ADVERTISEMENT

This year, the global food market revenue stands at around 9.36 trillion US dollars. For comparison, Germany's entire economy is valued at "just" $4.4 trillion. What's more, it's estimated that the figure should continuously increase between 2023 and 2028 by 38.46 percent and reach $12.97 trillion.

But big money brings tough competition, and businesses may try all sorts of tactics to get an edge.

Interested in the practices of this sector, Reddit user Lilyxrx made a post on the platform, asking everyone, "What's a secret the food industry doesn't want you to know?" Turns out, many more wanted to know, too. As of now, the post has 4.6K upvotes and 3.5K comments. Here are some of the most interesting ones.

#1

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Beekeeper checking in - there is no such thing as organic honey. I do not treat my bees with chemicals, but I have no idea where they get their nectar. A bee can fly up to three miles from a hive to get nectar. It is virtually impossible to guarantee they have not gotten nectar from a chemically treated source.

toad__warrior , Bianca Ackermann Report

Add photo comments
POST
Daniel Atkins
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or found a can or cup containing soda. Now that it is winter they visit convenience store trash cans.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
You May Also Like:
#2

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets The American FDA takes food additive safety claims from corporations at face value. If a corporation has done internal testing and says it’s safe the FDA approves it. In the EU, Canada, Australia, New Zealand etc if a corporation wants to get an additive approved, the governments have their own food labs. They will take your testing procedures/results and then do their own testing to see if they think your additives are safe, and then approve or deny accordingly. Same goes for medicines in farm animals. Canada won’t allow BGH (bovine growth hormone) as it shows up in the milk. America gets angry because they can’t sell dairy to Canada and the EU but we have rules banning widespread use of Antibiotics and hormones in farm animals. If you are ever travelling outside of America, pick up some food products off the shelf that look like the American brands and read the ingredients list. It’s probably half as long. I’ll let you work out that obesity epidemic cause for yourselves.

SatanLifeProTips , ckstockphoto Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Basically during the 80s, testing was outsourced to the producers of the products being tested. Same thing happened in the pharmaceutical industry. Regan's big push for deregulation at work.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

We managed to get in touch with the author of the post, and they were kind enough to have a little chat with us about it.

"I own a TikTok account where I repost questions from 'Ask Reddit' and the replies they receive, so I thought I might as well create my own thread," Lilyxrx told Bored Panda about its origins.

#3

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Five Guys- not really a secret but everything was fresh as could be, we did not have a freezer at all only the fridge. Every morning the burgers were rolled into balls and weighed to make sure all were the same. Bread made fresh from local factories. Potatoes straight from Idaho or Washington. Freshly cut and washed 3 times to remove the starch before being cooked. All veggies were labled by date for freshness. Honestly probably one of the cleanest places ive worked at.

Also at the register every single person would ask why it was so expensive but proceeded to buy it anyway. As if I could change the price for them.

Collegelifee , Jonathan Borba Report

Add photo comments
POST
Tammilee Truitt
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's nice to hear this. Used to go occasionally to a store east of Dallas. Was really, really good. Last one I went to southwest of Dallas was awful and dirty. So much salt on everything. It was just a bad store/management. After reading this I'll try it again giving the chance.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#4

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets They're making BANK windfall record profits right now under the guise of "inflation" and "supply issues". 

lancert , Eduardo Soares Report

Add photo comments
POST
Mel Colley
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Who and when is this going ti stop? Answer: Not any time soon. Too many powerful people are getting paid!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT

After going through the discussion their post has ignited, the Redditor has noticed that one theme definitely stood out from the rest. "From what I can see, it seems that the food industry is more unsanitary than we think," they said.

And they're probably right. Unsafe food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites, or chemical substances can cause more than 200 different diseases, ranging from diarrhea to cancer. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that around 600 million – almost 1 in 10 people – fall ill after eating contaminated food each year, resulting in 420,000 deaths and 33 million healthy life years (DALYs).

#5

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Chef here. It’s salt and fat. If you have a question about anything it’s salt and fat.

LongRest , Louis Hansel Report

#6

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Cows make milk not because they are cows but because they are mothers

Useful_Transition883 , Daniel Quiceno M Report

Add photo comments
POST
XenoMurph
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's what "cow" means. If she's not a mother she's a hiefer. We have no name for that species in English, so we use the descriptor "cow"

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu

However, as we can see from this list, not all parts of the industry are working as they should (and there are plenty of things we regular folks don't know about) even though we all depend on it.

