Abstract
Unfortunately, America is not leading in obesity only, but most Americans today are more likely to have cancer, food allergies, chronic illness, diabetes, and autism than individuals from other countries. Perhaps Americans need to focus on the quality of the food supply and its difference from other countries rather than restricting certain types of foods or eating fewer calories. The European Union and the United States foods have significant differences, including that the Europeans do not allow suspected or known cancer-causing agents in their foods. The US model of operation is “innocent until proven guilty.” While Europe takes an exemplary position and will pull an additive or a product off the market if it stands a reason to believe it could be harmful to human consumption, a “better safe than sorry” operation approach. European and other countries do not share the US recognition of their ‘safety,’ therefore these chemical additives are banned in the UK, France, Finland, Austria, and Norway. The EU citizens are known to generally demand higher food quality in addition to regulatory differences than American consumers. The EU has prohibited and restricted the use of many neonicotinoids (chemically associated with nicotine) amplified by a collective concern on the European citizens’ part. These products are associated with declining honey bee populations. The United States food and beverages are entirely different from the same products when sold overseas because of each country’s regulations concerning food additives and human health. This paper involves research comparing the United States food and beverage products in European countries.
Introduction
The United States ranks in the most obese nations worldwide, no secret because currently, more than sixty percent of the citizens are clinically obese or overweight. Obesity has a significant impact on the collective health of Americans; thus, it should be taken seriously. Secondary health conditions related to obesity are anticipated in the near future and could bankrupt the healthcare system. It’s unfortunate that America is not leading in obesity only. Most Americans today are more likely to have cancer, food allergies, chronic illness, diabetes, and autism than individuals from other countries. The federal government perhaps knows or can understand the reasons for such health illnesses, but the public is less informed about the cause; the poor health results from the quality food and beverage supply (Orfanos et al., 2007). Perhaps Americans need to focus on the quality of the food supply and its difference from other countries rather than focusing on restricting certain types of foods or eating fewer calories. The European Union and the United States foods have significant differences, including that the Europeans do not allow suspected or known cancer-causing agents in their foods. For instance, Europeans do not allow some food agents for human consumption, but in the US, there is a widespread Azodicarbonamide, or the whitening agent for cereal flour (ADA) and Potassium Bromate (added to flour to turn stark white and make the dough rise higher. Potassium Bromate increases malignant tumors and benign in the membranes that line the abdominal cavity and cause a significant increase in cancer of animal’s kidneys, thyroid, and other body organs; it has been found in lab animal studies. As a dough conditioner, ADA makes bread stay spongy and soft longer; it injects bubbles in specific plastics to make spongy, soft goods such as flip flops and yoga mats. As other countries, including Brazil, Canada, and the EU, deemed this information enough to ban such products in their food supply, the United States did not consider it.
Background
The perspective regulatory approaches explain the significant factor that leads to the different approaches to food and beverage quality in the US and the US. The US model of operation is “innocent until proven guilty.” While Europe takes a cautionary position and will pull an additive or a product off the market if it stands a reason to believe it could be harmful to human consumption, a “better safe than sorry” operation approach. The US government relies on the organizations that produce the products to prove their guilt has worsened their situation. The US system to approach the quality of food and beverages is unique because there is no other developed country. Its companies can decide the safety of chemicals induced to the foods and drinks directly (Chammem et al., 2018). The US Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have the authority over the food itself regardless of its apparent constitutional authority to regulate animal drugs and additives. It compiles food and its ingredients lists that are commonly considered safe for consumption; it’s neglected and non-consideration of the importance of human health. When they use these ingredients, Generally Recognized As Safe (GRAS), food organizations are protected from lawsuits that could happen under the US liability law. The US product manufacturers and organizations play the role of recognizing their products as safe by adding them to the GRAS list, and the FDA facilitates the organization’s blanket protection from litigation. This is a significant reason for the differences available in the US and EU food and beverage supplies.
