Why is My Baby Eating ‘TBHQ for Freshness’?

This weekend I was sent to a store to buy crackers. As I stood in front of all of the name brand boxes, I thought of how in the past when standing in the same spot, I would make my choice based on price, flavor, texture, or maybe just the ‘best’ brand in my opinion. It was difficult only because of the number of choices.

These days I get most of my groceries from either health food stores or the local organic co-op that my family belongs to. It took me about five years to come to this place. I have known about the issues with the industrial food supply for a long time, but even when I was already convinced, I still hesitated. I hesitated because of convenience, price, what others would think. Then came time tipping point, when all of the information I had accumulated left me no choice but to make changes.

Standing in front of the crackers was difficult for a whole new reason, one that I had no concept of years ago.

I was able to rule out almost all of the boxes based on the vague health claims on the boxes. To make it as easy as possible, I chose three plain variety crackers and did a quick look at the ingredients and nutrition facts. Did the first ingredient start with ‘whole’ – check. Were there at least three grams of fiber per serving – check. Were there no partially hydrogenated oils – check. Alright, I got my box. Did it have preservatives and other questionable ingredients in it? It sure did. They all did.

So the next day, my almost two-year-old Sophia got a hold of the box while we were in the car. She grabbed the plastic bag out of the box, handed me the box, and sat quite comfortably eating crackers from the bag in her seat. So now I’ve got the box and decide to take time and see what was really in it.

The first thing that caught my eye was ‘SOYBEAN OIL WITH TBHQ FOR FRESHNESS’. TBHQ? Wikipedia, here I come! Here it is: Tertiary butylhydroquinone is a form of butane (yup, the lighter fluid). It is an antioxidant used in foods as a preservative for unsaturated vegetables oils so that they don’t go bad on the supermarket shelf. It is also used to stabilize explosive compounds, and used in cosmetics, varnishes, lacquers and resins to name a few things.

TBHQ is generally recognized as safe by the FDA, which is why it is allowed in our food supply in very small amounts. Well that’s a good thing, because consuming high doses has lead to stomach tumors, damaged DNA, and even cancer in lab animals.  

It is HIGHLY unlikely that anyone would consume a high dose (starting at 1 gram) of TBHQ in one day.

I know that there is only a small amount of this stuff in products. I know Sophia probably only consumed the smallest trace amount in her few tiny handfuls. It still makes me scared. TBHQ and other similar preservatives are in many products.

What about kids who consume a little bit every day? Their bodies are so little. What if your little one has a sensitivity and even a small amount effects their body? Maybe it presents itself as an upset stomach, constipation or diarrhea, asthma, skin problems or even ADHD.

What about adults who eat boxes of these products at a time? What can it be doing to you?

Take a box of something, anything, out of your pantry. Read the ingredients. Do you know what everything is?