Many packaged and processed foods are full of chemicals. This is why it's crucial to read food labels. I don't know about you, but I like to know what I'm consuming. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has been hard at work looking at what chemicals are included in processed foods. Even organic processed foods are not 100% safe from chemicals.
The term 'organic' means that a food contains no artificial preservatives, colors, or flavors. There are roughly 40 synthetic chemical agents that an organic processed food can contain. Conventional processed foods are much worse. They can contain artificial preservatives, colors, and flavors, along with thousands of chemicals. Most of the chemicals are not reviewed by the Food and Drug Administration. They simply rely on the chemical companies to declare them safe. They are given the term 'Generally Recognized as Safe' (GRAS). But are they really safe?
According to the EWG, nearly one-third of the chemicals that are allowed to be included in processed foods have been declared safe by food manufacturers but have not been tested for safety by the FDA. And yet, people are consuming these additives without much thought. Only the nearly 40 additives that are allowed to be included in organic packaged food are truly 'clean' and tested.
If you want to avoid chemicals that have not been tested, opt for organic options when possible. Read food labels carefully. And don't be so quick to trust big food companies who put profits over people.
For further reading, check out this report from the EWG. You may recognize some of the chemicals that are banned in organic foods, but are quite commonly included in conventional packaged foods, such as sodium benzoate and polysorbate 80. There are many other hard-to-pronounce chemical additives and their possible consequences listed in this report. It's definitely worth checking out.