Unwrap the truth about your food 👉 ⁠Get the ZOE app https://joinzoe.onelink.me/XebC/9r7grdmf Those long, unpronounceable ingredients at the bottom of food labels - what are they really doing to our health? In this episode, we’re joined by Professor Marion Nestle, a world-leading nutrition expert and author of the groundbreaking book ‘Food Politics’. Marion has spent decades exposing how powerful food companies influence what ends up on our plates - and how little regulation may stand in their way. We dive into the hidden world of food additives and the regulatory systems meant to protect us. While the U.S. allows companies to self-certify ingredients as “safe” without independent FDA approval, Europe and the UK take a stricter approach. But does stricter always mean safer? Marion unpacks how these systems differ, which substances might be harming our health, and what consumers can do to reduce their risk. We explore what the science says about additives, inflammation, gut health, and more. 🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily30: https://zoe.com/daily30?utm_medium=zoe_podcast&utm_source=podcast_platform&utm_campaign=d30 *Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system Follow ZOE on Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/zoe/ Timecodes 00:00 Are common food additives tested for safety? 02:44 The shocking number of additives in a simple loaf of bread 04:14 The real reason your bread is so soft 05:55 The loophole that allows 10,000 additives into our food 07:24 How companies get to approve their own additives 08:46 How to prove an additive is actually harmful 10:27 Scary difference between US and European food regulations 14:23 You won't believe where this common food dye comes from 15:36 A study linking food dyes to behavioral problems in children 18:59 Are the thousands of other food additives safe to eat? 26:45 The US state that just BANNED 44 common additives 28:52 Why food companies say they can't get rid of artificial colors 31:42 The hidden additives you'll NEVER see on a food label 34:21 The surprising reason farmers use antibiotics to fatten animals 36:16 Why your chicken is probably contaminated 40:39 The hidden health and environmental costs of cheap food 43:51 How food companies use the "pester factor" to market to your kids 47:56 The one regulation that would fix our broken food system 51:36 Follow this 7-word rule for a healthy diet 55:13 The childhood discovery that shaped my diet for life 📚Books by our ZOE Scientists The Food For Life Cookbook | https://amzn.to/4amfIMX Every Body Should Know This by Dr Federica Amati | https://amzn.to/4blJsLg Food For Life by Prof. Tim Spector | https://amzn.to/4amZinu Free resources from ZOE: Live Healthier: Top 10 Tips From ZOE Science & Nutrition | https://zoe.com/freeguide Gut Guide - For a Healthier Microbiome in Weeks | https://zoe.com/gutguide Mentioned in today's episode Navigating the U.S. Food Additive Regulatory Program Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety (2011) https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1541-4337.2011.00166.x Oral administration of potassium bromate induces neurobehavioral changes, alters cerebral neurotransmitters level and impairs brain tissue of swiss mice Behavioural and Brain Functions (2016) https://behavioralandbrainfunctions.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12993-016-0098-8 Safety assessment of titanium dioxide (E171) as a food additive EFSA Journal (2021) https://efsa.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.2903/j.efsa.2021.6585 Food Dyes a Rainbow of Risks Center For Science in the Public Interest (2010) https://www.cspinet.org/sites/default/files/media/documents/resource/food-dyes-rainbow-of-risks.pdf Health risk assessment of exposure to ractopamine through consumption of meat products International Journal of Advanced Research (2014) https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Nina-Zaitseva/publication/277264017_HEALTH_RISK_ASSESSMENT_OF_EXPOSURE_TO_RACTOPAMINE_THROUGH_CONSUMPTION_OF_MEAT_PRODUCTS/links/55657f4f08ae94e957205dce/HEALTH-RISK-ASSESSMENT-OF-EXPOSURE-TO-RACTOPAMINE-THROUGH-CONSUMPTION-OF-MEAT-PRODUCTS.pdf Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here: https://gf6hx47iu5g.typeform.com/topicsuggestion Episode transcripts are available here: https://zoe.com/learn/category/podcasts