Education

Banned Ingredients Still Allowed in the US

potassium bromate…flour conditioner?

“I can eat bread and pasta in Europe without any issues.”

Have you ever said this or heard someone else say it? Well, there is something to it.

Check out this article in Food Revolution which highlights products that have been banned or highly regulated in food in places like the European Union, Australia, Canada, China, etc. but still allowed and used in the US.

Some specifics:

Dough conditioners. Chemicals potassium bromate and azodicarbonamide are added to flour to increase rise and strength. They are possible human carcinogens and as such are banned in China, India, Brazil, Europe, and Canada. They continue to be used in the US.

Herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Some products in this category are banned in other countries due to risk to human safety, yet are still applied to food in the US. Namely, glyphosate (RoundUp). If your wheat was sprayed with Roundup prior to harvest as a desiccant, it may be that glyposate in your bread or pasta giving you a belly ache. Roundup was not intended for human consumption.

"A house is not a home if there isn't bread in it."

Flour Trip--an article by Dayna Evans

“‘[People] want the vegetables fresh. They want the salad fresh … They even bring fresh roses back home.’ So why do we settle for purified enriched white flour that’s been languishing on the shelf?”

“Can I buy local chicken? Can I buy local honey? But nobody is thinking local flour. Flour has just always been there.”

“One global crisis was enough to prove that many of the systems we rely upon are dangerously fragile. More regional control could give some of that [security] back.”

“[W]hole-grain flour is more nutritious than products made with white flour; whole-grain foods are more filling and are easily digested by people with gluten sensitivities; the flavor, the taste, the every little thing is better with non-commodity flour.”

“‘This year, the hard wheat that everybody grew had a little bit of a cinnamon smell to it,’ he explained. ‘It’s just the variety, the climate, the water, the soil, it’s what happened this year. Last year it didn’t taste like cinnamon. Next year maybe it’ll taste like lemon. It’s in your dirt, it’s in your environment.’ The flour, as a result, was special.”

There are many reasons to rethink flour and the regional grain economy. Check out one author’s reconnaissance and reflections. Flour Trip by Dayna Evans

eater.com

European Wheat vs. American Wheat: What's the Gut's Reading?

Have you heard of, or experienced yourself, a difference in digestibility of bread or pasta in Europe vs the US? Before you forgo American wheat products check out this article.

Many of factors can influence digestibility, including what happens in the field, mill, and bakery. For example, glyphosate (Roundup), which is widely banned in Europe, can be used as a desiccant on wheat prior to harvest in the US. The residual glyphosate can be problematic in the digestive tract. Trying different varieties of wheat and sourdough breads may also change the digestibility of wheat.

The Approachable Loaf

The Bread Lab Collective’s “approachable loaf” discussed in here in the New York Times. Many bakeries across the US are producing an approachable loaf, which means it is:

  • is baked in a tin and sliced.

  • contains no more than seven ingredients.

  • contains no non-food.

  • is at least 60% whole wheat—preferably 100%.

  • is priced under $6/loaf.

  • 10¢ of every loaf sold returns to The Bread Lab to support further research of other whole grain products.

"The best thing since sliced bread..."

In The Guardian’s Flour Power long read, Julia Child is quoted saying white bread taste “like Kleenex.” In recent history the focus has been on economies of scale to the detriment of flavor, nutrition, and a general lack of connection between grower, miller, baker, and consumer. Our favorite, Dr. Stephen Jones tells the author he doesn’t even like being in the same room with white flour. Read about the resurrection of leaven bread, together with thoughtful farming and stone milling, to complete a circle and return to the way bread should be.

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2019/oct/10/flour-power-meet-the-bread-heads-baking-a-better-loaf

Rebuilding food and health one grain at a time.

 
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