ADVERTISEMENT

Lilyxrx believes that we often end up in the dark because of greedy businessmen and corporations, as industry leaders would rather chase money and cover up their questionable conduct instead of doing everything by the book.

Sadly, there are plenty of examples that support their words. And we don't need to look that far back to find something. On the night of October 4, Homeland Security and FBI agents teamed up for a raid on Gerber's Poultry in Ohio, United States, and found over two dozen children (mostly said to be from Guatemala) who were illegally employed in meat processing and sanitation.

Hopefully, with time and effort, the industry becomes more transparent.

#7

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets The reason restaurant food tastes better than what you make at home is probably because it was drowned in butter or oil.

Also MSG is in nearly everything. Totally safe and delicious. And it definitely isn’t what is giving you a migraine. The fact you ate 4000 calories and 3 times your daily salt intake is probably what gave you the headache.

Greylings , RF._.studio Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sue Denham
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The reason restaurant food tastes better than what I make at home is because I didn't have to cook it.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#8

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Unless it’s a health conscious food joint you’re eating at, the food we serve is designed for maximum taste. It’s either dense with fat and sugar, or fat and salt . E.g. Those mashed potatoes you like? Made with cream, butter, and salt. The quiche? made on cream, not milk. Etc, etc.

petuniasweetpea , Rene Asmussen Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sky Render
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It is amazing just how much salt, fat and sugar enhance flavors. Try making a cheese sauce with cornstarch and only a pinch of salt instead of butter and flour and you'll find out really fast just how much of the "cheesy" flavor of that sauce is from the fat and salt in the butter!

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#9

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets At least up until the pandemic hit, there is a 100% chance that you've eaten at a restaurant where 1 or 2 of the people directly handling your food were legitimately sick enough that they should have stayed home, but they had to come in to work anyway because they couldn't get their shift covered and they can't get a doctor's note without insurance or the money for a copay.

SanShadam , Jérémy Stenuit Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sonja
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not the case in Germany. Sick leave is mandatory and allowing sick workers in can get your restaurant closed quickly by the health department. They are very strict and allow anonymous reports. Also sick leave is always paid

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#10

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Everything on the Mexican menu uses the same ingredients. Just built it different and give it a different name

Tortillas
Cheese
Salsa
Beans
Rice
Meat

Tacos, burrito, chilaquiles, tostada, chimichanga

It's all the same thing!

* written by a Mexican cook

SoCalChubXL , Herson Rodriguez Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#11

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets The amount of sugar that goes into costco bakery products is absurd, especially the apple pie. That being said; Costco does not f**k around when it comes to food safety. Every area that is responsible for producing food is most likely cleaner than a white room for producing computer parts. There are virtually zero roaches, we found one in the bakery once and shut it down until the exterminator did his thing that very night. Someone returned a package of dinner rolls because their child had bit into one and a sharp piece of metal was in it, within less than 2 minutes every manager in the building was doing an investigation that led all the way up to the regional manager and his boss for several hours and determined that it had come off of a piece of machinery before it reached our location. We throw away rotisserie chickens if they have left (even for a few minutes) the shelf and someone tries to put it back.

Deathnachos , Clarisse Dsbt Report

#12

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Dragon fruit isn’t an exotic Asian fruit. It’s a cactus fruit, and as such are native to the Americas and can even be grown in the US.

ferretmonkey , engin akyurt Report

ADVERTISEMENT
#13

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets The trick to good fried rice is old rice. It has to dry out for a bit in the fridge.

TwoFingersWhiskey , Louis Hansel Report

#14

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Many of the cooks making your food are high and/or drunk.

Dont_ban_me_bro_108 , Louis Hansel Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sleestak
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not so much a secret to anyone who's spent even the shortest time in the industry. One summer, 3 weeks into a summer job, and I knew everyone

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#15

It's not exactly a secret, but it's not common knowledge either.

Except for infant formula, dates are not an indicator of the product’s safety and are not required by Federal law. Phrases like "Best by [ date ]" or "Sell by" or "Use by" aren't regulated or required, and they are not (outside of baby formula) a statement of safety.

