Science 10: Chemicals in Foods

Reference Books from Gale Virtual Reference Library:  Search inside the book for issues relating to health and chemicals in foods. If you are using these books at home, you will need the password. 

The Gale Encyclopedia of Diets

Nutrition and Well Being A to Z

Databases 
  • Ebsco: Click and search for thousands of newspapers, magazines and professional journals and pamphlets.  Consumer Health Complete offers consumer oriented health content. 
  • Gale: Science in Context offers millions of full-text articles that include national and global publications as well as 200+ experiments, projects, and top reference content.
  • For either database: Begin with a search for your specific additive to learn what type it is.  A more general search might produce results; try: "food additives" or "preservatives and health".

Online Databases: Several universities and/or organizations have created chemistry-related databases that will provide you not only with the formula/diagram of your additive, but with links to articles as well. The following three are recommended:
Smart Web Searches: Begin by targeting your source.  Consider who the authority is on your subject.  Then do a site specific Google Search. If you know the URL, you can target a specific site.  The ​example below is for Health Canada.  Note the domain address canada.ca/ed/health-canada is preceded by the instruction "site:"  
More Smart Searches: Search the US Food and Drug Administration which regulates additives in that country.   (site: fda.gov). Look for any controversy regarding the additive or the category of additives by searching The Globe and Mail (site: theglobeandmail.com) or The New York Times (site: nytimes.com).  If you are investigating artificial sweeteners, take a look at what the Canadian Diabetes Association has to say (site: diabetes.ca).
 
Suggested Search Terms: "food additives"/"preservatives and health"/"food dyes and health"/ "your additive + risks and benefits".
 
Suggested Strategies for evaluating two or more of the factors (social, moral, ethical, economic, political, cultural, environmental): 
  • Consider the benefits and risks associated with the addition of this chemical to our food supply.  Think in terms not only of what these are but who benefits and who is subject to risks. 
  • Conduct a search of the companies who market products with these ingredients to see what they have to say. 
  • Then check consumer sites and organizations (site: .org). 
  • Check the official position of government agencies (site: .gc.ca), and look for academic research with a .edu search.​
Last updated: December 20, 2018