Tariq Hossenbux's Opinions on Kraft Dinner Food Colouring Additives

Tariq Hossenbux's Opinions on Kraft Dinner Food Colouring Additives

 Daily Mail Article on Kraft Dinner Food Additives

So this morning I saw a recipe for Kraft Dinner with Salsa that I decided I had to make.

 http://www.kraftcanada.com/recipes/salsa-mac-cheese-90357

After I was done the day's work, I ran out to the grocery store and picked up 3 boxes for myself. The Kraft Dinner Original was on special for a dollar each, but I hate Yellow #5 food colouring, also known as Tartrazine. It's what gives KD that unaturally orange colour. It's been linked to Asthma and Hyperactivity in kids, and I think it gives breakouts of acne as well. It's made from petroleum industry byproducts so it's no surprise that it may even have links to cancer.

 http://www.stopkillingmykids.com/the-side-effects-of-tartrazine/

Because of this I bought the white cheddar version which costs 87 cents more just as I will usally get white cheddar when I can too. You have to be careful though and always read the ingredients because sometimes they even put colours in things that are white like yogurt or sour cream. The White Cheddar version has M0321 but I was unable to come up with anything when I googled that. It especially upsets me when they add colours to things like drink box juice  that the person consuming it will hardly  see.  The recipe also calls for cheddar and they had the cracker barrel type on sale so i picked up this Kraft product also. Personally since i started eating good quality English cheddar  i hardly even consider cracker barrel to be cheese. It falls apart way too easily and you can't compare cracker barrel to the nice strong taste of the English Dorset Drum cheese.

Most foods in this country that look orange are coloured with Tartrazine. When i was in England it was refreshing to see that candies and other things are coloured with natural ingredients instead of the artificial ones. Instead of words like tartrazine and lake blue you see spinach or carrot extracts colouring foods. Even their version of Kraft Dinner called Cheesy Pasta has natural ingredients. And Yes I am aware that Kraft Dinner has a KD smart version now with no artificial flavours or colours in it. But what this tells you is that big corporations have more control over politicians and legislation in North America. And that means they then have more control over our health and welfare. It extends to other things of course like Europeans requiring more tests on genetically modified foods (GMOs) before they are accepted on the market. Kind of sad don't you think?

I completed the recipe which consisted on mixing salsa with KD, sprinkling some cheddar on top, and baking it.  Not bad, but not really great. I saved up a little of the powder to sprinkle on top after cooking. We always did that as kids.  The tomato salsa overpowers the other flavours a little too much I think.You never know what a recipe is like till you try it though!