Manufacturers would rather have you throw out product, wasting it, and buying more, than stockpiling. So they put "best by" or "use by" dates even on non-perishible items like *salt*.

RodeoBob Report

Add photo comments
POST
MoMcB
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not a thing in the UK, as we use shelf life testing to determine the dates. A best before date means exactly that, it tastes best before that date, it can still be perfectly safe to eat. Use by should be stuck to, it's usually on things like meat and dairy. Using modern packaging means that bacterial growth is over safe levels when it passes. I'm a Quality manager for a food company.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#16

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets the organic industry is a f*****g scam.

there are levels to this s**t, and yes, you can purchase food that is grown and/or sourced more ethically than other options, but don't kid yourself. it was most likely still grown on a factory farm, and chemicals were used, etc. etc. just different chemicals.

and a lot of it comes from china. no s**t.

cubs_070816 , FitNish Media Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sonja
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That doesn't count in every country though. In Europe the labels are strictly controlled and it has to fit the criteria that you can read up in the legal regulations.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#17

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets I'm a trucker who hauls mostly refrigerated freight. I pick up at a lot of slaughterhouses. You really, really don't want to know what those places are like; let alone the conditions at feedlots or CAFOs.

TruckerBiscuit , Yassine Khalfalli Report

Add photo comments
POST
Aaron Parker
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Eating meat is not morally wrong. Animal cruelty is morally wrong. Don't think you're so high and mighty that eating meat is beneath you as a species. Anthropologists tell us our brains evolved to be so large specifically after we starting cooking and eating meat. Make no mistake, your cat would have no problem eating your meaty corpse if you suddenly died alone in your apartment and the catnip was gone.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#18

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets The "natural flavors" are just big jugs of glycerin with hyper concentrated flavoring in it. Banana flavoring is fairly flammable.

Source: Worked in food manufacturing

irony_in_the_UK , Vinicius "amnx" Amano Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Can confirm. My degree is in Food Science. Green Apple = actylaldehyde. Butter? That's dyacyl ketone. Dimethyl Sulfide tastes like corn. And yeah I have heard that about banana flavoring but I can't remember the name of it.

Sonja
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Germany there are three levels of flavourings, one is artificial flavour generated in a lab, then there's natural flavour that comes from a natural source, but not necessarily the thing it's supposed to taste like, for example strawberry flavour comes from tree bark, which is natural but not real strawberries, and a third category that can only be labelled if it comes from the actual fruit it advises, but I don't know how to translate the labelling.

Load More Replies...
Fora Nakit
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's the American definition of "naturally flavored", it doesn't apply everywhere.

Bobby
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Then what is the legal definition from your country. I know we are doing it wrong, everyone says so. Few people ever give a good solid source showing why they do it better. If your going to bash without offering any kind of help to the solution you're no different than our politicians

Load More Replies...
JP Doyle
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Funny thing about the banana flavor: Everyone loves it, but complains because it doesn't taste like real bananas. This is because the bananas it tastes like went extinct almost 50 years ago due to a virulent fungal disease. But the candies wouldn't taste the same if they didn't use the original chemical flavoring for bananas.

Load More Replies...
StrangeOne
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The flavouring isn't always accurate to what it's labelled as. Blueberry candy canes taste more like butterfly pea tea. Grape I swear tastes more like hibiscus than grape. In fact, in the labs grape refers to the colour, not a flavour.

SadieCat17 (she/her)
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"However, if you dig in to this tale a little it soon becomes clear that there is little or no verifiable source that artificial banana is based on Gros Michel." https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20140829-the-secrets-of-fake-flavours For all the people in the comments rambling about the extinct banana that flavoring is based off (that isn't even extinct because people still cultivate it on a small scale).

Dathan Long
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Trucker here with a hazmat license, food flavoring is highly flammable. Picked up a load of peach flavor it had red flammable stickers all over it. That stuff is poison to your body. That being said I freaking love peach rings!!

Ivy at Eve
Community Member
10 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not only banana flavouring. Source: I work in shipping and don't try to think of all those containers with food additives declared as dangerous cargo when buying certain products. My favourite however is caffeine, that falls in the category of poisonous (class 6.1 for those curious ones).

Sandra Wosk
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Natural flavours also come from Beavers butts..look it up.. its called castoreum..

