Chicken McNuggets Contain Silly Pooty Chemical
We found this video to be adorable, albeit a bit alarming. Only the US versions of Chicken McNuggets contain a chemical found in silly putty, dimethylpolysiloxane, used as an anti-foaming agent. This chemical is only allowed in the US. Additionally, these American chicken analogue products contain petrochemicals.
CNN reports:
“McDonald’s says the differences are based on the local tastes: In the United States, McNuggets are coated and then cooked, in the United Kingdom, they are cooked and then coated. As a result, the British McNuggets absorb less oil and have less fat.
Dimethylpolysiloxane is used as a matter of safety to keep the oil from foaming, [Lisa McComb, who handles global media relations for McDonald's,] says. The chemical is a form of silicone also used in cosmetics and Silly Putty. A review of animal studies by The World Health Organization found no adverse health effects associated with dimethylpolysiloxane.
TBHQ is a preservative for vegetable oils and animal fats, limited to .02 percent of the oil in the nugget. One gram (one-thirtieth of an ounce) can cause “nausea, vomiting, ringing in the ears, delirium, a sense of suffocation, and collapse,” according to “A Consumer’s Dictionary of Food Additives.”
Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfmoms/detail?entry_id=66729#ixzz1MBPDXWyg
