Another Good Case for Food Labels
Do you know what's hiding in your meat?
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably realize that I’m not a big proponent of government stepping in to control what we eat through taxation, warning labels or other policies. On the other hand, I think information labels are useful tools for individuals to figure out just what they’re eating, and whether its right for them. I’d like to believe we’re all mature enough to make our own decisions when given the information.
I just read about a study today, that confirms my belief that information is a good thing. The Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology reports on a study that shows the presence of dietary phosphate and potassium in fresh meats because they’ve been injected alongside of sodium, antioxidants and flavorings. Meat food labels may list that there are additives, but not the amounts or type of additives. Given the information a label might provide, I’d probably skip that additive “enhanced” fresh meat because I don’t want meat that’s been injected with anything, but if I had kidney disease, this information could be vital since these additives could cause death in patients on dialysis. We shouldn’t fear information, but rather the lack of access to it because food manufacturers don’t want us to know about their additives.
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Wow! Interesting information. I had not seen this report so had no idea that this stuff is added to meat. What is the justification for adding phosphate and potassium to fresh meat? I can almost understand salt and flavorings, altho I don’t want to eat anything with any type of additives, but phosphate and potassium??? Just confirms my choice of buying meat at Whole Foods.