Food Additives that Sound Scary but Aren’t – Eat Drink Better

Not all food additives are created equal. We talk a lot about potentially harmful ingredients in our food, but some food additives sound a lot scarier than they are.

1. Gellan gum – This is a gelling agent, which might still sound scary. But wait! Gellan gum is what’s known as a bacterial capsular polysaccharide made from fermented plants. It’s similar to agar agar, a seaweed powder, and it’s even allowed as an ingredient in the USDA National Organic Program.

What it’s for: Gellan gum is a thickener and stablizer. Companies also use it in place of gelatin to create vegetarian and vegan gummy candy.