The ABCs - C Is For Colouring (Part 1)

The colouring that I am writing about is food colouring.

Food colouring is also known as colour additive.

What Food Colouring Is

Food colouring adds/changes colours of food or drink when added. They come in many forms such as liquids, powders, gels and pastes.

Food colouring is used widely in commercial food production. Many use it in domestic cooking too. Not only is food colouring used in food, it is also used in non-food applications such as cosmetics, pharmaceutical, home craft projects and medical devices.

Why Food Colouring Is Used

1. As consumers connect colours to flavours, the use of food colouring in food will influence the perceived flavour, thus enhancing the 'feel-good-factor' which will indirectly cause them to buy the food again.

2. Colours will fade due to exposure to light, air, temperature extremes, moisture and storage conditions. Food colouring will rectify it.

3. For added colour effects. (Such as Heinz's GREEN ketchup!)

4. To enhance existing colours.

5. To make 'colourless' food attractive and 'fun'.

Regulations

In US, approved synthetic food dyes are given FD&C numbers.

1. FD&C Blue No.1

The common name for this colouring is Brilliant Blue FCF or Blue 1. It is a colourant for food and also other substances.

In the EU, it is labeled under the E numbers as E133.

This synthetic food colouring is formed from aromatic hydrocarbons from petroleum. Its appearance is of a reddish-blue colour.

This colour is often found in ice-cream, canned processed peas, packet soups, bottled food colourings, icings, ice pops, blue raspberry flavoured products, dairy products, sweets and drinks (liqueur blue curaçao).

It is also used in soaps, shampoos, mouthwash and other hygiene/cosmetics products.

This colouring was previously banned in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. But today it has been certified as a safe food additive in the EU and is legal in most of the countries.

Be aware that it is capable of inducing allergic reactions in individuals who have pre-existing asthma.

2. FD&C Blue No.2

This is also known as indigo carmine. It is approved for use as a food colorant in the US. In the EU is labeled as E number E132.

This colouring is used as a dye in manufacturing capsules. In obstetrics, this dye is used to detect amniotic fluid leaks. In surgery, intravenous indigo carmine is used to highlight the urinary tract to check if there are any leaks. This dye can cause a very dangerous rise in blood pressure for some people.

Indigo carmine has been known to be an irritant to the skin and eyes. It is also harmful to the respiratory tract if inhaled.

3. FD&C Green No.3

This food colouring is also known as Food Green 3, Green 1724, Solid Green FCF or C.I. 42053. It is labeled as E number E143.

This food colouring was used as a replacement for the Light Green SF yellowish in Masson's trichrome (which is histomy - a study on the microscopic anatomy of cells/tissues of plants and animals).

This food colouring is prohibited in the EU though in the US, it is one of the FDA approved food dyes. It is used for tinned green peas, jellies, sauces, fish, desserts and dry bakery mixes (permitted to 100mg/kg).

In experimental animals, this food colouring has been found to cause tumours and mutative effects. It also causes eye, skin, digestive tract and respiratory tract irritation.

4. FD&C Red No.40

This is an azo dye which is known by many other names such as Allura Red, Food Red 17, C.I. 16035, 2-naphthalenesulfonic acid, and the E number E129.

This was introduced in order to replace the amaranth dye which was banned.

Originally, this was manufactured from coal tar. But today, it is mostly made from petroleum. Many believe that FD&C Red No.40 is derived from the female cochineal insect. That is not true. The food colouring carmine is from the female cochineal insect.

A research was conducted in 2007 on the effects of additives and food colouring on children's behaviour. E129 was one of the colours. And it was found that children had an increase in hyperactivity and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when they consumed these chemicals (E129 included).

In the US, FD&C Red 40 is approved by the FDA for use in cosmetics, drugs and food. This dye is also used in some tattoo inks. It is also used widely in soft drinks (strawberry soft drink), children's medication (cough syrups) and cotton candy. This is the most commonly and widely used red dye in the US alone.

In the Europe, FD&C Red 40 is not recommended for children consumption. It is banned in Denmark, Belgium, France and Switzerland.

This azo dye is also less tolerated by aspirin intolerant people and asthmatics. People with skin sensitivities should also be careful with this azo dye.

(to be continued...)

The Sensitive Issue

'Oh my GAWD! You are so SENSITIVE!!!!'

How many times have we heard that, said that or thought of that statement?

We say this when someone's feelings get hurt too easily. Someone whose 'emotional skin' that is paper thin. Someone whose 'emotional skin' that is not thick as an elephant's hide. Someone who takes every statement to be insulting. Even when it is not. And cries buckets and waterfall amount of tears when pricked by hurt the size of a needle. And some become vindictive and revengeful and lash out at others before they could produce another 'sensitive' statement.

For people like me, the word 'sensitive' concerns our health. It concerns our well-being. It concerns our life. It can be akin to the 'emotional sensitivity'. It is our body, our system that gets hurt instead.

