Are food preservatives bad for you? - Eleanor Nelsen

View full lesson: ed.ted.com/lessons/are-preserv...
Food doesn’t last. In days, sometimes hours, bread goes moldy, apple slices turn brown, and bacteria multiply in mayonnaise. But you can find all of these foods out on the shelf at the grocery store - hopefully unspoiled -- thanks to preservatives. But what exactly are preservatives? How do they help keep food edible? And are they safe? Eleanor Nelsen investigates.
Lesson by Eleanor Nelsen, animation by Compote Collective.

[@paulaenjaesambueno5305]

Question: Are food preservatives bad? Yes or no? Answer: It's very important

[@TheMegaxPlus]

It's a complex question, it isn't a yes or no matter

[@MalekitGJ]

Just like everything in life: No, they aren't bad, in moderation. Now go and learn how to cook.

[@ejmtv3]

Gosh! You remind me of this video LMAO kzbin.info/www/bejne/aauQkmierpyEhZo

[@naznindeeba]

🤣

[@NadiaHorn]

🤣🤣

[@wiragaadi6660]

My mom really need to watch this..

[@raulrus9026]

Feel you

[@cloud5702]

Wiraga Adi my mom to

[@blabla-rg7ky]

@@cloud5702 too*

[@cloud5702]

bla bla DO YOU KNOW ME IN REAL LIFE

[@blabla-rg7ky]

@@cloud5702 should I?

[@Inside.Frame1]

Here in Bangladesh, we use mustard oil as a preservative too for some foods (usually pickles). We use other ways for preserving foods as well.

[@cekan14]

Doesn't mustard have vinegar in it? If so, I guess it makes sense, since it is a preservative itself.

[@Inside.Frame1]

@@cekan14 C'mon man, vinegar is not a naturally found substance. So, mustard oil doesn’t have vinegar in it, it has glucosinolates, which is a very good antimicrobial agent.

[@markrigg6623]

A friend of mine died after eating too many preservatives. He still looks fine and its saved his family a heap in funeral expenses.

[@thegamergirl6164]

sorry

[@user-hd7zh4di8m]

🤣

[@lyvantai2240]

Gotta keep it fresh for the maggots

[@AlexSanchez-op8jb]

😂😂😂😂

[@JayNDez22]

ROFL 🤣😂

[@LoneWolfSama]

this animation was simply amazing!

[@freeman10000]

💯

[@jason41a]

food with artificial preservatives definitely ain't as healthy as fresh food without them. but food with preservatives are definitely better than spoiled food, or lack of food at all.

[@juztryinnabehonest99]

Can you do "Why is it awkward to hear yourself in a recorder"? :D

[@cavv0667]

Just look up this search result... this topic has been done... ALOT! www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=why+do+we+hate+our+own+voices&tbm=vid

[@CadetGriffin]

But it hasn't been done in a TED-ED video.

[@alexwang982]

It isnt

[@ramiiiYT]

Because you realize you sound like a girl ☹️ and your pretty sure everyone is making fun of you behind your back

[@eunaofaloalemao995]

Because when you speak something part of the sound travels to your ears through the bones of your skull, and when you're speaking to someone or a recorder the sound is travelling just through air, making your voice sound very different

[@nataliemarcy4517]

i'm a very visual learner, so infographs and learning with fun animations like this is very nice to have!

[@boofdaddy420]

Updated translation: “I can barely read so I like looking at pictures.” -either said by Kodak or tekaski idk I think Kodak said he couldn’t read

[@mahipareek496]

@War Lord YES THEY DO

[@mahipareek496]

@Stefmiester Honestly Bro chill why are you fighting haha

[@xXBlackxMoonXx1]

@@boofdaddy420 damn, someone's life is sad they need to forget about their life by focusing on others lives. Hope you manage to be happier by now.

[@raelaash4759]

I love the Knightrates and the Knightrites.

