Food Isn’t Food Anymore The Frightening World of Fillers

There has been a shift in the meals people are consuming nowadays making the cost of food become lower than it has ever been before. The constant rise in technology has made new possible improvements to how we manufacture our food products thus reducing the cost of labor required.

It is evident that there is a sudden rise in food prices in most developing nations with the level of inflation continuing to rise affecting food production. Some of the demands has led manufacturers and many other industries to come up with ways to how they can significantly reduce the price making it easier for normal consumers to purchase their goods. The reduction in prices has brought about a positive effect on many consumers bringing the prices of commodities down.

The main reason for these reductions in prices is because most of the manufacturing industries are now using fillers in most of their products in food making. The situation has made the cost of food to become lower than it has ever been which is evident in some of the processed meat that is being sold in major supermarkets nationwide. Most of these fillers put in meat lower their cost which makes the market price become lower than even the production price.

So, what are these food fillers?

Food fillers are mostly additives that help bulk food which is essential in lowering the prices of most commodities in the food basket. Many of these fillers are often found in meat products helping the price of the meat reduce at a margin of up to 30%. Lowering of food prices is a welcome to many consumers to whom many see it as a great idea, however, it is imperative to note that most of the additives and fillers to which we put in these food products are costly to us.

There are two types of fillers that are often used. They include the non-meat fillers which are often made of high starchy carbohydrate binders that are known to have a low nutritional value. Most of these fillers tend to include a processed food additive known as maltodextrin that is made from starch and can include proteins e.g. soy The other type of fillers is known as meat fillers that often are composed of mechanically deboned meat which are pieces left over from animal carcasses that are neither ingested by the human body. Most of these fillers are found in poultry meat and chicken breasts.

What are some of these additives that are added in most processed food?

1. Cellulose

It is a natural component often found in many plants which are used in the production of paper. Most of the cellulose that is often used is got from wood pulp then later used in making cereal, shredded cheese, ice cream, and salad dressing. It is widely known that humans are incapable of digesting cellulose thus adding it to the foods we eat makes for a non-fat filler. The above additive is often found in many high-fiber snacks and eating organic will not help one avoid it.

2. Soy

It is an additive that is mostly filled in a variety of foods such as frozen yogurt to ground beef. Most of the meals sold in supermarkets have Soy which is common in over 50% of the foods sold in the facilities. Soy acts as a cheap filler that helps lower some of the prices of food content and reducing the quality of meat. The above additive contains high levels of phytic acid which is known to eliminate some of the important vitamins and minerals from a person’s body.

3. Olestra

It is another additive that is normally used in as a fat substitute, however, the body cannot digest some of the big molecules that it is often made of. It explains the reason to why the body ingests some of the nutrients in it because of the zero calories. It is with the above examples that many food professionals and health nutritionists around the world are becoming worried about the kind of meals we are ingesting as a nation. Do you check some of the ingredients when purchasing food?