Teens examine food additives
As promised, this column is a follow-up to last week’s column from the 15-year-old who was concerned about chemical additives in our food.
I met with our peer educators. With their help, we researched what they felt was a complicated subject. Our teen committee felt it was complicated because so much of what is written on the topic is opinion. We discovered it was important to examine who wrote the article or commissioned the study.
There appear to be two sides to the problem; those who believe we should not impose expensive regulations on our food industry, and those who feel we need parameters to protect the consumer. We looked at two aspects of the teens’ concerns: comparing the ingredients in our foods to those in European markets, and what is considered safe in processed foods.
Comparison to Europe: Our teens found that American and European foods differ mainly in regulations, ingredient simplicity, and processing levels.
Food regulations and additives
Europe: Uses the precautionary principle, meaning an additive or chemical is banned until proven safe. The EU bans over 90 additives common in the U.S., including specific artificial food dyes, potassium bromate, and the chemical preservatives BHA and BHT. Our teen committee found this to be a better approach because they felt it was more protective of the consumer.
United States: Uses the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) system managed by the FDA, meaning ingredients are allowed unless proven harmful. U.S. foods frequently include added preservatives, artificial colors, and enhancers not permitted overseas.
Ingredients and processing
Europe: Focuses more on whole, seasonal, and locally sourced ingredients. Packaged items feature shorter ingredient lists and rarely use high-fructose corn syrup. While researching high-fructose corn syrup, our teen committee found many articles sharing the belief that this ingredient increases weight gain as well as increased liver fat and chronic inflammation, leading to heart disease and diabetes.
United States: Relies heavily on ultra-processed foods, which can make up a large percentage of the standard diet. Everyday items like bread, ketchup, and cereal often contain added sugars, corn syrups, and extra stabilizers in the U.S. compared to their European versions.
The committee decided to focus on high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) and did a Google Scholar search, followed by a search using my college online library. They found an article in the journal Nutrition and Food Science from July 2026, entitled “Artificial food coloring and high-fructose corn syrup in US packaged foods: evidence form ingredient lists, 2005 – 2024.”
The study’s findings were that artificial food colorings and HFCS+ are widespread in the U.S. Approximately 1 in 6 products contains at least one artificial coloring and about 1 in 8 contains HFCS or other unpaired fructose, with particularly high prevalence in candy, fruit snacks, beverages and snack foods. Products frequently contain multiple colorings, indicating systematic use.
The teen committee decided that more research is needed but felt one positive result from their effort was their greater awareness of the need to read ingredient lists from processed foods. One teen felt we should “plant a bigger garden next spring” with the hope that we can eat more food we know is natural.
I’m proud of teens who are willing to take on a self-imposed assignment and seek facts. As a teacher, I’m thrilled when young people use their thinking skills to examine a topic critically.
Have a question? Send it to Dr. Mary Jo Podgurski’s email podmj@healthyteens.com.