Review of the many ways processed food can apparently kill us or at least make us sick enough to wish for death. By a British food journalist, it covers manufacturing of processed foods where even the producers do not think of their product as food. Chemicals used in production are not listed in ingredient listings but can leave a residue at a supposedly safe level. But what about that trace amount times the gallons of soda I have drank in my life? Books like this just (helpfully) ruin my love of junk food ( )

Excellent book to listen to, or read. It is scary but important to know what hidden rubbish is in our food, and use this knowledge to shop better, save money and support local farmers. A must read for everyone! ( )

Before I became a stay-at-home mom to two wild and crazy guys, I worked as a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator at a pediatric hospital. In this role, I provided nutrition education and counseling to children with diabetes and their families. Knowing what is in the food is an important part of managing blood sugars. We always discussed how to read food labels to make informed decisions about daily care. Little did we know that the food label was not telling us the entire story.

The new book, Swallow This, opened my eyes and also left me with many unanswered questions about what is really in our food. Although the author is British and this book is written about the processed food industry and food labeling in the United Kingdom, it still applies to our American system.

Blythman takes us through the processed food industry from top to bottom, dividing the book into 2 sections. First, she looks at the processed food system itself, what you see and smell inside the factories, industry efforts to “clean” labels, the producers that sell to food manufacturers, and the stores where food is sold. Second, she breaks down the processes and ingredients used to make foods sweet, oily, flavored, colored, watery, starchy, “fresh”, and packaged. I found the chapter on packaging to be the most surprising and alarming. Materials and chemicals used in packaging do not need to be divulged on labels, and yet, evidence is mounting that these substances may be leaching into our food.

Swallow This is very well researched and informative, and the writing is engaging and easy to understand. I came away with a much better understanding of how to decipher food labeling and a stronger conviction to eat less processed food. If you are even remotely interested in learning more about how our food is produced, read this book. Your weekly trip to the grocery store will take on a whole dimension. ( )

Now I'm all for science improving food, protecting me from getting food poisoning etc, but I also like my food to be a bit more honest. I'm not one of those people who proudly (apparently) exclaim that they don't eat anything they can't pronounce, I can pronounce 2, 4, di-nitrophenylhydrazine without really stopping to think as I was a science student once upon a time. I would also have missed out on quinoa (who knew I was pronouncing it wrong for years? No-one around me!) and Japanese Foods among others. Yes, I believe that there should me more transparency and less lax regulations about what our food is being mixed with and washed with to ensure that it doesn't cause problems with people.

This is an interesting read and there needs to be more research in this area and less acceptance of flavourings and colourings over food that comes from more core ingredients, more acceptance of natural variations and less addition of things that tend to make my mouth feel strange after eating. ( )