DailyDirt: Foods Unfit For Consumption

from the urls-we-dig-up dept

Food science has come a long way and makes a lot of incredibly delicious foods that last longer and stay fresher and provide more vitamins/nutrients than previously thought possible. But just as any technology is a tool that can be used for either the benefit or to the detriment of humankind, there's also the dark side of modern food production that has produced some of the most unhealthy foods in history. Here are just a few examples of sketchy food stories that you might want to avoid.

• A factory making counterfeit ketchup was found in New Jersey -- where thousands of plastic bottles labelled 'Heinz ketchup' leaked and caused a foul stench. The would-be counterfeiters apparently gave up on trying to pour out the ketchup and abandoned their ketchup scheme, leaving it all to rot. [url]
• Schools are cracking down on Flamin' Hot Cheetos for being too high in calories, salt and fat. These Cheetos are almost addictive because they're spicy, and kids who eat too many of them suffer from stomach pains and leave a trail of dusty red fingerprints.... [url]
• Monster Energy drinks are being investigated after reports of deaths from possible caffeine poisoning. Energy drinks are sold as nutritional supplements, so they're not subject to the FDA-mandated limit of 71 milligrams of caffeine for typical soft drinks. Some estimate the amount of caffeine in these drinks supplements is over 200 mg. [url]

If you'd like to read more awesome and interesting stuff, check out this unrelated (but not entirely random!) Techdirt post.

Filed Under: caffeine poisoning, cheetos, counterfeit ketchup, food, science