Understanding Chemicals in Food: Common Additives to Avoid—Without the Overwhelm

Following a diet packed with naturally grown foods is a noble health goal. But for many, it’s a goal easier to articulate than act on. What does it really mean to eat as nature intended? How do you decide what foods to avoid? Happily, this article serves as your cheat sheet. Below, we’ll walk you through seven key strategies to avoid chemicals in food and keep you on the fast track to health.

Chemicals in Food—Why do They Matter?

Conventionally-grown food can come with a cocktail of unknowns. From liberal applications of pesticides to heavy metals pulled up by plant roots, it’s a challenge to know quite what you’re consuming.

That’s why certified foods offer a safer alternative. Studies find that organic food exposes consumers to up to five times less pesticide residue than conventional food. Likewise, people who eat the most organic food have the fewest cases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

Organic is just the beginning. A variety of certification standards help customers identify when foods are grown according to natural practices. These include Clean Label Project Certified, Demeter Certified Biodynamic, and The Detox Project.

External certifications help, but they’re only part of the equation.

Avoiding Dangerous Chemicals in Food

The following tips will help expand your options for avoiding dangerous chemicals in food.

Crack the PLU Code

Organic foods are a great way to kick-start your chemical-free food pantry. By law, they must adhere to specialist regulations which dictate, ‘to be named organic, you must not use man-made fertilizers, you must not use livestock feed additives, you must avoid the use of pesticides, and you must not use genetically modified products’.

For those in the United States, packaging gives you the full scoop on a product’s organic status. Any product certified 95% or more organic may display the USDA seal. If you see a “made with organic” on the label, assume that at least 70% of the ingredients within are certified organic, and that the non-organic ingredients weren’t farmed with practices that are banned in organic production.

Looking for another identification strategy? A simple 5-digit code holds the answer.

This is a well-kept secret in the world of stock tracking. Supermarkets need to identify the foods they sell, and to do so, each food item receives a specific PLU code. Most PLU codes are 4 digits long. Organic PLU codes are 5 digits long… starting with a 9. For example, while 4129 is the code for a small Fuji apple, 94129 is the PLU code for a small organic Fuji apple. It really is that simple.

Note: Most processed foods contain GMOs, or genetically modified organisms. Common tell-tale ingredients include soybean oil, canola oil, soy flour, corn syrup, corn meal, cornstarch, sucrose, soy lecithin, or vegetable protein on the ingredient list.

Switch Canned Beans, Pulses, and Lentils for Dried Alternatives

Canned food might have a long shelf-life, but that durability comes at a cost. In addition to being sealed off from air, canned foods often contain chemical additives. Beans, pulses, and lentils often contain firming agents, such as calcium chloride, to help retain their shape. They also often contain antioxidants, such as sodium metabisulfite, to help prevent your pre-hydrated beans, pulses, and lentils from becoming rancid.

By law these chemical additives must be listed in order of quantity on the ingredients list. Which means that when purchasing a can of ‘butter beans in water’, you may see the following ingredient list: Butter Beans, Water, Firming Agent (Calcium Chloride), Antioxidant (Sodium Metabisulphite).

Switch out canned beans for dried beans, and you’ll cut that ingredient list down to one.

Look for Emulsifier, Stabilizer-Free Nut Milks

Whether you’re buying almond milk in a tetra-pak or coconut milk in a can, many milk substitute ‘health foods’ come partnered up with additive emulsifying and stabilizing ingredients. Some, like carrageenan, may be naturally derived. Others are ‘naturally man-made’ like xanthan gum.

Each works to hold together the fat of the nuts with the water of the milk, extending shelf life. And no matter their origins, these ingredients are compounds your body has not evolved to process. Some people find that they lead to intestinal bloating or worsening cases of IBS.

Help to protect your health by avoiding these stabilizers. The benefits for your health may be priceless.

Avoid Heavy Metals

While heavy metals like lead, arsenic, cadmium, and mercury are naturally occurring elements in our soil, water, and air, conventional farming practices can increase their concentration in food crops. These compounds have been linked to cancer, chronic disease, and neurotoxic effects. Worse yet, babies and toddlers are extra vulnerable.

White Leaf was the very first regeneratively-farmed, shelf-stable, certified Glyphosate-residue-free family foods line in the US. Since day one, we’ve been passionately committed to transparency, ensuring our products meet the highest standards of safety and quality. By exclusively sourcing from farmers who follow organic and regenerative practices, we aim to support practices that renew soil health and minimize toxin exposure.

Choose Fresh, Preservative-Free Meats

Meats that are not sold in chop, breast, or drumstick form usually come with preservation agents. These ingredients, like sodium nitrate and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), are well-known synthetic antioxidants. They keep uncooked meats like bacon a fresh red color and extend the shelf life of pre-prepared foods such as sausages.

Unfortunately, BHAs are increasingly linked with cancer. Authorities such as the International Cancer Agency categorize BHA as a ‘possible human carcinogen,’ and California’s Proposition 65 lists it as a ‘known carcinogen. Other synthetic additives like sodium nitrate seem safe when raw. But when fried, high heat can form the known carcinogen N-nitrosamines (ref).

Avoid ingredients such as BHA, BHT, and sodium nitrate by switching to organic pork chops and chicken instead of sausages and bacon. If in doubt, check the ingredients list.

Ask the Nosy Questions

A food manufacturer with nothing to hide will be proud to share the inside scoop on its safety procedures. Here at White Leaf Provisions, every batch of both our raw materials and finished purees is tested by third-party laboratories. We guarantee that our entire product line goes through continuous monitoring to meet regulatory standards.

We use heat pasteurization for all our baby food blends. Not only does it kill 100% of potentially dangerous bacteria, but it also helps babies’ delicate digestive systems absorb more nutrients.

Likewise, our pouches are made from multi-layer films that are free of BPA, BPS, BP, BPF, and phthalates. The inner layer, and only part that touches food, is bonded virgin food-grade polyethylene.

Think Through Your Preparation Strategy

The battle’s not won by the time food makes it into your house. There are plenty of steps you can take to reduce the chemicals in food within your own kitchen.

Before you eat fresh produce, use cold, flowing water and a gentle scrubbing action to clean it. Not only will this help remove bacteria and other germs, but it can also reduce your exposure to natural or synthetic pesticides.

Likewise, throw away the outer leaves of lettuce heads or Brussels sprouts. Don’t think that produce with rinds or peels is exempt from these rules. Wash them just as carefully to prevent contamination into the part you eat. Some people swear by using vinegar or baking soda, but these compounds may add a lingering flavor.

Remember: Baby Steps Add Up!

Avoiding chemicals in food can feel overwhelming, but it helps to keep your objective in mind. No one is scoring you out of a hundred—any success is progress in the right direction. So start small, make a few key changes, and reap the benefits of a healthier lifestyle for you and your family.