Marc Wilson
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Banana flavour doesn't even taste like (current) bananas, which are mainly Cavendish. The flavouring is based on the now-extinct Gros Michel, the previous monocrop.

moggie63
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think I'll go flambé a banana in brandy and syrup. Yum.

Tiff G
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I mean, bananas are also low-key radioactive (as are many other delicious foods), sooo... 😛

Pollymere
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I miss artificial colours. My family seem to be allergic to the natural ones.

Michelle C
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That actually makes me feel a lot better, I am allergic to certain natural sweeteners and I have to be careful about natural flavors as a result.

RageOfAquarius
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Natural Vanilla and Strawberry flavorings come from the musk/scent glands of a beaver.

Deleila Charlie
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Natural vanilla comes from the vanilla bean. These dried out looking black sticks. Only a few alcohol drinks and some perfumes have beaver gland in it for vanilla scent

Load More Replies...
Tumbah
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Natural flavors are also allergens for many people. If you have fragrance allergies, you really should stay away from foods with "natural flavor". Also watch out for 'fragrance' and 'parfum', as both are unregulated and can be made from all sorts of nasty chemicals and irritants.

Binky Melnik
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Also, the people who are terrified of “chemicals” in their food and cosmetics should be wildly grateful for artificial flavors and “chemical” versions of things like vitamins and other supplements: the artificial ones don’t contain all the extraneous stuff the source does, and so cuts down greatly on allergens.

Load More Replies...
R.A. Haley
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Now we have something other than potato chips to start campfires with.

A B C the Third
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

*tries to ignite the banana in my hand* *disappointed face* it doesn't work like that, does it?

Dane
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Many flavorings are flammable (flash point below 100 degrees F). I worked in a candy factory, and many natural flavorings are flammable or combustible (eg, citrus flavorings), and nearly all artificial flavorings are alcohol based. They are super-concentrated (think ml's of flavor for 100 lbs of candy). In fact, we were having difficulty meeting demand, and had a co-packer produce some candy for us. Their machinery was not able to deliver the minute amounts of some flavors accurately, so we cut the flavoring with pure grain alcohol so they could use at a greater, more controllable rate. The end product was indistinguishable.

Kylie
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In Australia 'tomato sauce' is mostly made from apples. Go figure.

Ovata Acronicta
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dad worked SysAdmin at a place that processed certain things into flavoring for a bit. A bit different than this post, so more like vegetable-ish flavors. Onion day and chili day were rough at the facility, tho the onion day didn't bug him. I thought the whole thing sounded very cool.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#19

When you give back a pack of ketchup to the restaurant because you didn’t use it, they thank you and smile and then they throw it out because you’re probably a weirdo who injected bleach into the ketchup pack.

mdotca Report

Add photo comments
POST
Shane S
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Same with napkins. If you grab a huge pile of napkins and leave them all in a neat pile on your table, they get thrown away. It’s a safety and hygiene thing. Take just what you need.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#20

I used to work in a sliced bread factory. The amount of bread that gets thrown in the trash for being just a little overcooked after a mechanical failure is astonishing. I always thought they should give it to homeless shelters something like that

CptZigouille Report

Add photo comments
POST
Russell Rieckenberg
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In the food factories where I worked, food waste was sold to pig farms, but maybe pig farms don't want bread.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#21

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets A lot of the processed cheese and cream cheese is all the same recipe we just switch the labels and packaging for the different brands we run. Source: I work in a cheese factory in a company that services 75% of America's domestic market

anon5678903276 , Alana Harris Report

Add photo comments
POST
SM
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This goes for a lot of products. The same thing goes into the store brand box as goes into the name brand box.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#22

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets King crab and Maine lobster prices that restaurants pay are cheaper than they have been since even before the pandemic, yet we still charge more than ever before

dserf420 , Joy Real Report

Add photo comments
POST
SM
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Prices are based on "what the market will bear", if people think everything should be costing more because of inflation, then the restaurants will certainly take advantage of this and charge more.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#23

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Pringles (and baked Lays/similar) are made of rehydrated and compressed rejected/excess parts of potatoes that go into regular chips. I learned that from my dietician at work and thought that was odd. I still like them over regular chips.

bluesasaurusrex , Arnold Antoo Report

#24

the inside of ice machines are covered in mold unless cleaned regularly. in the many different restaurants I worked in, exactly 1 cleaned the inside of their ice machine on a regular basis.

