A Consumer's Dictionary of Food Additives: Descriptions in Plain English of More Than 12,000 Ingredients Both Harmful and Desirable Found in Foods

by Ruth Winter

The essential guide for making sure your food is safe

A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives is back again, in an updated sixth edition. This valuable reference gives you all the facts about the relative safety and side effects of more than 12,000 ingredients that end up in your food as a result of processing and curing, such as preservatives, food-tainting pesticides, and animal drugs. For example, drugs used to tranquilize pigs may sedate diners!

There are hundreds of new entries to this edition, and topics covered include information about recently discovered resistant strains of bacteria credited to the antibiotics added to animal feed, as well as startling statistics on the amount of money spent on certain additives each year—$1.4 billion—on just flavorings and flavor enhancers.

A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives is a precise tool that will tell you exactly what to leave on supermarket shelves as a reminder to manufacturers that you know what the labels mean and which products are safe to bring home to your family.

Genres: Health, Reference, Food, Nonfiction, Nutrition

592 pages, Paperback

First published August 18, 1982

Reviews

[Jeannie Locke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this isn't a book one would read cover to cover it is a great reference book that I continue to refer to almost daily. If the sheer size of the book alone doesn't shock you (almost 600 pgs.) the content will because it contains descriptions of over 12,000 FOOD additives (many harmful) that appear on our (American) nutrition labels! Maybe this will be your incentive to buy organic and avoid processed foods. Do you know what you've been consuming and feeding your family? Find out now.

[Stela Idrizi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book and learned so much about the things that I have always wondered about concerning food labeling and additives. A great book if you are looking to educate yourself on the matter.

[(Kelly) Wistful Texan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on the many toxins that are in our food. Fantastic resource.

[Kristin]

Very interesting! I didn't read the entire book, only the chapter at the beginning because it is a dictionary. There is so much b.s. surrounding the food industry...so many government agencies and subagencies, different regulations. I plan to keep the book with my cookbooks so I can look up ingredients that are on labels.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

You'd be surprised what's in your food. It's not quite so effective if you make everything from scratch, but if you buy the occasional (or often) packaged food, this resource will help you figure out which of your foods have coloring that comes from coal... mmm.

[Jenava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Call me crazy, but I like to know what goes into my body.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

library is ordering!!!

[Brittany Rouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's actually pretty cool! I didn't fully read this because it's more like a dictionary but it's a wonderful reference!

[Saleris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book bought for food ingredient information. It works.