There are some foods that we eat that bring back childhood memories or remind us of special people and circumstances. Once you know what is in some of these childhood favourites, you will most likely never be the same again.
Jelly beans
If you don’t want to know the most disgusting thing about this tiny little sugar burst, stop reading right away. A lot of jelly beans use a substance called Shellac to get the beans shiny. Shellac is the excrement of a certain kind of bug.
Lean finely textured beef
This is the part where major fast food joints and cafeterias run for the hills, as their secret is out. The beef you have when you have a burger could contain Ammonia and quite a bit of it. This is infamously known as pink slime and has caused many people across the world to boycott fast food.
Another cleaning ingredient is Borax which is used as a preservative for caviar.
Chicken nuggets
This is one of those foods who should not have the name “chicken” in front of it. The meat that is used in chicken nuggets is called slurry, which sounds gross already. To add insult to injury, this is where all the offcuts and unwanted chicken parts go. No more nuggets.
Longer shelf life bread
Your choice to eat long lasting bread may just be the most disgusting use of your funds. Human hair has an ingredient in it that has been found to extend the shelf life of bread. Having toasted cheese, tomato and Joe Soap’s hair is not an appetising thought.
Castoreum
This unlucky ingredient is an extract from a beaver’s anal gland and is responsible for most vanilla, raspberry and strawberry ice cream. The most horrible part is that it happens to come from an animal which makes it a natural ingredient. This in turn means that you’re 100% naturally flavoured milkshake is not 100% vanilla, but another natural substance.
Coal Tar and Phosphoric Acid
This is a surprising one, as its main customer is often a child. Used mainly to dye sodas and candies red, it is labelled as Allura Red AC.
Soda seems to be a hit where horrible ingredients are found, as phosphoric acid, thus stuff that dissolves human bodies without a trace, is listed as one of the ingredients. Apparently that is where the acidulous taste comes from.
Cellulose
If you ever wondered what the ingredient cellulose was whilst reading the ingredients listed on a pack of shredded cheese, you’re in for a treat. Cellulose is minute chips of wood that apparently prevents the cheese from sticking together. This is also why you don’t get the same effect at home when you try to grate some cheese for your homemade pizza. So much for saving time.