Ammonia used in many foods, not just “pink slime”
A trip to the grocery store revealed ammonium chloride - a salt - present in Wonder Bread and Chef Boyardee Mini Ravioli, made by ConAgra Foods. Ammonium phosphate, another type of salt, is listed on Chips Ahoy cookies.
But ammonium hydroxide, the chemical often used to sanitize the “pink slime,” was harder to find.
That is because it is often considered a “processing aid,” which is not required by U.S. regulators to be included on food labels.
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“If it helps facilitate a process, it’s not required and (if) it’s used at a percent less than 1 percent, it doesn’t have to be declared on the label,” said Roger Clemens, president of the Institute of Food Technologists and chief scientific officer of E.T. Horn Co, a private chemical and ingredient company.
He said ammonia in food is now being used less than before, as replacement products gain popularity.
When asked if their products were made with ammonium hydroxide, Sara Lee Corp, Hormel Foods, Kellogg and ConAgra said they were not.
Hershey said it uses “natural cocoa” in most of its chocolates, but in the few products that use “alkalized cocoa,” it uses potassium carbonate, not ammonium hydroxide.
General Mills said the company does not discuss its production processes. Campbell Soup Co did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
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By Martinne Geller