[@speedy01247]

I would like to note that BHT is not the same as vitimin E, rather it is a synthetic anolog of vitimin E. The species behaves as a synthetic analog of vitamin E, primarily acting as a terminating agent that suppresses autoxidation, a process whereby unsaturated (usually) organic compounds are attacked by atmospheric oxygen. BHT stops this autocatalytic reaction by converting peroxy radicals to hydroperoxides. It effects this function by donating a hydrogen atom: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Butylated_hydroxytoluene

[@animalconsultant7796]

Yeah, anytime a vitamin is added to food it is synthetic, with some rare exceptions perhaps

[@princesslupi4136]

If we didn't use preservatives we would definitely have food shortages. Thank you for this lesson.

[@FlyingDwarfman]

And way more diseases connected to eating spoiled food (eg: botulism poisoning).

[@thegamergirl6164]

or just eat it all

[@starmaidenvv]

@@thegamergirl6164 that would be hard because most factories mass produce food

[@SpencerBRandall]

You're missing the point bud

[@reisjonathan9]

Fun fact: in portuguese preservatives , its very simular to "preservativo" wich is how we call "condoms". So I was like: how come TED can give us a lecture about the harm of condoms? Is this not counterproductive? Off course I miss ready it. In portugese food preservatives, we call it: conservantes.

[@itsrosiemesa]

Same as in Spain

[@SannaJankarin]

Same in Romania

[@ss4kaioken295]

Same in Russia

[@user-ug4ow1qq2h]

Fun fact. In Russian language the word preservative means condom. So when I first saw this title in my feed I was "Whaaat?" for a few seconds.

[@pradeepverse]

Александр Болбат Oh Thanks for info.

[@maia9934]

Same in french !

[@SirHenryMaximo]

In Portuguese too!

[@realarnavsingh999]

Александр Болбат davai davai......russian hard bass life

[@user-ug4ow1qq2h]

SPRX Iiiis Boris! Cheeki breeki, cyka blyad!

[@hitchet]

*2:47** that poor guy just wanted to join the party, to have some fun.*

[@thuriahassan4909]

was really helpful to figure out my problems with chips preservatives. thanks a bunch!

[@RohitPant04]

The intro to this video brought fear in me about mayonnaise having bacterial growth but on reading some research papers investigating the matter i am relieved to know that mayonnaise is not a bacterial culture medium & because of it's high acidity can actually never have an optimal environment for bacteria or fungi. Don't know why the video mentioned that at the start though? If anyone's gotta clue, enlighten me.

[@magnumlugo1224]

Mayonnaise, both commercially processed and home-made, has been associated with illnesses from Salmonella globally. The source of the Salmonella has been confirmed to be raw eggs.[64] Several outbreaks with fatal cases have been recorded, with a few major incidents. In a 1955 outbreak in Denmark, 10,000 people were affected by Salmonella from contaminated mayonnaise made by a large kitchen. The pH of the mayonnaise was found to be 5.1, with Salmonella counts of 180,000 CFU/g. The second outbreak, also in Denmark, caused 41 infections with two fatalities. The pH of the contaminated mayonnaise was 6.0, with Salmonella counts of 6 million CFU/g. In 1976 there were serious salmonellosis outbreaks on four flights to and from Spain which caused 500 cases and 6 fatalities. In the US, 404 people became ill and nine died in a New York City hospital due to hospital-prepared mayonnaise.[65] In all salmonellosis cases, the major reason was inadequate acidification of the mayonnaise, with a pH higher than the recommended upper limit of 4.1, with acetic acid as the main acidifying agent.[66] Some brands use pasteurized eggs which would reduce this risk factor

[@kilroy2517]

Mayo has long been thought in conventional wisdom to be something that goes bad quickly if left at room temperature, while the opposite is actually true. Poorly made mayo, as Magnum Lugo commented, was probably to blame, so perhaps this really was a much bigger problem 150 years ago when people used home-made mayo, but store-bought mayo will last safely quite some time.

