How it’s made

Kraft Mac and Cheese: “Turns out, it is mostly milk products and byproducts like whey and milk protein and cheese culture, milkfat and lactic acid. Kraft has recently started taking out the more chemical-based ingredients like artificial dyes and flavors. There is also plenty of salt in there, but to be honest, nothing really super-scary or unexpected for a processed food. A box of Kraft Mac & Cheese is many things: It is a carb bomb, a salt lick, and a fat bucket.”

https://www.mashed.com/123963/untold-truth-kraft-macaroni-cheese/

McDonald’s Nuggets: “All of our Chicken McNuggets® are made from ‘actual chicken.’ The breast meat is removed from the bird and then mixed together with seasoning prior to forming the Chicken McNuggets®. The nuggets are then coated with a tempura-style batter. In South Africa, Finlar Fine Foods is the exclusive supplier of Chicken McNuggets®. In chicken production, Finlar makes sure to carefully inspect and source chickens from approved McDonald’s slaughterhouses. In addition, a controlled distribution environment is maintained to ensure the safe supply of nuggets to the stores. This includes keeping the McNuggets® frozen until they are dropped into the fryer in stores, ready to be served. In store, our cooking procedures are specifically designed to ensure that each nugget reaches the required internal temperature to destroy pathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella. Another comforting fact is that McDonald’s Chicken McNuggets® are in no way chemically treated in this process.”

https://www.mcdonalds.co.za/ok-google-are-mcdonalds-chicken-mcnuggets-made-with-pink-slime.html

Hot Dogs: “Hot dogs can be made with different types of meat, and if you want to know what’s in a hot dog, you just need to look at the ingredient statement. Most of the time, hot dogs are made with skeletal meat, which are trimmings of the same type of meat that makes ground meat, steaks and roasts. The trimmings are ground up really fine, which is what gives them that homogenous texture. Salt is added to the meat, giving the mixture a sticky texture. The proteins within the meat stick to each other, and then water is added. The hot dog mixture also has added nitrites, which give the hot dog a pink color and specific flavor. Nitrites also help protect the hot dog from the bacteria that causes botulism. There are all sorts of flavors added to hot dogs, and each hot dog company has their own unique recipe for what makes their hot dogs taste special.”

https://www.bestfoodfacts.org/whats-in-a-hot-dog-2/

Vanilla Ice Cream: “Real ice cream is made of a mixture of milk, sugar, cream, and eggs, while mass-produced ice cream from the grocery store often contains a stabilizer called castoreum. That’s a chemical produced by beavers… and it’s secreted through their anal glands to help mark their territory.”

https://moneyversed.com/gross-food-facts/

Spam: “The primary ingredient in Spam is chopped pork shoulder meat mixed with ham. About 90% of Spam is pork from a pig’s shoulders. The remaining 10% (or so) comes from the pig’s buttock and thigh, better known as ham. This ratio varies according to ham and pork prices. The U.S. Department of Agriculture does not permit any non meat fillers in lunch meat, nor does it allow pig snouts, lips, or ears. The second ingredient is salt, added for flavor and for use as a preservative. Also, a small amount of water is used to bind all ingredients together. Sugar is also included for flavor. Finally, sodium nitrate is added to prevent botulism and acts as a preservative as well. It is the sodium nitrite that gives Spam its bright pink color—without it, Spam would discolor and become brown.”

http://www.madehow.com/Volume-6/Spam.html

Kombucha Powder: “Kombucha is a fermented tea. It’s made by introducing a SCOBY (symbiotic colony of bacteria and yeast) into brewed black or green tea, and sugar. The mix is left to ferment for a week to a month. The result is a fizzy drink that can vary from sweet to vinegary, depending on how long it ferments. Fruit, herbs and spices can be added for a second fermentation, to add additional flavor.” https://theknow.denverpost.com/2016/12/06/what-is-kombucha-how-to-make-kombucha-at-home/130285/