Scary Ingredients Used in Bread Manufacturing

 Excerpt from http://naturallysavvy.com/eat/scary-ingredients-used-in-bread-manufacturing      

The various chemicals used to bleach flour (oxidizing agents) may include: 

• Benzoyl peroxide (banned in the EU and China)
• Calcium peroxide (banned in the EU and China)
• Chlorine (banned in the EU)
• Chlorine dioxide gas (banned in the EU and Australia)
• Azodicarbonamide (banned in Singapore, the EU and Australia)
• Potassium bromate (banned in the EU, Canada, China, Nigeria, Brazil, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Peru and more)
• Calcium bromate (banned in the EU and Canada)
• Nitrogen dioxide (banned in the EU and Australia)

But with the convenience come health hazards. Let’s take a closer look:

Benzoyl Peroxide & Calcium Peroxide

Benzoyl peroxide has a long history of use in the food industry as a bleaching agent added to flour, whey (specifically whey that has been colored using annatto), and milk for cheese making (mostly cheddar and Italian cheese). A premix of 32 percent benzoyl peroxide and 68 percent cornstarch (genetically modified cornstarch) is used in bleaching flour.(5)

In the U.S., benzoyl peroxide is considered GRAS (generally regarded as safe) when it’s used as a bleaching agent,(6) but both benzoyl and calcium peroxide have been banned in China and the E.U. In the E.U., benzoyl peroxide is banned for cosmetic use as well (the same stuff that’s used in acne creams and teeth-whitening kits).

If your motivation for buying whole grain bread is higher nutritional value, you might be surprised to learn that benzoyl peroxide is a powerful oxidant that destroys nutrients in flour, especially vitamin A and the B vitamins (which include folic acid). This is ironic, because those ‘in the know’ buy whole grain bread for B vitamins!