Sunday, April 27, 2014

Don’t dare eat those, Doritos!

                        
In my continuing attack on foods that expose people to chemicals and compounds impacting good health, today I go after the very popular snack chips, Doritos, from Frito Lay. The Topps Company spoofed the snack chip with the parody (to the left) in one of their Wacky Packages series, but this narcoleptic scene is far from the reality of the long-term exposure this food has on adults and children. 

The ingredients list for Frito Lay’s Nacho Cheese Doritos (shown below) could be an extra credit assignment for Chemistry majors: Maltodextrin; Monosodium Glutamate; Natural and Artificial Flavor; Dextrose; Artificial Colors: Yellow 6, Yellow 5 and Red 40; Disodium Inosinate, and Disodium Guanylate. A few of these are benign, while others are questionable if not problematic. Maltodextrin is a food additive (this is repeated again with others listed below) that is also used in sodas and candy. Monosodium Glutamate, or MSG, is a flavor compound, commonly known for its use at many Chinese restaurants. Before 1998, however, it was clumped with other flavor enhancers as ‘spices and flavorings.’ Despite arguments over the research concerning MSG, it is suspected that long-term consumption of the compound may cause neurodegenerative effects. Natural and Artificial Flavoring opens a host of possibilities from anything like ‘Beaver Anal Glands’ (a perfectly acceptable candidate for natural flavoring) to flavors derived from antifreeze, paint thinner, lice medicine, etc. (which are the bases for many artificial flavors in agribusiness). This is speculation, but what else can one do when Frito Lay and other food corporations choose an ambiguous term instead of transparency about the ingredients used in their foods? 

Dextrose, or Glucose, is a monosaccharide extracted from grape vines or other plants. Of all the ingredients indicated in this break down on the Doritos label, Dextrose is the most benign. When arriving to the Artificial Colors, however, the outlook takes a serious nose dive back into serious health warnings. Yellow 6, also referred to by the misleading, tranquil name of Sunset Yellow, is known to cause allergic reactions among people who have aspirin allergies. Yellow 5, called Tartrazine, is also common in processed foods like other snacks, desserts, sweets, beverages and condiments. There is concern that this coloring can cause asthma, migraines and hyperactivity in children. Red 40, also known as Allura Red AC, is suspected of also causing hyper-activity among children. 

The last two mentioned are food additives/flavor enhancers: Disodium Inosinate and Disodium Guanylate. Disodium Inosinate is found in instant noodles, potato chips and other snacks. It interacts with MSG to enhance the flavor of the snack chips. Disodium Guanylate is extracted from other dried fish or dried seaweed, the former creating concerns for vegans and vegetarians unaware of this additive. Like Disodium Inosinate, it too is used in instant noodles, other snacks, rice dishes and beef jerkies. It, however, is not safe for babies under 12 weeks to ingest or for asthmatics and those suffering from gout.  


Given the various concerns raised from the investigation of the ingredients in Frito Lay’s Nacho Cheese Doritos, perhaps simplifying people’s diets to foods that are natural is better than supporting the ‘ongoing lab experiments' agribusinesses have made of their customers, essentially the majority of Americans and consumers overseas.

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