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Skittles and Artificial Food Dyes
Walking down the candy aisle at any American grocery store, you’ll spot the rainbow-colored Skittles package without a second thought. But these tiny candies that promise to let you “taste the rainbow” contain something that makes European regulators see red flags instead. Skittles contain Yellow 5, Yellow 6, and Red 40, which are chemicals that have been linked to ADHD in children and require warning labels in the European Union.
The American Society for Experimental NeuroTherapeutics found that these artificial colorings have the potential to cause hyperactivity in children, while studies on rats showed concerning tumor development. Many European countries took decisive action years ago. Gatorade is banned in quite a few EU countries due to the use of Yellow 5 and 6, after scientific research was released showing these dyes can be harmful to children.
Coffee-Mate Creamer and Trans Fats
Your morning cup of coffee might be starting your day with ingredients that several countries have decided are too dangerous for their citizens. Hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils got Coffee-mate banned in Austria, Hungary and several Scandinavian countries. These trans fats are the hidden culprit that transforms your innocent coffee ritual into something more sinister.
The irony is striking – trans fats like the partially hydrogenated soybean and cottonseed oils in Coffee-mate are linked to heart disease and were officially banned in the U.S. as of June 18, 2018, however, they still linger in the U.S. food supply. Meanwhile, hydrogenated soybean oil can be found in food products such as margarine, fried foods, baked goods, coffee creamers, crackers, pre-made dough, vegetable shortening, microwave popcorn, potato chips, and packaged snacks.
American Processed Meat with Nitrates
That pack of hot dogs or ham you grabbed for a quick lunch contains preservatives that have European food safety officials deeply concerned. While processed meat is known for being generally unhealthy, these processed meats are often cured in sodium nitrate, a preservative that reports link to different types of cancer. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classified processed meats as carcinogenic to humans, with consuming 50g of processed meat daily increasing the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%.
What’s particularly frustrating for consumers is the misleading labeling practices. Deli meats carrying “no nitrates added” labels pose the same health risks as traditionally cured meats, because the nitrate and nitrite levels are essentially the same. The European Union enforces stricter regulations on labeling, requiring explicit disclosure of nitrate and nitrite content and banning misleading “natural” claims, unlike current practices in the United States.
American Milk with Growth Hormones
Every glass of milk you pour might contain synthetic hormones that major agricultural nations have banned for decades. rBGH has been banned in the European Union since 1990, and Canada, Japan, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand, and Argentina, as it has been found to increase health risks in cows. It was first approved for use in the United States by the Food and Drug Administration in 1993, but its use is not permitted in the European Union, Canada, and some other countries.
The concerns go beyond just cow health. The levels of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IFG-1) are elevated in dairy products produced from cows treated with rbGH, and numerous studies now demonstrate that IGF-1 is an important factor in the growth of cancers of the breast, prostate and colon. Despite this, most consumers have no idea that a growth hormone intended to induce dairy cows to be more productive is in much of their milk, cheese and yogurt because labeling isn’t required.
Potassium Bromate in Bread
The fluffy, perfectly risen bread that’s a staple in American sandwiches contains an ingredient that most of Europe banned over thirty years ago. Potassium bromate makes bread rise and has been linked with respiratory issues and cancer as well. Potassium bromate is a suspected carcinogen that was banned in most European countries in 1990, but is still legal in the U.S.
This isn’t some obscure additive hiding in specialty products. In the United States, bleached flour is widely used in baked goods such as breads, cakes, cookies, and pastries and sold directly to consumers for home baking. The contrast in regulatory approaches is stark – while European countries took the precautionary route decades ago, American consumers continue to be exposed to this questionable chemical every time they bite into their morning toast.
Pop-Tarts and Breakfast Cereals with BHT
Your childhood breakfast favorites contain preservatives that have raised red flags across the globe. Snacks like Pop-Tarts, Gatorade and Little Debbie Cakes must contain warning labels in the European Union because of dyes like Yellow 5, Yellow 6 and Red 40. Meanwhile, Frosted Flakes isn’t legal to sell in other countries thanks to its use of BHT preservatives, while the FDA believes this preservative is fine to consume in small quantities, European countries have decided to ban it entirely.
