Diet

8 Unsettling Facts Food Companies Don't Want You to Know

Find out where wood fibers, bugs and other strange ingredients are lurking in commonly consumed foods.

by Diana Kelly | COMMENT

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Your Chicken Breast Is Loaded With Sodium "When it comes to processing the meat itself, one thing that surprises people is extra water and salt to give the meat some characteristics and to 'plump things up,'" says Patty Lovera, Assistant Director, Food and Water Watch, in Washington, D.C. Chicken and pork are often injected with a saline solution to make it more tender, plump and flavorful. It also, claim some watchdog groups, makes the meat weigh -- and cost -- more. Pork is called "the other white meat," because they wanted to be an alternative to chicken with their advertising in the late 1980s. "That pushed pigs to have less fat," says Lovera. Fat adds a lot of the flavor in meat, so they had to do something else to improve the flavor -- hence adding salt.

Bottom line: If you're following a low-salt diet for your health or want to decrease sodium in your diet, check ingredient labels for words like "flavor-enhanced" or "added sodium."

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