Are you getting what you pay for on your plate?
or
are you getting wood?
Chief among those concerns is the use of cellulose (read: wood pulp), an extender whose use in a roster of food products, from crackers and ice creams to puddings and baked goods, is now being exposed. What you're actually paying for -- and consuming -- may be surprising.
Perhaps most important to food processors is that cellulose is cheaper because the fiber and water combination is less expensive than most other ingredients in the [food] product.
Indeed, food producers save as much as 30% in ingredient costs by opting for cellulose as a filler or binder in processed foods, according to a source close to the processed food industry
Find out if your favorite foods contain the wood pulp... Read here to read the complete article.
From an article in the Wall Street Journal:
Here’s the low-down on cellulose:
Here’s the low-down on cellulose:
- “Powdered cellulose is made by cooking raw plant fiber—usually wood—in various chemicals to separate the cellulose, and then purified. Modified versions go through extra processing, such as exposing them to acid to further break down the fiber.”
- “Cellulose additives belong to a family of substances known as hydrocolloids that act in various ways with water, such as creating gels.”
- “The rising cost of raw materials like flour, sugar and oil is helping boost the popularity of these additives.”
