The Worst Food Ingredients Ever: Are You Eating Them?

This list of the worst culprits in our food (mainly junk food—just one more reason to avoid it) can help you make better choices while grocery shopping. From Unjunk Your Junk Food by Andrea Donsky and Randy Boyer.

The list is divided into two parts:
Red: Worst Ingredients (should be strictly avoided)
Yellow: Also Beware of (should be used with caution)

Below are the worst ingredients we found in the products included in this book.

Red: Worst Ingredients
• Acesulfame potassium, ace-K (artificial sweetener)
• Artificial butter flavor (artificial flavor)
• Artificial color
• Artificial flavor
• Artificial raspberry flavor (artificial flavor)
• Artificial strawberry flavor (artificial flavor)
• Aspartame (artificial sweetener)
• BHA (preservative)
• BHT (preservative)
• Blue 1 and blue 1 lake (artificial colors)
• Blue 2 and Blue 2 lake (artificial colors)
• Green color (artificial color)
• High-fructose corn syrup (sweetener)
• Monosodium glutamate (MSG) (flavor enhancer)
• Neotame (artificial sweetener)
• Olestra, Olean (fat substitute)
• Partially hydrogenated cottonseed, palm, palm kernel, soybean, and vegetable oil (trans fats)
• Partially hydrogenated lard (trans fat)
• Polysorbate 60 (emulsifier)
• Polysorbate 65 (emulsifier)
• Polysorbate 80 (emulsifier)
• Preservatives
• Red 3 (artificial color)
• Red 40 and Red 40 lake (artificial colors)
• Sodium benzoate (preservative)
• Sodium metabisulfite (preservative, antioxidant)
• Sodium nitrite (preservative)
• Sucralose (artificial sweetener)
• Sulfur dioxide (preservative, antioxidant)
• TBHQ (preservative, antioxidant)
• Yellow 5 and Yellow 5 lake (artificial colors)
• Yellow 6 and Yellow 6 lake (artificial colors)

Yellow: Also Beware of
• Annatto, Annatto extract (natural color)
• Artificial vanilla flavor (artificial flavor)
• Autolyzed yeast (flavor enhancer)
• Autolyzed yeast extract (flavor enhancer)
• Benzoic acid (preservative)
• Caffeine
• Calcium disodium (EDTA) (preservative, stabilizer)
• Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) (preservative, stabilizer)
• Caramel color (natural color)
• Carrageenan (emulsifier)
• Coffee
• Diacetyl tartaric acid ester of monoglyceride (DATEM) (emulsifier)
• Disodium guanylate (flavor enhancer)
• Disodium inosinate (flavor enhancer)
• Ester of rosin (emulsifier)
• Glucono delta-lactone (stabilizer)
• Glyceryl tripropionine (emulsifier)
• Hydrogenated canola, coconut, cottonseed, palm, palm kernel, rapeseed, and soybean oils (potential trans fat sources)
• Hydrolyzed milk protein, hydrolyzed protein (flavor enhancer)
• Margarine (potential trans fat source)
• Polyglycerol polyricinoleate (PGPR) (emulsifier)
• Potassium sorbate (preservative)
• Propylene glycol (emulsifier)
• Sodium carboxymethylcellulose (thickener, stabilizer)
• Sodium caseinate (emulsifier, stabilizer)
• Sodium hexametaphosphate (stabilizer)
• Sodium propionate (antimicrobial agent, preservative)
• Sodium stearoyl lactylate (emulsifier, dough conditioner)
• Sorbitan monostearate (emulsifier, stabilizer)
• Titanium dioxide (artificial color)
• Vanillin (flavoring agent)
• Vegetable oil shortening (potential trans fat source)
• Vegetable shortening (potential trans fat source)
• Yeast extract (flavor enhancer)