There is a lot of drama behind the food on your plate. Not everything in the food industry is sunshine and rainbows. These 12 insane food scandals prove that to be true. From contaminated foods to intense lawsuits, you will be surprised by these true food industry stories, and not in a good way.
Note: The content of this article does not reflect the Writer's personal beliefs.
Beefy Fries
When you order French fries, you likely assume that they are vegetarian. However, McDonald’s was sued for adding beef flavoring to their fryer oil used to make French fries.
Two Hindu vegetarians sued the fast food giant for flavoring the fries with animal products without telling customers. McDonald’s later announced they would use 100% pure vegetable oil for cooking fries.
Wheat Disaster
Back in the 1970s, the Middle East was suffering from severe drought, so farmers ordered special, high-yielding wheat from Mexico. The wheat was sprayed with a mercury-based fungicide to make the trip across the ocean.
However, it arrived late, so the Iraqi farmers fed the wheat to livestock and children. Widespread mental illness started to affect anyone who ate the poisoned wheat. Consequently, people began throwing wheat into the water, killing tons of wildlife.
459 people died, and thousands had permanent brain damage.
Fake Juice
Beech-Nut was sued in 1987 for selling fake apple juice to kids. The juice was actually made from beet sugar, sugar, cane sugar, corn syrup, and other ingredients. There was pretty much no apple at all. They were fined 2 million dollars.
Half-Real Chicken
A study a few years ago revealed that Subway chicken was only about 50% real. The other 50% was just soy fillers. A real chicken from a butcher was tested as a control and clocked in at 100% real chicken. The company did admit to using soy as a stabilizer.
Mayo Tricks
The environmentally friendly, vegan brand Hampton Creek was caught buying back its own products to boost sales. They used the inflated numbers to fool investors. It did not go over well, as you can imagine.
Horse Plus Beef
Burger King claims to use 100% beef, but trace amounts of horse DNA were found in the beef products at the fast food restaurants. Burger King did move quickly to stop using the specific beef supplier linked to the horse meat. But still, there was horse in the burgers, and that is not good.
Fake Eggs
It may be hard to believe, but scammers in China were selling fake eggs. They would use resin, starch, and pigments to make the eggs look real. People would buy the discount eggs only to go home and discover they were fake. How disappointing! And also probably very surprising.
Watermelon Bombs
Back in 2011, a farmer in China started using a growth accelerator on this watermelon crop. It made the watermelons grow so quickly that they started exploding in the middle of the field. Luckily, the bomb-like watermelons never made it to market.
Watery Chicken
In 2013, it was reported that big grocery chains like Aldi and Asda were plumping their chicken with water. Frozen chicken breasts were filled with water to make them look plump and hearty. However, not many consumers were aware that they were paying mostly for water and not much chicken.
Glowing Pork
Imagine seeing your pork glowing blue like a firefly. That would cause one to worry. This happened to a man in China who reported the incident and was told the pork was likely fed a high amount of phosphorous. Authorities recommended that anyone who saw their pork glowing shouldn’t eat it.
Rat Meat
Years ago, Chinese gang traders bought rats, foxes, and minx flesh and then resold them as lamb. They did put in a little effort by adding red pigment, gelatin, and nitrates to the knock-off meat before bringing it to the market. However, the Ministry of Public Security quickly put a stop to the operation and arrested 63 people.
Lead Spices
Paprika mills in Hungary were under serious scrutiny when a significant amount of lead was found in the spice. The lead was being used to make the spice look better to customers, but it was seriously poisoning people. Many people started boycotting paprika out of concern, and rightfully so!
More for You
14 Junk Foods That Are Making Your Dumber. There are so many bad ingredients in junk food. Almost everything is artificial and seriously bad for us. Not only is junk food bad for your general health, but it can also make you seriously more stupid. Poor nutrition and bad eating habits can make your brain slow down and permanently make your brain unable to function properly.
This article was inspired by List 25 and first published at Spatula Desserts.
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