Hey forum folks -
I want to know how all of you feel about the consequences of newly developed additives in food. My question stems from a new article about a large company marketing an acrylamide-reducing yeast in foods. For those of you that don't know, acrylamide has been the subject of a lot of talks in the industry because of Prop 65 and EU Regulations. Acrylamide is naturally produced by heating starchy foods and is found in several categories; including roasted coffee, fried foods, and sugar refining. It has been suspected to be a carcinogen.
This new yeast is considered to be a processing aid, and doesn't require labeling. If added to the label, it would be identified as "yeast". I can't speak to how this was properly vetted, but it took years before anyone identified acrylamide in foods and further to identify it as a possible hazard. Do you all ever wonder what the consequences of adding newly developed additives to products will be in the long-term? We don't know what hazards this new yeast will bring or how it will affect our bodies by consuming over time. Every action has a reaction, so I have to wonder if sometimes what we identify as "solutions" will end up as larger problems down the road.
What's your take?