10 Secrets the Food Industry Doesn't Want You to Know

Top 10 Secrets the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know

Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the Top 10 Secrets the Food Industry Doesn’t Want You to Know.

For this list, we’ll be ranking the most surprising and potentially negative facts about the products and practices of the food industry that are not advertised or discussed enough.

Did any of these secrets surprise you? Let us know in the comments.

#10: Stilted Studies

Almost every day, news programs seem to reference a new study, and its impact on food consumption. However, most of these programs also do their due diligence in separating the newsworthy wheat from the proverbial chaff. This is because a not-so-well-hidden secret is how many nutritional studies have been historically sponsored by sources within the food industry. Such studies are reportedly more likely to reach conclusions that paint the industry in a good light. This isn’t far-fetched, as there’s clearly a lot to be gained by the Meat or Dairy associations from promoting the potential health benefits of their products. This isn’t to say that all of these studies are false, but maybe do a little digging before you take one to heart.

#9: Use-By Dates

The best weapon to be armed with when it comes to one’s nutrition is common sense. The utilization of use-by dates on food products is important, particularly when it comes to easily expirable products like milk or bread. However, the use-by dates on non-perishable food products can also be rather arbitrary, and put into place by manufacturers in order to comply with legal requirements. In other words, you probably shouldn’t risk imbibing that obviously curdled milk or visibly moldy bread. However, for resilient and long-standing pantry items like cake mixes or flour, you don’t necessarily need to take those expiry dates as gospel.

#8: Vegan & Gluten-Free Don’t Necessarily Mean “Healthy”

It’s important to know whether or not a vegan or gluten-free lifestyle is right for you. Some people have underlying health issues that make this decision absolutely necessary. Other times, the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle occasionally leads those who might not otherwise go vegan or gluten-free into this world. There’s often a presumption that such foods are naturally healthy alternatives, but the truth is that some of these products hide saturated fats, or are too heavily processed to benefit the body in any meaningful way. Eating healthy means a lot of different things to different people, but labels like “vegan” and “gluten-free” aren’t always intrinsically linked to achieving these goals.

#7: Grocery Layouts

There is a definite science behind how grocery stores are laid out, what’s out there for sale, and where it lies with regards to your field of vision. For starters, shelf space is big business, and many established food companies actually pay what is known as a slotting fee to have their products displayed. Moreover, the customers’ eyeline is of great importance to stores looking to induce impulse purchases. Waiting in long checkout lines provides more opportunity for a buyer to idly gaze at items on display. Also, by strategically placing highly sought-after products on the bottom and top shelves, stores essentially compel customers to scan the entire shelf with their eyes as they retrieve the desired item.

#6: The Energy Bar Game

Energy bars are a very lucrative product, yet there’s often still a lot of confusion when it comes to the correct time and place to indulge. The truth is that these supplemental snacks often taste really good, primarily thanks to sugary ingredients and other stuff that really doesn’t make them any less unhealthy than candy. However, the honest-to-goodness energy bars also shouldn’t just be substituted as a snack, since their design is to promote refueling for active athletes. The best bet is just to read the label, and steer clear of those that contain too much sugar and calories, while lacking adequate protein or fiber.

#5: Intentional Obsessions

You know the old Lay’s Potato Chips saying about “not being able to eat just one?” That is DEFINITELY by design. After all, many food companies are in business with the specific intention of getting you hooked on their product. This intentional infatuation can be found within a lot of different foods, but chips are almost certainly a prime culprit. Food companies are constantly targeting what is known as the consumers’ bliss point, the maximum level of satisfaction gotten from a particular product. By adding just the right amount of salt, sugar and fats, the industry has made snacks like Doritos, Cheetos and the aforementioned Lay’s irresistible, and that’s really the whole point.

#4: Big Soda

Remember what we discussed earlier about stilted studies? Soda companies like Pepsi and Coke have come under increased pressure in recent years with regards to how their beverages affect consumers. This doesn’t even take into account how Big Soda has historically helped fund various health organizations, which are intended to protect and inform consumers. Big Soda has also lobbied hard against federal restrictions on their products, despite objections to how high the sugar content is in an average can of Coke or Pepsi. Ultimately, it’s important to just drink what you want, but just as important is transparency with regards to what goes on, politically and otherwise, behind the scenes.

#3: Advertising

Our next secret may be dirty and little, but it’s arguably also one of the worst-kept. That’s because it’s almost a foregone conclusion that we, as a society, are almost constantly bombarded with advertising throughout any given day. The food industry knows this, and have long employed celebrity endorsements to help sell their products. Perhaps even more sinister, however, is the almost relentless and bull’s eye sharp targeting of children by these same companies. If there’s an unhealthy or excessively sugary snack on the market, then it’s almost a foregone conclusion that it’ll be marketed to kids. As a result, the best protection against this sort of commercial assault is vigilant and knowledgeable parents.

#2: FDA Workarounds

There are a lot of ways the food industry attempts to circumvent truth or facts. These can range from making intentional manufacturing errors with regards to net weight [xref] to making false claims about the effects of products on people living with conditions like diabetes[xref]. Sadly, such FDA workarounds have become commonplace, and can even escalate to shocking extremes. Take, for example, FDA regulations with regards to how much potentially harmful substances like rodent droppings or dyes can be included in food. Since that number isn’t zero, there are likely certain companies in the food industry that would include these substances, if it serves to better them financially during the manufacturing process.

#1: Sugar Is Everywhere!

Eating a diet low in saturated fat is important, but sugar’s rise as a “secret health killer” has been exponential over the years, and with good reason. Sugar is everywhere, and can hide in foods we might not expect. Condiments like ketchup and even pasta sauces can be full of the stuff. As can fruity yogurts, as well as the aforementioned energy bars and breakfast cereals. Additionally, research from 2016 revealed that the sugar industry knew, as far back as the 1950s, how their product contributed to heart disease. Yet, for years, fat and cholesterol received most of the attention in the public eye with regards to their negative effects on our health.