The nature of the world means that there are always going to be differences in the way in which countries deal with certain issues. There are rarely going to be a duplicated set of regulations, even if nations operate under an umbrella like the European Union.
However, an infographic has highlighted some intriguing regulations in relation to chemicals which are consumed in America.
Parker & Waichman LLP have put together the following image, which looks at twelve chemicals which are consumed in the country, but banned in a lot of others:
Worryingly, most of the chemicals are related to foods. For example, out of the 12, the following are directly consumed by humans:
- Potassium Bromate
- Butylated Hydroxyanisole
- Brominated Vegetable Oil
- Brilliant Blue FCF
- Red 40
- Yellow 5 & 6
- Azodicarbonamide
- RBST
- Olestra
- Pink Slime
In addition, other chemicals that made the list were indirectly consumed by humans. For example, in the case of Ractopamine, this is a feed that is given to pork, cattle and poultry (and subsequently, later down the food chain, consumed by humans). Or, with Parabens, which are used in makeup products.
A lot of these chemicals aren’t necessarily available from the supermarkets in transparent containers, but are instead found within foods and products that Americans consume on a day-to-day basis.
All of the twelve chemicals listed are associated with damning studies which suggest that they cause far more harm than good. Some are regarded as carcinogens, while others have been found to cause allergic reactions.
The European Union tends to take the strictest stance with these chemicals and either bans them completely, or at least attaches clear warning labels to them. In the case of Ractopamine, this has seemingly caught the attention of most of the world and has been banned by no fewer than 160 countries. However, it continues to be sold to American farmers in a bid to promote lean animals.
Interestingly, the United States has the fifth worst rate for cancer in the world. We’ll leave you to decipher the infographic in full and draw your own conclusions on any possible correlations.