Kittenfabstodes Report

Add photo comments
POST
Bottle Opener
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"SLIME in the ice machine!" -Marvin Zindler, Eye Witness News (Houston, Texas in the '80s.)

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
#25

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Well - I work at Dominos, and we are kept afloat by the people who don't coupon and pay full menu price. You people are the unsung heroes of labor.

LoweeLL , Alan Hardman Report

#26

That all vodka is nothing more than pure grain alcohol cut to proof with water. Source: was lab tech in an alcohol plant. We made everything from Walgreens vodka to Smirnoff vodka. The only difference was the bottle and label.

Gelatotim Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sleestak
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Largely agreed. There are premium vodkas that somehow create flavor with the U.S. required 5 times distillation. Those are great for shots and sips. But if you're mixing in a Bloody Mary, Screwdriver, Martini (especially if it's dirty), you're wasting your money on a premium. Don't go plastic bottle rock bottom, but save your money for something else.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#27

Diet, not exercise, is the main factor in determining weight gain/loss

W1nston1234 Report

Add photo comments
POST
SM
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The body is extremely efficient, it requires a LOT of exercise to burn of even a modest number of calories. On the other hand, exercise is needed for all around good health.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#28

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets Buffalo wings are not made of buffalo, they're made of chicken.

Buffalo don't even have wings.

AutisticPenguin2 , Clark Douglas Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I believe they are called Buffalo Wings because they were first popularized in Buffalo, New York.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#30

The secret is that they can tell us all their secrets and we still eat it because we are lazy, short-term-thinking f***s.

jamie831416 Report

Add photo comments
POST
René Sauer
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Or maybe because not every one has the space, money or other resources to do something about it.

View more commentsArrow down menu
#31

When you order "Shrimp fried rice" there isn't actually a shrimp frying the rice.

klokar21 Report

#32

Subway- if it’s 12 inches or 11 inches, you’re getting the same amount of bread. Sometimes we’re just too lazy to stretch the bread

INYOURCLOSET4 Report

#33

Alot of cooking is just the reheating of prep and Chef Mike (the microwave) gets used alot more than you think.

RabbitInTheHead Report

Add photo comments
POST
Andy Cran
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

for UK readers this is just like"wetherspoons"....the steaks are fresh cooked though but mostly everything thing is pinged

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#34

The reason orange juice tastes consistently the same year round, even though it's a crop harvested once a year, is because citrus oils and citrus flavor are added back to different batches and blended all together. Similar to how whiskey is blended from multiple barrels to make it consistent.

The difference is that even though extra stuff is added back into the OJ, it doesn't need to be labeled because the flavors contain all ingredients from oranges (FTNF-from the named fruit) so the FDA doesn't mandate labeling additional ingredients.

PensiveDoughnut Report

ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#35

Olive Garden makes all their necessary pastas for the whole day from 8-10am every morning. Partially cooked. So when an order comes through, they grab a serving of the needed pasta style and flash cook them in hot water. Also, it’s just the brand, Barilla.

Deerhunter86 Report

#36

Ooh I got one. Lots of manufacturing places nowadays are trying to push for "less than daily" sanitation. You heard that right. They want to use these machines all day long, not clean them overnight, and start up like normal the next day.

Currently working in a place that just started this practice. USDA is on board with it, they only care that the product tests well for culture counts before it's shipped off.

So when you have stuff in your fridge and it seems to expire faster than it used to it's probably because you got some 2 day old room temperature product mixed in with the fresh stuff.

Grrimafish Report

Add photo comments
POST
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa)
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The only places I've worked that do this are wineries. Wine is a very inherently antimicrobial product so you can get away with running the same equipment without a clean. Especially since the next run is only about four hours out.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#37

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets When I worked at a mass production bakery the chocolate for the chocolate covered doughnuts came in giant frozen blocks of 4x4 peices and contained no actual chocolate what so over. When unfrozen it was like some sort of nasty smelling paraffin wax that I would break up with a hammer and place into a melter that would then pour over the doughnuts.

gil_beard , Anna Sullivan Report

Add photo comments
POST
MoMcB
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not allowed to call it chocolate in the UK, it's a chocolate flavour coating.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#38

Farm animals lead absolutely terrible lives.

zipzap21 Report

Add photo comments
POST
Egg Lady
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

