In my quest for more knowledge about the "foods" we are offered at the grocery store, I stumbled across this gem: Castoreum.
Castoreum is labeled as "natural flavoring" in cakes, ice cream, cookies, and flavorings such as vanilla and strawberry. While this is technically a "natural" flavor, I believe you have the right to know where this product is sourced.
BEAVER BUTT! That's right. BEAVER BUTT. Castoreum is extracted from the anal sacs they use to spray their territory and mark it as their own. Apparently, it is actually not a stinky brown slime, it is a good-smelling brown slime!
Knowledge is power, and if you didn't already know this tidbit, well, now you do and can make informed decisions. As a person who agrees whole-heartedly with hunting, using all the parts of a kill, and sourcing natural ingredients, I also believe there should be a heck of a lot more transparency about ingredients simply listed as "natural". I question how so much of this product is sourced and will be doing more research on my own, as I encourage others to do as well.
http://www.businessinsider.com/castoreum-used-in-food-and-perfume-2013-10
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castoreum
The catalyst for my research? I bought an ice cream cone from Burger King, something anyone who knows me knows I am not in the habit of doing, but it was sooooo hot! I began eating the cone part and got an extra "ingredient":
Of course, it was an accident. The replacement cone was without the little paper so the paper inside the first one was clean. But it got the wheels turning as to what might be in the ice cream since it was only $1. To be clear, I cannot tell from the ingredients list on Burger King's website that it contains castoreum. It says "natural and artificial flavoring". I have to admit, it tasted reallllly good. That's the hook. Faux foods get us everytime.
Well that just got real nasty, real quick. Really makes you wonder why they spend so much time figuring out how to turn something so nasty into something the FDA would call food.
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I've learned a lot about foods over the past 4 years. Gotta say this is a new one for me though 🤢
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I agree 100%! 🤢🤢🤢
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OMGodness! I had heard this word before in passing but never once thought... oh Lord, not even going to say it.
Once again you have to ask... can you trust the government and the FDA?
And people think gardeners and homesteads, people who want to live away from the general population are CRAZY? UGH!
Yes, I'd like to have a scoop of vanilla ice cream in a cone, please... Oh, and add an extra helping of castoreum to the top just for good measure.... ick!
thank you for sharing
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I thought it would be some kind of re-configured castor oil to make the ice cream smoother....boy was I surprised!
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It seems like every day I am learning some new fan-dangled way the FDA is giving us some kind of ridiculous ingredient or additive to our food.
What's sad is we don't know ALL of them and then, how long have we been blindsided and consuming this?
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You may already know of this one, it got alot of coverage acouple years ago when it was discovered that Starbucks was using it (bugs for red food coloring):
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochineal
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nasty. I read one that pointed out that the FDA is allowing the companies to say openly on the package that "this product contains NO HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP", but it does. They call it corn syrup. Some will list both. So a sucker who buys just based of the label (which must only be talking about the actual packaging) believes the flavorful chemicals inside do not contain HFCS.
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LOL I ran across that years ago and it sure made me go off anything I was not making myself! Grow it you know it! Sharing for others ;-)
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I'm not sure how I ever missed this Lol!
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🤢
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Well this has really made me rethink some food choices I've made 😕 Thanks for sharing 👍🏻
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That pisses me off!! LOL I am eating what??? Thanks for sharing.
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You're welcome! The more ya know🌈⭐
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Thanks for Share! like your post and love it!
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I really did not know :)) Thank you for telling me!
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That is one of my pet peeves....seeing the words "natural flavorings" in the ingredient list. What "natural flavorings"? It is too vague to even be considered an ingredient. I guess if they told the truth, nobody would eat it---and rightly so! Good post!
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good work..!!
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From your wiki link
It was used for treatment of hysteria. Sounds like we might need some for this thread. LOL
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The point is, the food industry needs to be more transparent, as was pointed out there are many "natural" ingredients that are added and we just don't know what they are.
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Wow. Mind blown. I would never have imagined that! So much of our food is produced in horrible ways. I knew that most chicken was full of growth hormone and antibiotics and that they feed them to the point where many can not even walk. What I just learned was that many get so fat that they actually have rooting flesh on them and get chlorine baths after being butchered. I'm so grateful we have the ability to pasture raise our own meat chickens now.
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One of the articles says it's been used this way for 80 years. That's how long we've been duped. Again, I'm all for using naturally sourced products but at least give us the chance to decide, right?
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I totally agree! How would they even think about using it lol.
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Wierd!
Thanks for sharing this.
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I'm sure there's more out there, maybe even wierder Lol
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I've known this for awhile, but the problem is the transparency. There's no telling how many countless times I've consumed this and other junk like it without knowing simply because something says "natural"
Excellent post, and thanks for doing the research. I am upvoting and resteeming to share with our followers.
Be sure to use the #preppers tag so we can easily follow and resteem your posts.
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Thank you! I have found a few more interesting things for future posts too. This stuff makes me want to flip tables😡
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Agreed. The more we produce ourselves, the less we have to worry about this! That is what I am working on. Becoming as self-sufficient as possible is one of the best preps we can achieve.
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I tried to tell my kids about those flavorings and they thought I was crazy!
I see that you are in Tennessee also. I am south of Nashville about an hour. Where are you?
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Florida😋
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Ummm Y U C K!!! Gross!
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hahahaha
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Is castoreum only used in chocolate flavoring?
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I didnt see chocolate anywhere, but vanilla, raspberry, and some other berries. Its not widely used but its good to always checknyour ingredients for other "natural" flavorings.
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I was sort of making a joke because butt paste is brown like chocolate :)
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Eek...lol
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:)
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