#food-additives

#food-additives

One piece of evidence is that there are actually quite a few cake mixes out there sold in bulk and specifically marketed to bakeries. A 50-pound bag of red velvet cake mix doesn't have a lot of uses aside from a fairly large-scale operation. But beyond that, there are plenty of bakery employees on the internet spilling the beans.

Also called ADA, azodicarbonamide strengthens gluten bonds in bread. It makes the final product rise higher and have a fluffier texture. However, research has shown that it breaks down during cooking into other compounds, including semicarbazide, a known carcinogen that may increase cancer risk based on animal studies.

Dining out when you have any kind of dietary requirement can be complicated at the best of times, but even more so at fast food restaurants. Being able to produce a consistent product across all outlets relies heavily on processes and ingredients that wouldn't be used in home cooking, which is how you end up with mashed potatoes that aren't vegetarian.

Senate Bill 25, which mandates that packaged foods sold in Texas display warning labels if they contain synthetic food dyes, including Blue No. 2 and Green No. 3. These additives have come under increased scrutiny for potential behavioral and health effects, especially in children. Beginning in 2027, products with these synthetic food dyes will be required to display a label stating, "WARNING: This product contains an ingredient that is not recommended for human consumption by the appropriate authority in Australia, Canada, the European Union or the United Kingdom." (Related: Kraft Heinz removes SYNTHETIC DYES from its products, aligning with MAHA initiative.)

Walmart said Wednesday that it plans to remove synthetic food dyes and 30 other ingredients, including some preservatives, artificial sweeteners and fat substitutes, from its store brands sold in the United States by January 2027. The move announced by the the nation's largest retailer amounts to an acknowledgment that American consumers and the U.S. government under President Donald Trump are paying attention to what goes into packaged foods.

He explains, "Look for frozen pizzas with fewer additives - avoid dough conditioners in the crust and anti-caking agents like cellulose in the cheese." Anti-caking agents are additives used to prevent shredded cheese from clumping or sticking together. Sometimes, the agents are cellulose (or wood pulp) and other times, it's cornstarch. Anti-caking agents can interfere with how the cheese melts and browns, which is something pizza purists like Gemignani prefer to avoid.