The word 'sensitivity' in the medical world can be interpreted as an adverse physical reaction when exposed to triggers in a susceptible person. In other words, a 'sensitive person' or a 'hypersensitivity'. A few examples of the triggers that can create havoc in a sensitive person are salicylate, glutamate, aspartame, amines, food colourings, preservatives, and food dye.

A sensitivity involves no immune system response, BUT it can yield results which are similar to allergy-induced reactions. A hypersensitivity is a result of the inability of certain individuals to metabolically process the offending chemical in food substance.

People with IgE-mediated food allergy MUST avoid the offending triggers (food, dust... etc) altogether. Where else people with non-IgE-mediated food hypersensitivity can OFTEN eat SOME of the amount of offending food without developing symptoms. The threshold of each individual varies. Some can tolerate low amounts of the offending food, others cannot.

Sad to say, there are no tests today which are available for people with hypersensitivity. The only setting that is available is through food challenge studies in a controlled environment.

Food hypersensitivity can be diagnosed by using the elimination diet, followed by food challenges and gradual reintroduction of foods and food chemicals. It is VITAL that this is conducted by an allergist who is familiar with this procedure as the re-introduction of food and food chemicals could trigger an anaphylactic attack!

In the event of proper food elimination, proper intake of anti-histamines and other medications, the threshold or tolerance levels of individuals can improve. Again, it is vital to work with an allergist (and sometimes together with a dietitian) who are aware of hypersensitivity and the danger it poses and is equipped with the knowledge of this ailment.

So in future, if you come across people like me, but you cannot fathom or understand what we go through, put yourself in this situation. Think back during the time when you had a VERY high fever. And  your joints and limbs were aching from the raging fever. And someone comes and grabs you at the places you hurt most and you scream out in pain. And then that person retorts and say, 'Oh my GAWD! You are so SENSITIVE!!!!'

Chemical Free

When I clicked on Google search to look for the definition of 'chemical free', I found the most laughable statements.

Before I go into that, let's get to the basics. Let's have a look at Wikipedia's definition of 'chemical free'. 'Chemical free is a term used in marketing to imply that a product is safe, healthy or environmentally friendly because it only contains natural ingredients. The term is a misnomer, as nothing that physically exists is free of chemicals.'

In my opinion, this term 'chemical free' has been misused and has misled many people. Many times when I go into organic marts, they have descriptions about their products being chemical free AND organic. In that case, anyone who uses their products can be akin to be drinking from the fountain of youth, health and immortality!

So what does chemical free actually connotes?

Chemical

The word chemical, according to the Collins English Dictionary, can be defined as a noun where it is a substance with a distinct molecular composition that is produced by or used in a chemical process. According to the American Heritage Science Dictionary, chemical can also be defined as an adjective where it is relating to or produced by means of chemistry.

So chemical is a material which is produced by or used in reaction which involves changes in the atoms and molecules structure.

So in other words, WE are chemicals too! Why? Because most of the composition of the human body is made up of water! Human cells consist of 65 to 90 percent of water. Which is H2O. And if I recall correctly, my chemistry teacher taught us that hydrogen IS a type of chemical. And almost 99 percent of the mass of our human body is made up of oxygen, hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus. (Click here.)

Man-Made Chemicals

So man became smarter (lazier and greedier, in my opinion). Man in all their ingenuity came up with ideas in tweaking the DNAs of chemicals and combining them and thus made potent fertilisers, herbicides, pesticides, bombs and explosives, food stabilisers, preservatives, artificial colourings, artificial flavourings, artificial fragrances, detergent with toxic ingredients, softeners and many more to make life easier and more profitable. Everything is instant, express and with-no-effort. Which results in man becoming sicker and weaker in the immune system as the days go by.

I am sure that when people say that they are selling chemical-free products, they mean that they are free of the list above. Right? And for your information, naturally derived and natural flavouring is NOT chemical free either. Anything that is processed has gone though a chemical processing stage. (That will be discussed in another post.)

Thus, when I say that I try to live a 'chemical-free' life as much as possible and use 'chemical-free' stuff as much as possible and eat 'chemical-free' food as much as I can, it means that I try to eat food which has no or little fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides. I also try as much as I can to eat food with no food stabilisers, perservatives, artificial colourings, artificial flavourings, MSG, food conditioner, and food additives. I make my food fresh, from scratch. From the barest of basics. And I try to use products that has as little artificial fragrance as possible or fragrance-free products or products with the least toxic ingredients.

So in my humble, little opinion there is no such thing as 'chemical free'. It depends on how much contamination where the toxic chemicals are concerned and how stringent and honest the people who make the products are. So if they screw up, WE are screwed up. But then again, isn't the air that we breathe in everyday, every minute and every second toxic? Maybe we should start selling 'chemical-free air' in oxygen tanks! I reckon I could be richer than that Facebook guy!!!! *Ahem*

My chemically fueled life is an interesting read. So is chemical-free nonsense.

So I guess Superman was a chemically sensitive person too (with all his bulging muscles, super-spectacular-Herculean strength and laser eyes). Krypton is a chemical element after all!

Anyone up for some chemical free flower pots, chemical free mattress, chemical free water and chemical free shaving?