By Wyatt Fleischer, Assistant Social Media Editor
What is that chicken nugget really made of? There is some chicken in there, but not the kind of chicken you think. Many companies, like Tyson poultry, process their meats in an “efficient” way. Once the breast, wings, and thighs are stripped off the bird, all other parts of the bird are reused. The bones and skin are sent through a machine that turns them into a putrid pink, or a banal brown sludge. This is what makes up most of your chicken patties, hot dogs, and nuggets.
The FDA says massive companies need to have at least thirty-five percent real meat in their products. Okay, but what about the other sixty-five percent? That mainly consists of water starches or chemicals, and let’s not forget about that sludge. This gelatinous goo makes up most of the chicken nuggets. Not only do these nuggets have huge amounts of calorie storage, but they also heighten the chances of you getting type two diabetes and foodborne illnesses.
The World Health Organization keeps a watchful eye on companies and jots down its observations, yet this doesn’t change what it’s seeing. The companies, under public watch, turn up their noses to any outcry of foul play in the creation of their products. Several years ago, CBS released a story about Subway’s bread. The bread contained a chemical that was also found in your everyday yoga mat and even the bottom of your shoes. The chemical is called azodicarbonamide. Subway used this to “bleach” the dough to make it whiter. This chemical comes from a genetically modified wheat. The effects of azodicarbonamide are skin irritation, oppression of the immune system, and even the disturbance of hormone levels. Europe and Australia have banned this chemical from all use near food. This isn’t only Subway’s bread, but also Little Debbie Honey Buns, Pillsbury Toaster Strudels, and many items served at McDonald’s, Burger King, and Starbucks. Subway did remove this chemical from its food to appease and serve the customers in a better fashion.
When it comes to peanut butter, as much as humans like this substance, so do our rodent counterparts. The FDA reports an allowance of one rat hair per one-hundred grams of peanut butter. Diseases can be transmitted from these rodents to us through feces, urine, and saliva. Some of these diseases include hemorrhagic fever, rat-bite fever, Salmonellosis, Leptospirosis, and Listeriosis. Rat-bite fever, much like the well known “cat scratch fever”, causes symptoms such as inflammation, fever and vomiting. Bad cases of Leptospirosis show failure of the kidneys, heart, brain, and lungs. CBS reported on many of these unorthodox ingredients found in many foods. To learn more, visit cbsnews.com.
