

American Foods Chockfull of Ingredients Banned in Other Countries - vindicated
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/02/27/us-food-products.aspx

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mistercow
There's a lot of nonsense in this article, and it's important to take this
source in context. Joseph Mercola is a crackpot who claims that microwaving
food is dangerous[1], that HIV is not the cause of AIDS[2], that vaccines
cause autism[3], and a lot of other patently false bullshit. That doesn't mean
everything he says is false, but it does mean that what he says has about as
much chance of being true as what you hear shouted by a crazy guy on the
subway.

[1] <http://www.mercola.com/article/microwave/hazards2.htm>

[2]
[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/07/1...](http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2001/07/11/aids-
part-one.aspx)

[3]
[http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/0...](http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2009/08/06/Proof-
That-Thimerosal-Induces-AutismLike-Neurotoxicity.aspx)

~~~
diroussel
However the headline does appear to be true.

brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate, olestra -- all banned here in the
EU, but not in the US.

~~~
mistercow
Trivially, yes, it is true. You can also find additives that are approved in
the EU but not the US. What we're looking at here are additives that fall
close to the "safe" line in terms of supporting research, and that's why
different regulatory bodies disagree about them. A _fair_ analysis would be
"Differences in banned substances between the EU and the US", but a
sensationalist quack like Mercola has no interest in fairness or honesty.

The article also includes a section where he says "here are some of the most
common food additives to watch out for:", followed by a list of ingredients
many of which are harmless (unless you have a specific sensitivity), and most
of which are not banned in either the EU or the US. But because of the context
in which they are presented, a casual reader could easily conclude that
sucralose and MSG are dangerous additives banned in the EU.

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mmastrac
This quack does not belong on HN. Flagged.