[@raven2269]

Oh yes!!! I got a project of this topic to complete. Thanks :D

[@Snakeyes244]

a genuinely great video! amazing artwork and presentation of facts

[@jim4671]

90% Of the Comments are on how 'Preservatives' means Condom.

[@marcelopotty5218]

I came here because I thought they were talking about it

[@akrillic7398]

Ok!

[@heydarling2192]

ქართველი ხარ? you from georgia?

[@yaangreece]

send them to *gulag* please

[@MubashirullahD]

Never knew

[@MudithBhandari]

The animation is just so good.

[@BrittBerg]

I love this channel so much, it's so interesting and every video teaches me something new!

[@dawsonbolus]

bingo

[@alex.a.303]

Thanks for making this video simple with the fun visuals and straightforward explanations. :-) The type of preservatives used is what we need to be wary about since most of our food is grown far away from the cities where majority if people live, so preservatives are necessary to a degree.

[@gulliver831]

2:48 That's my alarm sound...

[@marianaABC904]

amazing animation as always

[@BMN_Prime]

people used to eat mouldy bread but self-medicated by drinking milk. Thank the show House for having an episode about botulism

[@--Paws--]

The animation really helped digest the information given

[@shruti9905]

And I read it as "Are relatives bad for you" 😅😝😆😂😂

[@saroj3462]

They are if your results are out

[@mayven1556]

@@saroj3462 😂

[@vsenglish5862]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5PChqeeaN15d8k

[@polariginal]

in my language, preservatives means "preservatives" xD

[@samkes1061]

I didn't get the joke

[@Cemhta]

I think he means condoms

[@ibelieveyourlies1984]

No he didn't. lol

[@rayanrahmani9838]

sam kes there’s a bunch of comments saying something like “in my language, ‘preservatives’ means ‘condoms’,” so he was making fun of them

[@hobbieswithcoffee]

thank you for the info!

[@Zetsuke4]

very informative! thanks!

[@mapsuni-verse3026]

You voice is very hypnotic.

[@timetraveler1203]

i love the voice acting of addison anderson.. one of my favourite va on teded

[@vsenglish5862]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/f5PChqeeaN15d8k

[@haelotny6523]

Great content and beautifully creative animation

[@yem982]

When Sodium benzoate is used as preservative, It products is Benzene by reacting with ascorbic acid, which is mentioned on different Cold drinks.

[@norbertbiedermeier7090]

"Präservative" are condoms in german, too XD #Sauerkraut

[@rickybasilone8989]

also in italian, preservativo ;)

[@drissesbien1009]

Y en español.

[@victorsantos6634]

Also in portuguese, preservativo

[@apenasmeucanal5984]

Victor Santos podepá lek nois ta suave dlk

[@apenasmeucanal5984]

Slk*

[@MusiCaninesTheMusicalDogs]

I rather use preservatives than have kids. They'd surely be way more damaging to me.

[@NKDpiano]

2edgy4me

[@GauravMittal_GM]

3edgy5me

[@PrinceOfTheWorld]

L Galicki I gave u the 100 like lool

[@kekkahkimkek6750]

Lol

[@kekkahkimkek6750]

MusiCanines - The Musical Dogs lol

[@hach-p7522]

People always looked at me funny when I told them I have a Sulpha/Sulphite sensitivity. I'm glad it was mentioned here as something kind of common.

[@yellowbird5411]

Many have the problem but don't realize it. I have it, and after drinking wine or eating meats preserved with sulfites/sulfates I get headaches. Every single time. Aged cheese also does it to me, but that is probably due to the mold.

[@hach-p7522]

@@yellowbird5411 I get gassy and an upset GI tract from Sulphas/Sulphites. Eggs and hard pretzels are particularly bad for this too. The worst is cheap cookie brands that use Sulphites as a preservative.

