Top 10 Food Facts That Will Ruin Your Childhood

This product introduced the world to green ketchup – oh, sorry, “Blastin’ Green!”. The green hue was a tie-in to the first “Shrek” movie, released in 2001; but Heinz EZ Squirt also came in other wild colors - from Awesome Orange to Funky Purple. What you may not have known, but probably should have guessed, was that these ketchups were so processed that they were no longer allowed to be called “tomato ketchup”. This is because – in order to achieve these vibrant neon shades – all the red coloring had to be eliminated from the tomatoes and replaced with a whole lot of food coloring.

Given the label that reads “Made With Real Fruit”, you’d think that Fruit Roll Up flavors like strawberry would be made from . . . you know, strawberries! Well, we’re here to ruin your childhood, remember? So, no, there are actually no strawberries in your strawberry Fruit Roll Up … and the actual “fruit” content is minimal. Fruit Roll Ups are actually made from concentrated pear juice and corn syrup. Since fruit concentrate sacrifices most of the fiber and a substantial percentage of nutrients found in whole real fruit, we’d say the “real fruit” claim on the box is paper thin.

Yeah… it’s bologna, and poor quality bologna at that! A quick read of the Billy Bear label reveals that it’s a mixture of 66% pork, and 34% well . . . nothing your body needs more of, that’s for sure. It’s a scrumptious mixture of pork fat, pea starch, corn sugar and sodium nitrate! Yee-umm! And while, thankfully, you’ll rarely see this product in stores anymore, we all know that the Internet is forever… And, so, luckily we can look back in horror that this monstrosity ever existed to begin with and that our parents thought it was a good idea for us to eat it.

It’s perfectly normal to take Oreo cookies and dunk them in a tall glass of milk. But, for breakfast?!? Ehhhh, we’re going to have to go with a big ole “NO”. Cookies are great for a snack now and then; but they’re not supposed to replace the most important meal of the day! And, “why not?” you may ask? Well, it’s a total sugar bomb, for one. Oreo O’s weigh in at a whopping 11.45 grams of sugar in just one cup! You’d probably be better off with straight-up milk and cookies to be honest; at least Oreo cookies are made from wheat flour, while this cereal is corn based.

There are many issues we could take with Lunchables. Like their short-lived Maxed Out trays that – on top of having incredibly unhealthy food – came with a candy bar and sugar water! But, we’re a bit more concerned about the meat that’s been packaged in these variety packs from day one. It’s no stretch to say it’s a tad dubious when the maker’s marketing materials describes the ham as “formed.” And, formed it is, with five different types of sodium and mechanically separated chicken and pork. For the record, actual meat doesn’t have that much sodium... ever.

Remember how much fun it used to be trying to jam all six feet of this wonderful product in your mouth at once to impress your friends? Ahhh… yeah… no… us neither . . . Anyway… Having six feet of gum to play around with sure was fun, but there are a few reasons it was better avoided. First, is the fact that, of course, it’s packed with sugar; second, it also contains BHT, or butylated hydroxyanisole, to maintain freshness. While BHT is a fairly common preservative, it’s also been linked to cancer. Having said that, it IS FDA approved, and the evidence that it causes cancer in rats is “limited”. Still, it might still make you think twice.

Damn you Jamie Oliver… Damn you for ruining our childhoods! We would have been perfectly happy continuing to chow down on our beloved chicken nuggets. But no… In a viral video, the celebrity chef demonstrated how fast food chicken nuggets are supposedly made, by turning skin and bones into a pink sludge. McDonalds defended their nuggets, stating that they’re made from breast meat . . . But, when Mickie D’s did release actual footage of how their nuggets were made a few years later, it wasn’t exactly appetizing. Ignorance is bliss… and now, there’s no going back.

When your orange juice is really water and high fructose corn syrup . . . you’re drinking SunnyD! Before being relaunched in 2009, it was only 5% real juice. One serving can contain up to 27 grams of sugar! That’s more than two tablespoons of sugar! How did we ever fall for this product, you ask? Well, there used to be two styles – Florida and Californian – that we all assumed referred to the oranges used. But the only substantial amounts of “orange” used in this product is the color on the label. Think Capri Sun is any better? Afraid not. One pouch contains over six Pixy-Stix-worth of sugar.

When you’re a young child, nutrients are of the utmost importance to help you grow big and strong. And that’s why it’s recommended that children eat lots of fruits and veggies and limit excessive sugar intake. In fact, the recommended daily allowance of sugar for kids is 25 grams. And, so, if you’ve ever eaten a frosted Pop Tart as a child, you automatically consumed over 60% of your daily sugar allowance in one sitting. Pop Tarts are mostly made from cheap corn sugar as well: corn syrup, high fructose corn syrup, and dextrose – and that’s on top of the already added white sugar. That’s a… whole lotta sugar!

Next time you’re snacking on Cheese Whiz, check out the ingredients list, and count how many times you see the word “cheese”. Then slowly put down the jar and cautiously step away from it. According to a Kraft spokesperson, “cheese” isn’t mentioned in the ingredients because they decided to list the “parts” of cheese instead. And, oh yeah, they changed their ingredients and there’s “less cheese” in it now. We’re thinking they mean “hardly any”. Then again, “zero” is also “less”, so maybe that’s a possibility too! What you’re actually dipping into is a mix of whey, milk and vegetable oil.