Originally published at: British customs seize contraband candy packed with the banned carcinogenic and genotoxic ingredients Americans love to feed their children | Boing Boing
…
6 Likes
…and “chlorinated chicken”! mustn’t forget that horror.
‘Chlorinated’ U.S. Chickens Convince British Consumers the Sky Is Falling
LONDON — In this post-Brexit, mid-pandemic moment in the United Kingdom, with its economy battered by recession and the royal family in mourning and turmoil, it is hard to find a topic that unites this fractious nation. But U.S. chickens — yes, the lowly, clucking farm animal, consumed daily by the millions in all 50 states — have done it.Everybody hates them.
The odd thing is that U.S. chicken is not sold anywhere in Britain, and if people here get their way, it never will be.
4 Likes
In the US we confiscate European Kinder Eggs because American’s are too stupid to eat something with something non-edible inside (oddly, King Cakes somehow skirt this rule. Must just be for candy.)
Europe is really protective of their chicken market. Thanks to the “Chicken Tax”, we don’t have any competition for light trucks, leaving Ford and Chevy to make bigger and bigger bro-mobiles.
7 Likes
It’s interesting to see that human health changes depending to the country. Once you are an US citizen, you suddenly develop immunity to the chemicals…it’s so sad to see it when the case is children.
4 Likes
So much for “taking back control”.
1 Like
I’m no fan of weird additives and hyper-processed food, but if we are discussing relative risk, i would put the refined sugars in these things at a higher danger level than the mineral oil and food colorings. But everyone seems to assess risk differently. I like to think i am being fact-based, but i confess to blind spots. Not getting kids hooked on sugary, overly processed, candy-like crap is one of my highest soapboxes, though.
16 Likes
Sure, let’s listen to the philistines that banned GMOs for no good reason. What could go wrong?
1 Like
They’re not even mysteriously cheap. The mini mall a couple of miles from the house has a stall selling imported American sweets at one end, Harribo at the other.
The imported sweets are about £5.99 a bag. The Harribo, £1.25.
5 Likes
Touché on the BSE.
2 Likes
“… my child is running around in circles and disobeying my instructions, it must be a disease” 
3 Likes
That’s minimally processed mineral oil which contains a lot of mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons that can include mutagenic and carcinogenic compounds. Those are refined out of food grade mineral oils.
This is one of those cases where it isn’t banned because it’s been found unsafe for humans, but rather because no one has petitioned for it to be approved. They’re allowed in the UK for things like pan release oils in bakeries, just not as a food additive directly, though mineral oil waxes are allowed for foods (E905).
In the EU, the EFSA’s gave its ok on safety a decade ago, but nothing has been done since.
Calcium disodium EDTA is actually approved as a food additive in the UK, just not for soda. That paper actually recommends its approval in cosmetics (the subject of the paper).
3 Likes
2 Likes
These “american sweets” shops sprouted like mushrooms all over the UK a couple of years ago
Looking at the price list they must be a front for money laundering
2 Likes
Yet tonka beans remain illegal here as well.
1 Like
2 Likes
This topic was automatically closed after 5 days. New replies are no longer allowed.