Literature Review
Several widely applied by US food manufacturers include caramel coloring, red dye 40, yellow dyes 5 & 6, and blue dye one are approved as GRAS in the US. At the same time, they are associated with allergies, neurological problems, ADHD, and brain cancer. European and other countries do not share the US recognition of their ‘safety,’ therefore these chemical additives are banned in the UK, France, Finland, Austria, and Norway. The EU citizens are known to generally demand higher food quality in addition to regulatory differences than American consumers. For this reason, American food organizations produce healthier versions of their products to export overseas. (Mangina & Vlachos, 2005) Only fewer chemical additives are available for sale in European markets; thus, they get products from companies such as Quaker Oats, Heinz, and Mountain Dew. The US food producers develop additive products because they are only available for domestic use and can never be accepted in Europe. European citizens at one time rejected Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) when the US began using the foods, resulting in a US surplus of soybeans and corn. After using GMOs, corn’s exports to Europe decreased to two million dollars in 2001 after being worth three-hundred and five million dollars in 1995.
The EU has prohibited and restricted the use of many neonicotinoids (chemically associated with nicotine) amplified by a collective concern on the European citizens’ part. These products are associated with declining honey bee populations. The connection between the rapid decline of the honeybee population and this class of insecticides has controversial findings, so the European countries act on one side of the caution and do not permit the use. Failure to consider the environment when making decisions about food and beverage production has a widespread impact on biodiversity. Other countries, developed and even developing ones, quickly understand the relationship between food and beverage supply, human health, and environmental health. Currently, the US food and beverage production activities destroy the planet that the world relies on to produce the food, oxygen, water, and raw material required to support human existence. The ill-health status of America associated with its food supply is a significant barometer for our planet’s health. As America produces unnatural food for our bodies, they fail to understand its implications to the entire food web because it puts human health and the whole planet’s health at risk. European countries understand this interconnection better; thus, the US should follow the footsteps of other countries for its benefit and ban products that damage human health and the health of our planet (Romero, Cruz-Roche & Charron, 2020).
The United States food and beverages are entirely different from the same products when sold overseas because of each country’s regulations concerning food additives and human health. For instance, the McDonald’s French Fries, the UK make their iconic French with a few simple ingredients including potatoes, dextrose, oil, and salt, but in the US, natural beef flavor and sodium acid pyrophosphate makes them and then fried in oil laced with the main ingredient in silly putty. Overseas countries have found better ways to produce the fries without all these extra ingredients that lead to health issues, including obesity, cancer, and diabetes, among others. Quaker Oats mimics look and taste like real strawberries in the US because of the variety of ingredients, but in European countries, Quaker Oats are made of artificial flavors and dyes that no one attempts to sell such product. In the U, a bottle of Mountain Dew gets its bright yellow color from beta carotene (a natural color produced from plants and carrots), unlike in the US, it is artificially colored with Yellow, a petroleum-based dye.
Findings
European countries take a precautionary principle of approach towards the potentially dangerous food additives; they add warning labels or ban to these additives for their citizens. While the US takes a contrary course, it does not eradicate food additives from its food supply until they are proven dangerous. It can take a very long-time, meaning Americans are the lab rats. The fact that the US government allows food organizations to decide which food ingredients, police themselves, and decide the best chemicals and additives safe to use in their products, is a wrong approach (Chen & Voigt, 2020). If an organization can use cheaper ingredients successfully, they will always opt for the more inexpensive color additives, flavor enhancers, preservatives, GMO ingredients when given a choice, even if these alternatives can negatively affect human health. US citizens should accept that nobody is watching out for them; therefore, when they tell citizens about the safety of their processed foods and beverages, they must be telling a lie. Americans should know that the food and beverage industry doesn’t care about their health, so they should care for themselves. Many Americans would be angered if they knew food organizations were selling similar products overseas with healthier ingredients. Every American should know how food organizations are scamming them with inferior products.
