THE ‘CHEMICALS’ IN HOTDOGS
Whether or not you can spell the name of an ingredient proves nothing about its safety
Spelling bees can be fun and educational, but the concept shouldn’t be hijacked to push misleading information.
That is exactly what Maple Leaf Foods has done with television commercials that promote its line of processed meat products containing only “simple ingredients with names that you can pronounce.” The ads feature youngsters competing in a spelling bee who are stymied by the challenge of spelling “sodium diacetate.” They struggle, but fail. The message to viewers is that if kids can’t spell it, it isn’t fit to eat.
But should the safety of food components be determined by the spelling abilities of elementary school students? Is “botulin” safe to consume, given that spelling it is not a formidable task?
Sodium diacetate is one of 26 substances that Maple Leaf has pledged not to use since they do not meet their criteria of being natural ingredients with names that are easy to pronounce. Take some acetic acid — that’s the acid in vinegar — partially neutralize it with sodium bicarbonate, and presto, you have sodium diacetate, a colourless solid that adds flavour to sausages and has antimicrobial properties. When added to food, it performs the same task as vinegar, releasing acetic acid, but as a solid it is easier to use. While sodium diacetate is to be shunned, vinegar is on the list of simple ingredients that Maple Leaf worships in its quest to avoid selling “fake foods.”
Also on the favoured list is “cultured celery extract,” which does not derive its name from the stalks having been exposed to literature or classical music. Rather, the extract has been treated with a bacterial culture that converts the nitrate it naturally contains to nitrite. Guess what! Sodium nitrite is on the list of ingredients the company promises to never use.
Nitrites are critical to the production of bacon, cold cuts, sausages and hotdogs because these foods are susceptible to the most dangerous variety of food poisoning: botulism. This potentially deadly affliction is caused by botulin, a protein that attaches to nerve endings and blocks the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Lethargy, vertigo, double vision, speech problems and difficulty swallowing may appear within 18 to 36 hours of exposure. Eventually, paralysis of the diaphragm and chest muscles can cause death.
The term “botulin,” deriving from the Latin “botulus” for sausage, was coined in the 18th century in Germany when a number of deaths were associated with sausage consumption. Although it wasn’t known at the time, spores of a bacterium, eventually named Clostridium botulinum, are found in soil and transform into viable bacteria in a low-oxygen environment, cranking out botulin, the most toxic substance in the world. Just 0.03 micrograms are enough cause death. That is about a millionth of a grain of salt, 10 times less than the lethal dose of cobra venom.
The inside of a sausage is a low-oxygen, or anaerobic, environment, conducive to the germination of bacterial spores, should these be present. That is a real possibility with meat because animal feed can harbour spores originating in soil residues. Spores can survive boiling, but the toxin they produce cannot. However, cold cuts are not heated, and although bacon and hotdogs are, they are usually not heated long enough to destroy any botulin that may be present. Nitrite inhibits the growth of the botulin-producing bacteria, virtually eliminating the risk of botulism.
Unfortunately, nitrite can also react with naturally occurring amines in food and in the body to produce carcinogenic nitrosamines. This risk can be reduced with the addition of sodium erythorbate, a molecule with a molecular structure and properties virtually identical to vitamin C, but even more effective at preventing the formation of nitrosamines. Furthermore, it is a potent antioxidant and speeds up the curing process.
But Maple Leaf does not allow it because it does not occur in nature and has to be produced by fermentation of rice. It does allow the less effective “lemon juice concentrate” because it is “natural.”
This is pure folly. The safety and efficacy of a substance does not depend on is origin.
In another bizarre twist, sodium lactate is on the “no-no list,” but “lactic acid starter culture” is allowed. Sodium lactate is a preservative that reduces the risk of listeriosis. It is commercially produced from glucose by fermentation using a “lactic acid starter culture.”
For Maple Leaf, it is apparently fine to produce sodium lactate within a food, but adding it is not acceptable.
The whole concept of food being somehow safer because it contains simple, pronounceable ingredients is flawed. What matters is the overall composition of a food in terms of fat, carbohydrates, protein, vitamins, minerals and perhaps “phytochemicals,” substances found in plants that may have desirable health properties.
So, what happens when you compare the nutritional label on a package of the “simple” Maple Leaf hotdogs to a standard variety? They are essentially identical. Both have seven grams of fat, five grams of protein, three grams of carbohydrates and 330 mg sodium. Both are fine for occasional consumption. I wonder if the kids in the Maple Leaf spelling bee can spell “occasional?”
Is ‘ botulin’ safe to consume, given that spelling it is not a formidable task?