BHT!
Hi all! I know we talked about BHT in another thread one time (forgive me for not remembering specifically which one), and it was the first i had heard of it... I think jenniferhughes mentioned it being in her Dove deodorant! (For anyone who doesn't know: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BHT)
Well, I have always been a huge believer & proponent of organic foods, but I've been paying a lot of attention to BHT (and other yucky chemicals) in my food a lot more since becoming began--probably because I am "forced" to read every label to make sure it's acceptable to eat. ;)
I just randomly checked my gum ingredients today (Dentyne Ice), and it has frickin' BHT in it!! In gum?! What the heck for? I know it's a preservative of sorts, but ick.
I guess I am kind of just starting this thread to share other random things we've all found BHT in...
My list so far:
-Degree deodorant
-Dentyne ice
-Wheat Thins
Also, I have been able to find that it is banned in some countries, as well as in infant formula in the U.S. (but has been approved as a food additive by the FDA)... But I cannot for the life of me find what negative side effects are associated with it! What are they? I want to stay away from it because if it's in jet fuel & formaldehyde, I don't want it in my body! :o But is it kind of just that the possible long-term effects are unknown, or has something bad associated with BHT been proven? Thanks in advance! :)
It is basically used as a preservative in a lot of shelf stable baked goods & cereals.
From the wiki article:
Cadbury Adams continues to use it in Chiclets and some types of Trident gum; Wrigley Jr. Company uses it in Orbit White sugarfree gum; Diamonds Foods, Inc of California also uses it in their nuts. Sun Pharmaceuticals, using the brand Banana Boat, uses it in their facial sunblock stick. Quaker Oats also uses it in their Granola Bites, and is used in many breakfast cereals. Kraft Foods (including Nabisco and Post products) adds BHT to their packaging material to preserve product freshness.
But something weird I found when googleing is that it is also used as a pesticide?!?!?! How is that possible? Here's a link:http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33712
According to that, it's basically toxic to humans!
L&D - ack! That's crazy! Well hey, we eat pesticides on/in our food all the time, right? :P
JessaCita - you should update Wikipedia with your finds, it seems folks have been gathering that list that L&D posted. Yay for wikis!
Oh, also... I just recently found out that my Aveeno lip balm & facial lotion have BHT in them! I wasn't going to be buying these products anymore, anyway, because I discovered that Aveeno is owned by Johnson & Johnson, which does animal testing... :( (Yeah, a real "family company.") :o But it still grosses me out! How can a company hype its products as all-natural, but put that junk (along with countless other chemicals that I can't remember offhand) in there??
AND! My Gilette shaving cream has BHT in it... I'd rather be using more natural alternatives for this stuff, anyway, though, so... Now I know!
Interesting:
<http://chemistry.about.com/library/weekly/aa082101a.htm>