I'm not a beaver, so stop feeding me wood!

Powdered Cellulose "Wood Pulp"

Before diving into this healthy lifestyle, I assumed that the majority of foods were "made" with "real" ingredients.  Boy was I wrong.  The majority of foods in the stores are not "made" they are manufactured and they are not manufactured with "real" ingredients but rather fillers, preservatives, thickeners and gums. I came across this article a couple days ago, "15 Companies Whose Products Contain 'Wood Pulp'" by Anthony Gucciardi and thought I would share it with you.

Before laying out all the details, I want to make a few proclamations.  

1. You may never want to eat a Wendy's Frosty or Eggo Waffle again after reading this blog post.

2. Cellulose aka "Wood Pulp" is not toxic according to the FDA.

So what is Cellulose?  Commonly known as cellulose, cellulose gum, microcrystalline and many more compounds, Cellulose is a virgin wood pulp that is manufactured using highly toxic chemicals and numerous bleaching baths to form a slurry of pulp to be added to your food and other household products.  Cellulose is used throughout our food supply as a thickener and an extender, meaning it provides bulk to the food, provides structure & reduces breakage.  Cellulose is mainly obtained from wood and cotton.  It is odorless & tasteless, therefore perfect for food products.  Did I also mention it's cheap!  That's the main driving force for food manufacturers.  At only $2.00 - 3.00 per pound it's much cheaper than adder fiber, bran, flour, etc...  Additionally in our obese society there is a HUGE market for "low-fat" or "fat free" products.  Everyone is trying to eat yummy, sugar & fat laden food without the consequences of weight gain.  As I made in my proclamation statements, cellulose (after getting a long bath & washing off the highly toxic chemicals and bleach) is not toxic to humans, claims the FDA.  Although humans, unlike termites and beavers, are not able to digest cellulose, the FDA has put no limit on the amount of "wood pulp" that can be added to your food, but has set the amount of wood pulp added to your meats at 3.5%.  They even give it a cover name.  Who wants to read "WOOD PULP" on the back of your Wheaties box??  For me it comes down to the principle of the situation.  Here is a list of products that contain the same wood pulp found in your Eggo Waffle...

Glasses Frames, Playing Cards, Cigarette Filters, Adhesives, Acrylics Paints, Plastics, Paper, Cleaning, Detergents, Pet Litter, Break Pads, Glue, Roof Coating, Asphalt

Enough to completely gross you out.  Here is a list of 15 companies & their products that contain large amounts of cellulose "wood pulp".  As a reminder, it is ALWAYS best to check the labels of the foods you are purchasing to see if cellulose and other unnatural additives are present.  Some of these companies are removing 50% of the fat found in cookies, cakes, biscuits and brownies, then filling it with cellulose to compensate.  Wheaties Cereal is not on the below list, but sure enough the new Wheaties Fuel which I ate for breakfast this morning has cellulose - wood pulp in it. Check your labels!

DOLE FOODS
Peaches & Creme Parfait
Apples & Creme Parfait

GENERAL MILLS
Fiber One Ready-to-eat Muffins
Cheeses: Shredded Pepper Jack, Shredded Mozzarella Cheese
Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
Ice Cream Shake Mix
Log Cabin Syrup
Mini Funnel Cake
Smoothie Base (Magno, Strawberry, Strawberry Banana)
Flour Tortillas
White Cheese Sauce used in General Mills Frozen Breakfast Bowls

KELLOGG
MorningStar Farms Chik'n Nuggets
MorningStar Farms Chik Patties Original
MorningStar Farms Buffalo Wings Veggie Wings
Eggo Nutri-grain Blueberry Waffles
Eggo Strawberry Waffles
Eggo Blueberry Waffles
Cinnabon Pancakes Original
Cinnabon Pancakes Caramel
Cinnabon Snack Bars Original
Cinnabon Snack Bars Baked Cinnamon Apple

KFC
Cornbread Muffins
Apple Turnovers
Honey Mustard BBQ Sauce
Lil' Bucket Strawberry Short Cake Parfait
Lil' Bucket Lemon Creme Parfait
Lil' Bucket Chocolate Creme Parfait
Oread Cookies and Creme Pie SLice
Reese's Peanut Butter Pie Slice
Popcorn Chicken
Strawberry Cream Cheese Pie Slice

KRAFT FOODS
Wheat Thins Fiber Select
Frozen Bagel-Fuls
Macaroni & Cheese Thick N' Creamy
Macaroni & Cheese Three Cheese with mini-shell pasta
ALL KRAFT SHREDDED CHEESES

MCDONALDS
Fish Filet Patty
McRib
Premium Caesar Salad
Chipotle BBQ Snack Wrap
Premium Southweat Salad with Grilled Chicken
Southern Style Chicken Bicuit
Strawberry Sundae
NATURAL Swiss Cheese (Any Swiss Cheese used in ANY of the sandwiches contains wood pulp)
Shredded Cheddar & Pepper Jack Cheese (Any Cheddar or Jack Cheese used in ANY of the sandwiches contains wood pulp)
BBQ Auace
Sweet N' Sour Sauce
Shredded Parmesan Cheese
Biscuit (ALL Biscuit products contain wood pulp)
Vanilla Reduced Fat Ice Cream (In ALL sundaes, mcflurry and shakes)
Sugar Free Vanilla Syrup (Used in their coffees & espressos)

NESTLE
Hot Cocoa Mixes
Chocolate Carmel Mix

PEPSI
Aunt Jemima Frozen Blueberry Pancakes
Aunt Jemima Original Syrup
Aunt Jemima Lite Syrup

PIZZA HUT
Parmesan Romano Cheese
Taco Bean Sauce
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Breadstick Seasoning
WingStreet Bone-In Batter
Meatballs
White Pasta Sauce
Alredo Sauce
PastaBakes Marinara & Primavera Sauces
Fat Free Ranch Dressing

SARA LEE
Jimmy Dean Frozen Breakfast Bowl
Jimmy Dean D-lights Turkey Sausage Breafast Bowl
Jimmy Dean D-lights Turkey Sausage Croissant
Jimmy Dean Breakfast Entree

SONIC
ALL ICE CREAMS
Sonic Blasts
Banana Split
Ice Cream Cone

TACO BELL (currently under lawsuit for wood pulp usage exceeding FDA limit of 3.5% in beef and Chicken)
Chicken (YES, the actual chicken has been pumped with wood pulp)
Beef (YES, the actual beef has been pumped with wood pulp)
Caramel Apple Empanada
Corn Tortilla
Enchilada Rice
Nacho Chips
Red Strips
Strawberry Topping
Zesty Dressing

WEIGHT WATCHERS INTERNATIONAL
Vanilla Ice Cream Sandwich
English Toffee Crunch Ice Cream Bar
Giant Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Bar

WENDY's & ARBY's
Asiago Cheese (Any sandwich or salad made with Asiago Cheese contains wood pulp)
Fat Free Ranch Dressing (Any sandwich or salad made with Asiago Cheese contains wood pulp)
Blue Cheese Crumbles
Shredded Cheddar, Pepper Jack Cheese
Chocolate Sauce
Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty
ANY Frosty
ANY Frosty Shakes
Milk 1% Low Fat Chocolate Milk

After reading this long list, I as a consumer feel lied to.  But I recognize it is the responsibility of each person to know the types & ingredients of the foods we are putting into our body.  So much for "dietary fiber" which is another great name for...WOOD PULP.

Researched by Jessica Grajeda.
References: Natural Society, Wikipedia, FDA, The Street, MSN Money & Food Freedom