What the hell am I eating?

Food is necessary to sustain our lives, so shouldn’t we care about what we put into our bodies?

Manufacturers have been keeping consumers in the dark for too long about what ingredients they are putting into our products. Every ingredient needs to be listed on nutrition labels because consumers have every right to know exactly what they are ingesting.

Under the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (or FASTER) Act of 2021, food manufacturers must note the nine major allergens on labels. However, manufacturers have been getting away with not identifying the exact ingredients inside of items listed as “spices” and “natural flavorings” on nutrition labels because the list can become extensive and not aesthetically pleasing. Also, manufacturers do not have to identify where a product is derived from. Thus, the lack of transparency can lead to food safety concerns and ignorant decisions. Individuals with medical conditions, allergies, or sensitivities such as gluten intolerances depend on the truth to safeguard their health.

According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) the word “spice” on a nutrition label can include 35 unidentified ingredients that could be in your food. Yes, spice allergies are rare, but consumers can still be allergic to them. For instance, cinnamon falls within the “spice” category. My mother is allergic to cinnamon, so why should she experience an allergic reaction because of the absence of ink on packaging?

Additionally, the term “natural flavor” or “natural flavoring” means the flavoring can be derived from “spice, fruit or fruit juice, vegetable or vegetable juice, edible yeast, herb, bark, bud, root, leaf or similar plant material, meat, seafood, poultry, eggs, dairy products, or fermentation products.”

Gelatin is used as a gelling agent and thickener in food, but gelatin can cause people to consume food that is against their ethical values, and/or religion, and they might not even know it. According to the FDA, gelatin can be derived from hides, connective tissue, and/or bones of cattle and swine.

People who avoid swine and/or cattle for religious reasons could still consume it if they were not educated in how gelatin is made, or if the packaging doesn’t state which animal it is derived from. Also, the ignorant vegan who thought they were making an animal-free dish, may be heartbroken to find out that gelatin is made from animals.

The lack of labeling causes people to make uninformed decisions about the items that they are purchasing and consuming. We as Americans should not have to live in fear by eating food and not knowing if we will feel sick or not from it, simply because ingredients were not clearly labeled. When it comes to people’s health, there should be no debate about it.

I am a good example. I am gluten free. I avoid purchasing products that do not disclose their ingredients because I do not want to accidentally make myself sick.

Yes, food labels could become long if manufacturers included every ingredient. But there are a few different solutions to solve the problem, such as making the label larger, which will allow more room for all the ingredients to be listed, and/or including a QR code on the packaging that will take consumers to a list with all the ingredients.

Companies that list every ingredient build trust in their consumers, allowing them to gain and retain consumers.

Katarina Yurjevich and her family members have severe allergies. She is a journalism student at Florida Gulf Coast University.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What the hell am I eating?