There are exceptions- my chickens run free outside in the country and are only locked up at night for their own protection. They give me eggs and I give them food-- they are not food-- they are never butchered.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#39

most meat you buy in stores is packed with water and additives that add taste so you won't notice that it's all water. most meat shrinks when you fry it, the more shrinkage the more water was in the product in the beginning.

lilbabymarshmallow Report

Add photo comments
POST
Sharkie
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't think this is true in Europe... We have regulations and rules about water content in meat and additives.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#40

“No Such Thing As Organic Honey”: 50 People Share Food Industry Secrets You technically can't get addicted to sugar, but sugar dependence is very real and can give you similar withdrawal symptoms to caffiene withdrawal. Your brain gets dopamine when you eat sugar, which means that most companies put as much sugar in their products as they can get away with so you feel good by eating them.

Tingcat , Denny Müller Report

Add photo comments
POST
SM
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Humans can get addicted to almost anything. There is chemical addiction where the chemical adds to the addiction, but that isn't to say that an addiction without that is easy to break the habit.

View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#41

Fancy restaurants' regular food tastes so good because it's DROWNED in butter and MSG. I dishwashed at a fancy seafood/steakhouse on the water and an average serving of asparagus had about a quarter stick of butter in it. People always asked what their "trick" with the asparagus was.

MeatyOakerGuy Report

#42

I was a young lad working at Church's Fried Chicken during the summer, many years ago. The owner refused to throw out chicken that had already gone bad; to the point where you'd gag if you smell them. Apparently if you batter them bad boys up and deep fry them, the rancid smell goes away. His customers never knew they were eating spoiled chicken.

Dirt_E_Harry Report

#43

Had a lady tell me that she doesn’t eat ketchup. When I asked her why she said that she was once the safety manager at a Heinz factory. Her job was to test for contamination of the batches. She said an alarm would go off when the levels got too high, and she would have to go and test the batch with a test strip. She said that no matter what the strip showed she would turn off the alarm and tell them to continue. She said she watched all kinds of s**t go in the batch. Spiders, bugs, etc.

Shucked Report

Add photo comments
POST
Russell Rieckenberg
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Has nothing to do with ketchup per se. There's no way you can avoid eating bugs or such things as mouse/rat hair. Doesn't matter where you get your food or ingredients. That's a simple fact of life.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#44

That fancy dessert you bought at an expensive sitdown place was purchased frozen, warmed up, and sprinkled with chocolate to make it look like they made it themselves.

transluscent_emu Report

#45

Your local health dept is probably overworked and understaffed. You should take an active role in evaluating if the restaurant is up to your standards.

humanoid_typhoon Report

Add photo comments
POST
Birgit Sommer
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Excuse me, I need to see your kitchen, freezers, pantry and storage before being seated.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#47

The apples you are buying from the produce department are anywhere from 9-14 months old.

fluffy_boy_cheddar Report

#48

Organic means nothing. Same with all natural. They are marketing terms.

Dontshunlee Report

Add photo comments
POST
OSA
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Legislation in Australia says otherwise. Legally mandated standards that are government enforced.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
ADVERTISEMENT
See Also on Bored Panda
#49

Castorium is from a beaver's b******e, and it is used to make artificial raspberry flavor. (ETA) It can also used for strawberry and vanilla

Alarming-Tradition40 Report

Add photo comments
POST
Bookworm
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It isn't, technically, the beaver's b******e. It's the beaver's scent gland which is located near the beaver's b******e. If anyone's ever had a dog that needed its a**l glands expressed at the vet - same thing. No less gross, though.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu
#50

Every packaged and processed item you purchase is actively being worked on to be made cheaper, less nutritious or less flavorful. It’s the curse of “continuous improvement”. All it’s doing is making what once was a decent quality food item way worse for you and more expensive.

AdvancedGentleman Report

Add photo comments
POST
PFD
Community Member
11 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is stupid. Manufacturers do try to make products cheaper to produce, yes, but no one is "actively" working to make foods less nutritious and flavourful (except in edge cases perhaps such as making some strongly flavoured products milder to appeal to a wither consumer base). Where that happens, it's a side-effect of trying to achieve product efficiencies. Which leaves us with the claim that making a product cheaper makes it more expensive. Which is nonsense.

View More Replies...
View more commentsArrow down menu