What’s in your food? Investigation of food companies

CINCINNATI (WXIX) – Let’s face it: Preparing food every day can be a hassle, so it’s no surprise that millions of Americans use meal prep companies to save time.

Many of these companies market their food as healthy, clean, or nutritionist-approved.

However, FOX19 NOW’s Courtney King found that some companies don’t directly list all the ingredients used in these dishes. Some of these ingredients may potentially cause health problems.

Here’s a statement from an FDA spokesperson to keep in mind as you read this story:

“All packaged foods must comply with FDA food labeling requirements, including a declaration of ingredients, which must be listed by their common or common name. If an ingredient itself contains two or more ingredients, the subingredients must also be listed on the product’s labeling and labeling. All labeling must be truthful and not misleading.”

Registered dietitian and functional medicine expert Preeti Bansal Kshirsagar says, “So we as consumers need to make the right choice, and we need to demand that from the company by saying we’re not going to buy products with all these additives, right? ?

Consider this question: Do you really know what’s in your food and do you trust what companies put in it?

“Why do we need all these additives? That is the question,” says Kshirsagar. “You could get some plain chicken here.”

Over the past few weeks, King has been investigating two food companies and found that one company’s meals contained dozens more ingredients than what was listed on the labels.

We purchased several lunches from Clean Eatz in Newport, KY.

King walked in and grabbed several portions of food from their freezer.

“The package says the ingredients are shredded beef, seasoned red potatoes and green beans,” King points out as he reads the ingredients.

The packaging only listed a few ingredients, but the website listed almost a paragraph more.

Factor is a well-known meal preparation company, and King placed an online order through them for this story.

Their website lists basic ingredients as pork, cauliflower and onions as ingredients in the ordered dishes.

When we received the food exactly seven days after placing our order with Factor, we noticed that the ingredients on the package were completely different.

After contacting Factor, a representative told us that all ingredients can be found online. They are not listed with the original ingredients, you need to click “read moreon the Factor website.

So what are the ingredients?

We noticed that both Factor and Clean Eatz used xanthan gum with every meal, but we bought one.

“Xanthan gum is a fibrous substance,” explains Kshirsagar. “It gives thickness, it stabilizes. It also acts as a preservative for the food companies produce.”

Kshirsagar, when asked to break down xanthan gum, said that it may cause some health problems.

“Xanthan gum is a fibrous substance. It gives thickness and stabilizes. It also acts as a preservative for the food companies produce.”

She went on to say, “These digestive imbalances may actually reflect systemic changes such as migraines, in your particular case other people may have joint problems. You know, other people may have problems with their teeth. This can cause a lot of different problems as they migrate from the intestines to different parts of the body.”

If you haven’t heard of it, it’s used in many gluten-free baked goods and salad dressings.

“Maltodextrin affects us most by, again, disrupting the balance of the gut microbiome,” says Kshirsagar.

The nutritionist says maltodextrin can also cause health problems. It is also used as a thickener and stabilizer. It was found in Clean Eatz meals, but not in Factor’s diet.

“This reduces the amount of good bacteria in our gut and can actually cause the growth of bad bacteria such as salmonella or E. coli,” Kshirsagar explained. “So this is a big negative, possible negative effect of maltodextrin on humans. Again, this doesn’t happen to everyone, but it can happen to many people.”

Both companies we studied marketed their food as clean or healthy. Factor’s food is even nutritionist approved.

When asked if maltodextrin and xanthan gum are pure ingredients, Kshirsagar replied:

“I wouldn’t say that, of course. I definitely don’t have them in my kitchen, and you can always cook without them. Why do you need maltodextrin, xanthan gum or any of these stabilizers? Because in fact, companies can easily produce these products without additives and still maintain good taste and health benefits.”

Kshirsagar says excessive consumption of calcium propionate, which is used to prevent food from becoming moldy, can cause digestive problems.

She also says companies use these additives to flavor prepared foods because they are cheap.

“And there is so much advancement in packaging now that a lot is possible if we as consumers demand it.”

FOX19 NOW also emailed Clean Eatz in Newport.

The store owner said takeout food is different from food that can be ordered online, although many have the same name.

However, he stopped responding to emails when asked if they added more ingredients to prepared meals than listed.

In emails, the owner of Clean Eatz said, “We follow all local, state and federal menu labeling requirements and offer additional ingredient information on our website.”

Factor also said in his email that they list the ingredients in the most complete form possible. This allows people to quickly determine if a recipe fits their dietary preferences.

The FDA did not comment on the examples submitted for this article and declined interviews.

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