https://www.cspinet.org/sites/default/files/attachment/GRAS%20Comment%20FINAL_0.pdf
Gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) is a neurotransmitter that was self-determined GRAS by industry for use in beverages, chewing gum, coffee, tea, and candy. GABA was declared GRAS despite the fact that estimated exposures were in excess of what the manufacturer considered safe. In addition, the submitter relied on unpublished safety studies, and failed to consider existing exposures.293 When FDA identified these concerns, the company withdrew its notice. While the company told NRDC that it would not market the product for use in food, it continued to use the ingredient in dietary supplements. NRDC also identified five food products marketed by other companies with GABA as a named ingredient, including bottled tea and nutrition bars.
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Sweet lupin protein, fiber, and flour have been declared GRAS by an Australian firm for use in baked goods, dairy products, gelatin, meats, and candy, despite concerns that the chemicals could cause allergic reaction in people with peanut allergies.
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Theobromine was declared GRAS by a U.S. company for use in bread, cereal, beverages, chewing gum, tea, soy milk, gelatin, candy, and smoothies, despite having an estimated consumption rate that was more than five times the safe consumption level reported by the company’s consultant. On top of this already considerable cause for alarm, the notification did not provide explanations for various safety concerns raised by animal testing of theobromine, including testicular degeneration and delayed bone formation.297 Nevertheless, NRDC found that theobromine was a named ingredient in more than 20 food products, including isotonic waters, nutrition bars, and diet foods.
The more I read ingredient labels and look them up on the web, the more I retreat from purchasing ‘normal’ items like...I dunno...table salt. (Yes it turns out table salt is said by some to be bad for you, as is most pink salt. It’s additives and impurities that are concerning.)
The US subsidizes soybeans and yet I’ve read a well referenced book (The Hidden Dangers of Soy) which made me more cautious, and then an article by Brian Cates identifying the problems with pushing Americans off of butter fat/tallow and onto ‘seed oils’ (safflower, soybean, peanut etc.) is strongly correlated with sky rocketing health problems.
I’ve seen GRAS ratings on the additives in my supplements, and I (literally) am not buying many of those ingredients anymore. I simply do not understand why my calcium tablets contained Titanium Dioxide for ‘whiteness’.
Many of these GRAS ratings say it’s safe in small amounts, but how much is ‘small’ and how much of an additive ingredient they list is in other supplements I take?
I note that mannitol is in odd foods and chewable supplements, and carnuba wax is in some gummie vitamins. Yes, carnuba wax. I looked it up and it is GRAS. But if you read further, its safe in small amounts otherwise it can disrupt the biome of the intestine. Many of these GRAS approved items say that in large (how large?) amounts they could disrupt the balance of good bacteria in the intestine...you know...the kind of beneficial bacterial which underpins your immune system.
I’ve just been looking at maltodextrin. It’s added to foods in two different forms. One is an indigestible starch and the other is a form of sugar - they are added to different products to deter clumping in powdered products and make such powders ‘free flowing’.
SO from the reading I’ve done, there’s caution about eating substances your intestines can’t digest (disrupt good bacteria). Then the sugar form of Maltodextrin which can be digested can cause problems for those with diabetes. I don’t personally know anyone with diabetes or I would ask if they are aware that the latter form of Maltodextrin can spike their blood sugar, but manufacturers are not required to list it as an ‘added sugar’. They do have to list it as a carbohydrate. That seems cheesy to me because the consumer may assume the carbs are part of the primary product and not the additive- I just hope diabetics know.
So the table salt in my house lists Maltodextrin on the label. I assume it’s the indigestible starch version. I switched to Celtic salt and noticed a) it tastes better and B) it’s saltier. Just how much maltodextrin is in my table salt that it dilutes the flavor?
Oh, and carageenan. That one is in people food and pet foods. I remember some talking head laughing about paranoid people worried about that word - carageenan, and that it was perfectly safe as it is made from seaweed. Then I found a Pub Med article detailing the potential side effects and I recall remarking to a friend in an email: Carageenan is much worse than I thought. Then I read an article in a pet magazine saying not to feed your pet foods with carageenan.
I’ve always been told ‘natural flavors’ is where they hide the worst chemicals. Avoid the generic ‘natural flavors’ or so I’ve been told.