The preservative BHT shows up in an alarming number of breakfast staples. BHT can be found in chewing gum, active dry yeast, frozen convenience foods, prepared cereal products, prepared snacks, dried and processed meat, potato flakes, enriched rice products and shortening. These popular breakfast cereals contain BHT, a flavor enhancer, which has long been studied for its potential carcinogenic properties and is banned in Japan and the European Union.
Chlorine-Washed Chicken
The chicken you buy at American grocery stores undergoes a cleaning process that European officials consider a sign of poor farming practices rather than food safety. US chicken is banned in the EU because it is washed with chlorine, American chicken processors do it to “protect consumers from food-borne diseases”. Chicken produced in the United States gets washed in chlorine to reduce its risk of spreading diseases and illnesses like salmonella, this practice is banned in the United Kingdom and the European Union because it promotes unsanitary farming practices.
The reasoning behind Europe’s ban reveals a fundamental difference in food safety philosophy. Rather than relying on chemical washes to clean up contaminated meat, European regulators prefer preventing contamination in the first place through better farming and processing standards. Some US chickens are washed in chlorine to kill off bacteria and are occasionally fed arsenic to make their skin pinker and give the cutlets a fresher appearance, both chlorine and arsenic can have adverse effects on your health if over-consumed.
Froot Loops and Colorful Cereals
The vibrant colors that make children’s cereals so appealing contain dyes that several countries have linked to developmental issues. So many dyes and chemicals, countries like France, Austria, Norway and Finland have banned Froot Loops. Froot Loops contain a bucket load of artificial dyes to make it as colorful as it is, the dye included in Froot Loops can cause nerve-cell development delays, so you won’t find it on the shelf in Norway, England, or France.
These aren’t minor regulatory differences over cosmetic preferences. The health implications have prompted serious action from multiple governments. Kid favorites like Pop-Tarts, Fruit Loops and Skittles are also banned in a few countries due to the inclusion of artificial colors with Yellow dye 5 and Yellow dye 6 being of the most concern. Parents looking at cereal aisles in European supermarkets would find a noticeably different landscape – one where natural colors and fewer artificial additives are the norm rather than the exception.
American Cheese with Synthetic Hormones
The cheese section of your local grocery store contains products made from milk that many countries won’t allow. Like milk, cheese also contains rBGH, a synthetic hormone injected into cows to increase milk production, which not only can lead to mastitis in cows, but also has carcinogenic properties, increasing the risk of colorectal, breast, and prostate cancer. As a result, US milk is banned in many countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan, and the EU.
The ripple effects extend far beyond just plain milk. The synthetic hormone rBST is found in items that use milk in their formation, such as the dairy products cheese, ice cream, butter and yogurt, milk derivatives are used in many other food products such as candy bars, chocolate, cakes and even some chips. This means that countless American food products contain traces of these banned hormones, yet consumers remain largely unaware due to minimal labeling requirements.
The Bigger Picture Behind Food Regulation Differences
The fundamental reason these foods remain legal in America while being banned elsewhere comes down to drastically different regulatory philosophies. The reason that many banned foods are still allowed in the US often comes down to money, companies producing or using ingredients banned abroad may lobby to keep these substances on the market, arguing that restrictions would harm economic competitiveness or innovation. This is why some additives banned in Europe remain in US food products – they’re considered “safe” within certain usage thresholds because the financial burden of replacing them is deemed more significant than any negative health consequences.
The EU leans toward protecting public trust and erring on the side of caution, while the US gives food and drug companies the benefit of the doubt, unfortunately, in the US, this means consumers often need to do their own research, read labels carefully, and make informed choices about what they put on their plates. This creates a troubling reality where American families unknowingly consume ingredients that other developed nations have deemed too risky for their citizens. Did you expect that your everyday grocery cart might be filled with internationally controversial ingredients?