Why Doesn’t The FDA Ban Dangerous Ingredients (Which Are Already Banned In Europe) Until After They’ve Hurt Someone?

For many Americans, trying their favorite fast food or go-to meal in another country is a fun way to experience a taste of home while they’re away. But many Americans have noticed that not only does the food in Europe cost less, but it also tastes much better than the American version.

As it turns out, there's a very valid reason for that. European food is better for our waistlines and their entire approach toward food additives is completely different from ours (hence why it tastes better). Here in the U.S., most of our food is highly processed and rife with harmful chemicals. It’s clear just from observation alone that there are better, higher quality products being produced abroad. So why are large corporations treating Americans as lab rats while other countries get special treatment?

Is the Grass Really Greener?

Have you ever had McDonald’s French fries from the UK or a Big Mac from France? McDonald’s French fries produced in the U.S. are fried in a long list of seed oils, like canola and soybean, and contain additives like “natural beef flavor” and sodium acid pyrophosphate. French fries made in McDonald’s in the UK only contain sunflower and rapeseed oil, and are fried in non-hydrogenated oil. 

While our U.S. version might taste good, food scientists have engineered fast food to be as addicting and satisfying as possible, drawing us back in for more and more. In Europe, fast food is still enjoyed – maybe not as much as we enjoy it here in the U.S. – but European standards for food in general are much higher. Aside from the difference in ingredients and additives, the portion sizes are also different. For example, a medium Coke in the U.S. equates to a size large in Europe.

It doesn’t just stop with fast food though. If you’ve ever enjoyed a bowl of strawberries and cream instant oatmeal, you had nothing more than a bowl of oatmeal that contained “flavored and colored fruit pieces,” which contains red dye 40, a food dye derived from petroleum. Heinz ketchup in the UK simply consists of tomatoes, vinegar, sugar, salt, and other spices. Heinz ketchup in the U.S. is made of tomato concentrate, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, and “natural flavoring.” If it’s possible to make all of our favorite products without these harmful additives in Europe, why are we still being subjected to them here in America?

Most of us have never known a diet without processed food full of chemicals.

Americans Are Lab Rats

As with many issues, it all inevitably comes down to bureaucracy. The governing body which regulates food in America, the FDA, has a much different approach to additives, allergens, and labeling than the bureaucracies which govern food production in the EU.

Europe takes a proactive attitude towards food production, also known as the precautionary principle. Artificial ingredients and additives like brominated vegetable oil, as well as azodicarbonamide (known as the “yoga mat” material, used to whiten cereal flour), have been outright banned in European food production. Europe has also banned carcinogens like potassium bromate, which has been proven to cause thyroid and kidney cancer in animals. European governing bodies also label other potentially risky ingredients accordingly, which serve as a warning to consumers. 

Most if not all additives that are banned in Europe are approved for use in the U.S., like brominated vegetable oil, and the U.S. takes the exact opposite approach to monitoring food production. Rather than banning additives, chemicals, carcinogens, and other harmful ingredients, the FDA doesn’t ban or remove dangerous products until they’re proven to be risky, after harm has already been done to the consumer.

The FDA doesn’t ban dangerous products until after harm has already been done to the consumer.

Food safety standards in the EU even regulate the size and color of the font on food packaging labels that list ingredients. In the U.S., the presence or use of genetically modified organisms in food isn’t even required to be disclosed on food packaging. This type of procedure essentially puts consumers at risk first and makes corporations liable after the fact, rather than the other way around. 

Profit over People

It’s clear to see where exactly the FDA’s loyalties lie, and it’s not with consumers. The same organization which discourages consuming raw milk also approves the added inclusion of material that is used to make yoga mats in the food we consume every day.

Consumers deserve better, but we’re stuck between a rock and a hard place. Not everyone has the space or income to start their own garden or buy directly from farmers’ markets, but at the same time, it’s difficult to keep eating these products day after day when we know what they’re doing to our bodies.

The American consumer doesn’t deserve this type of treatment, especially by a governing body which claims to protect our health. Our quality of life remains among the best in the world, but the cheapest food available to us is inferior compared to European alternatives. America leads the world in rates of obesity and heart disease, and yet the bureaucracy at large is more concerned with protecting the bottom lines of multimillion dollar food corporations. Looking at a typical American meal (and even one that’s considered relatively healthy likely still contains these chemicals and additives), it’s hard to say if the average European would even recognize it. 

Closing Thoughts

The bureaucracy which regulates the food we eat isn’t concerned with protecting us first and foremost. They’d rather react to a potentially dangerous ingredient after someone has already been affected than direct their money, time, and attention towards researching and restricting harmful additives. What’s most unfortunate is that many of us have never known a diet without processed food full of chemicals, through no fault of our own. We’re all better consumers when we’re better informed, and that starts with knowing what’s in our food.

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