The United States has protection measures in place for our food supply with the Food and Drug Administration and the United States Department of Agriculture, but did you know that there are things in our food that are perfectly legal and allowed to be there, but are banned in other countries?

Farmed Salmon

When you’re looking for fish to buy, take a look at the label or ask how the fish was caught. If it was farm raised, that’s good for beef, but not fish. Chances are that salmon from a farm were fed with an unnatural diet of grains, drugs, antibiotics and hormones. When the fish are fed with unnatural things, their flesh turns an odd color. Then, to make it that pretty pink color, it’s fed petrochemicals so when you eat that fish; you’re also eating everything that the fish ate. These practices and fish raised under these conditions are banned in New Zealand and Australia.


Growth Hormone Injected Meat

There’s a growth hormone called ractopamine that’s fed to turkey, beef cattle and pigs. It spurs more rapid growth of lean muscle tissue and decreases the amount of fat on the animal which is good for farmers, but it’s been linked to hyperactivity and cancer in both pigs and humans. Eight out of every ten farmed pigs in the U.S. has been fed this hormone. It has been banned in China, Europe, Russia and Taiwan, among others.


Brominated Vegetable Oil

Bromine is a chemical that makes dye stick to liquid, so when you see “brominated vegetable oil” on your soda can or other colored drink, put it down and run away because bromine is also a chemical that’s added to carpet to keep it from catching fire; and it’s IN OUR FOOD. Brominated vegetable oil has been linked to birth defects, organ damage and hearing loss. Another place you can find it is in bread. It’s labeled “potassium bromate” or “bromated flour” and it’s made from the same chemicals as brominated vegetable oil and it’s put in bread to bleach the dough and make it more sticky and pliable. Bromate has been linked to kidney and nervous system damage, thyroid problems, gastrointestinal discomfort, and cancer. It’s banned in Europe, China, Canada and over 100 other countries.


Food Dye

Almost every processed food we eat has been colored with some sort of food dye. Food dyes are made from petroleum, which is also used to make gas for your car, diesel fuel, asphalt and tar. Red #40, blue #1, blue #2, FD&C yellow #5 are just a few, and while some food dyes are mostly harmless, some have been linked to brain cancer, nerve cell deterioration and hyperactivity in children. Norway, Austria and the U.K., among others have banned harmful food dyes, and while other countries haven’t banned it outright, they do require a warning label on packaging for foods that contain them.


BHA & BHT

Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) are waxy preservatives added to our foods to prevent them from spoiling too quickly. You can find it in butter, meat, dehydrated potatoes, gum and nut mixes. Both BHA and BHT have been linked to cancer and it’s banned Japan, the U.K., and several countries all over Europe.

This list is lifted from the book Rich Food, Poor Food. You can order it by clicking HERE.

More From 98.1 Minnesota's New Country