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What's actually in your food.

Honest, sourced deep-dives on the ingredients hiding in everyday products — the science, the EU-vs-US regulatory gaps, and what it means for you. No fear-mongering, no mystery scores.

High-Fructose Corn Syrup

Alcohol Without the Buzz

One soda puts ~90 kcal straight on your liver — about the same load as a beer. Same metabolic pathways, minus the buzz.

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Red 40 · Allura Red

Same Candy, Different Label

Europe makes foods with Red 40 carry a children's attention warning. The US doesn't. Why the same product splits the rulebook.

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Titanium Dioxide · E171

Banned in Europe, Still in US Candy

The EU banned this whitening agent in 2022 after it couldn't be proven safe. The US still allows it — with no flag.

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The transatlantic gap

11 Things in US Food Europe Restricts or Bans

Titanium dioxide, dye warnings, potassium bromate, growth hormones — the additives and practices that change when you cross the Atlantic.

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Sodium Nitrite · E250

Why the WHO Put Bacon Next to Tobacco

Processed meat is a Group 1 carcinogen — what that label really means, the nitrosamine chemistry, and the "uncured" celery-powder trap.

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Aspartame · E951

Is Aspartame Bad? What the WHO Actually Said

"Possibly carcinogenic" (2B) — yet the safe limit didn't budge. Hazard vs. risk, the 9-cans-a-day math, and the one real PKU warning.

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Seed Oils

Are Seed Oils Actually Bad? The Honest Answer

The inflammation scare is weaker than you've heard — but the ultra-processed-food and reheated-fryer-oil angles are real. Neither hype nor dismissal.

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MSG · E621

Is MSG Bad? The Myth vs. the Science

A 1968 anecdote and real bias — not evidence. Double-blind studies clear it. The honest case for the most unfairly feared additive.

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Potassium Bromate · E924

Banned Almost Everywhere, Still in US Bread

A possible carcinogen used to make bread cheaper and fluffier — banned across the EU, UK, Canada, China. California removes it by 2027.

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Propylene Glycol · E1520

Is There Really "Antifreeze" in Your Food?

The meme swaps the safe glycol for the deadly one. The honest read — and the real EU-vs-US difference.

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Carrageenan · E407

The Thickener Europe Pulled From Baby Formula

Contested gut-inflammation science (and a "cancer" claim that points at a different substance) — but the EU removed it from infant formula.

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BHA & BHT · E320/E321

The Petroleum Preservatives in Your Cereal

BHA is on the US "anticipated carcinogen" list — and still GRAS. Restricted more abroad, easy to avoid.

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Get the whole library — and scan your own food.

TrueFood opens a deep-dive like these for every flagged ingredient you scan, plus cleaner swaps. Founding Members get in at $39, lifetime.

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