chemicals and what do they do to our body?
- Do all types of plastic leach into food? What amounts of plastic actually leach into the food?
- What regulations have been made to reduce this problem?
- Should we ban the use of plastic as a means to store food?
I will attempt to get to the heart of this matter, to sift through all the exaggerations and pseudo science, but most of all my goal is to do my part as a budding scientist and citizen to better the quality of life.
I don't know about you, but I certainly don't want plastic food on the menu!
Sources
Fennema, Owen R., Srinivasan Damodaran, and Kirk L. Parkin. Fennema's Food Chemistry. 4th ed. Boca Raton, FL: CRC, 2008. Print.
4 comments:
Very interesting article.
I understand the problem with cooking in plastics.(Microwave). I am very interested in seeing more information on storing food in plastics. I would definitely prefer to error on the side of being too cautious.
I just noticed on the news today that the FDA is telling Taco Bell to remove the word "Beef" from their menu because the so-called "beef" that they use contains only 30% real beef and the rest is made up of artificial additives. Imagine what other fast food chains are also getting away with!
Thank you for the input. I plan to include specific research on the effects of heating and/or microwaving plasitcs in future posts. This is specifically important for the microwaving of baby bottles.
Bryon: Perhaps consumers of fast food restaurants should demand testing for the concentration of artificial additives in the food.
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