Food industries such as supermarkets and quick-service restaurants and packed food, and non-alcoholic manufacturers influence the food environments. The essential source of the impact is the limited number of food organizations holding significant market power. Manufacturing, distributing, and marketing food products directly influences food companies have made available to consumers. The deployment of political strategies and influence of public opinion and political decision-making are effects that food companies make in food environments. It is inaccurate to live with the notion that the US has poor food and beverage standards requiring actions to be taken instead of requiring manufacturers to prove what they did the best; the government should ensure food standards are used effectively (Oviedo et al., 2020). American goods are sold at increased prices across the UK due to the EU tariffs placed on them; the trade deal premise is not the ability to sell but the removal of trade tariffs.
Conclusion
The European Union and the United States foods have significant differences, including that the Europeans do not allow suspected or known cancer-causing agents in their foods. The US government relies on the organizations that produce their goods to prove that their guilt has worsened their situation. The US system to approach the quality of food and beverages is unique because there is no other developed country in which its companies can decide the safety of chemicals induced to the foods and drinks directly. The EU has banned and limited the application of many neonicotinoids (they are chemically associated with nicotine) amplified by a collective concern on the European citizens’ part. The United States food and beverages are entirely different from the same products when sold overseas because of each country’s regulations concerning food additives and human health. The fact that the US government allows food organizations to decide which food ingredients, police themselves, and determine the best chemicals and additives safe to use in their products, is a wrong approach.
Summary
There are significant differences between the food and beverage products in the US and European countries. The EU countries observe food standards before releasing the food to their citizens, while the US gave the manufacturers the authority to brand their products safe without any verification. It is a reason that causes significant health issues in US citizens more than citizens from other developed and developing countries. If an organization can use cheaper ingredients successfully, they will always opt for the cheaper color additives, flavor enhancers, preservatives, GMO ingredients when given a choice, even if these alternatives can negatively affect human health. It is inaccurate to live with the notion that the US has poor food and beverage standards with them standards requiring actions to be taken instead of requiring manufacturers to prove what they did the best, the government should ensure food standards are used effectively. The ill-health status of America associated with its food supply is a significant barometer for our planet’s health. As America produces unnatural food for our bodies, they fail to understand its implications to the entire food web because it puts human health and the whole planet’s health at risk.
Future Research Recommendation
The current research compared the United States food and beverage products in European countries and found that food standards in the US are ineffective because the manufacturers control the policies. In Europe, governments measure food standards before the product is delivered to consumers, and the citizens also complain and raise issues about the products they do not need to let the government ban them. The future research shall determine whether the US has incorporated significant food and beverage standards that benefit the citizens and the planet we live on. Since the EU are the leading producer and consumer of standard foods and beverages, the US should take a benchmark in one European country to learn better how they do it differently from the US. In return, the citizens will be happier and healthier as expected.
References
Chammem, N., Issaoui, M., De Almeida, A. I. D., & Delgado, A. M. (2018). Food crises and food safety incidents in European Union, United States, and Maghreb Area: current risk communication strategies and new approaches. Journal of AOAC International, 101(4), 923-938.
Chen, X., & Voigt, T. (2020). Implementation of the Manufacturing Execution System in the food and beverage industry. Journal of Food Engineering, 278, 109932.
Mangina, E., & Vlachos, I. P. (2005). The changing role of information technology in food and beverage logistics management: beverage network optimisation using intelligent agent technology. Journal of food engineering, 70(3), 403-420.
Orfanos, P., Naska, A., Trichopoulos, D., Slimani, N., Ferrari, P., Van Bakel, M., … & Trichopoulou, A. (2007). Eating out of home and its correlates in 10 European countries. The European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC) study. Public health nutrition, 10(12), 1515-1525.
Oviedo, A. B. M., Pimenta, M. L., Piato, É. L., & Hilletofth, P. (2020). Development of market-oriented strategies through cross-functional integration in the context of the food and beverage industry. Business Process Management Journal.
Romero, J., Cruz-Roche, I., & Charron, J. P. (2020). The myth of price convergence under economic integration: A proposed explanation for the difference in food prices across European countries. European Management Journal, 38(2), 267-276.
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