[@Sunny-mo7fr]

nice and informative video by ted ed

[@SiddharthTantri]

Best Channel to learn cool animation and explanation thanks TEDED

[@duhxdars8667]

One of our professors in college once told us that the use of preservatives is a choice between dying today (due to a lack of food or potential poisoning) or later (due to health consequences associated with preservatives).

[@user-rh5xt8vo9c]

1:44 I was eating kimchi when that showed up!!! Wow...

[@ninja250r2008]

preservatives in English means condom too. preserve deez nuts

[@veranet99]

"preserve deez nuts" I think you might be using them wrong.

[@ThePowerLover]

In spanish too XD

[@ninja250r2008]

veranet99 lol

[@compassion333]

i live in uk no one here calles condoms preservatives

[@bobross3356]

+The Power Lover It's a joke. In English preservatives doesn't mean condoms

[@blue.android]

Thumbs up for animation

[@MrLuiyi02]

Preservatives in food help to the distribution for beat world starvation

[@getoutcat6485]

his voice is so relaxing wtf.

[@bouncingbeebles]

Salted products are not as bad for you as we have believed. Most modern studies show that high sodium correlates with low mortality and low cardiovascular disease. The ideal amount seems to be around 12g salt per day.

[@SpanTV]

😂😂😂

[@ChrisKogos]

Only if your nose is on the side of your face

[@seyedrezabazyar1519]

thanks. very good

[@stuff4232]

i like how you say benzo accid studies are inconclusive but every other study seemed pretty definitive about heart disease.

[@MrZSimko]

Very educational.

[@samerazar]

you forgot to state that oil is a food preservative, and drying food is a good way to keep them edible :)

[@MightyMarin]

Glad I'm not the only one who thought condoms.....

[@syfy640]

MightyMarin that reminds me of some animals whales eagle kangaroo narwhals octopus walrus

[@KennedyRichard90]

Maybe even the author thought it too and decided not change it... but who knows?

[@reyveran]

only in english "preservatives" doesn't mean "condoms"

[@wojtek9395]

pure click bait

[@lauralvw8445]

And Dutch

[@bhavna1sep]

And any Indian language

[@fromfareast3070]

@@ayyappanchithambaram4575 plus any Asian Language

[@mrgrumpycat9049]

and in sign language

[@TurnipBoy666]

3:18 wait, there were cigars back then? Huh.

[@int16_t]

It's an other meaning of smoking.

[@TurnipBoy666]

i know

[@d25977]

Gotta love that dancing meat lol

[@herrington292]

A different video states that BHT is bad. In this one, it states that BHT is another name for a vitamin. I'm curious to know if that is a synthetically made vitamin.

[@mort8568]

if they taught high school w these animations maybe I wouldnt've dropped out

[@poppinthatcootchie6796]

So thank you for answering none of my questions.

[@yon.m2055]

creo que en Español en general se le conoce como concervantes

[@fundemort]

Glad to hear.

[@jacksonwalsh508]

Certain preservatives can lead to DNA damage (like the nitrates they spoke about) and cancer, our body has many processes to correct these damages. Each cell in our body has over 50,000 DNA damages every day, but most of us won't get cancer in our lifetimes, because we are evolved to correct these damages very well. We are not as good at fighting off bacterial infections that are very common from spoiled food. So while there is a small chance we will get DNA damage from certain preservatives, our body is much more capable of correcting that damage than it is of fighting off infection from bad food!

[@jaystackz3425]

What if you eat these cancer foods in large quantities

[@classicambo9781]

I mean yes to most of your statement but no to most of us won't get cancer in our lifetime. If you live in Australia and reach the average expected life span, at least half of us will develop cancer.

[@kuntalchaudhuri1761]

This is really a nice video.

[@kuntalchaudhuri1761]

Trur

[@iamflashin]

DIDNT WATCH THE WHOLE THING BUT IM GUCHI WITHOUT THEM!

[@charlesmrader]

Most of us aren't trained to understand advanced nutrition. So what you think of preservatives would usually be based on whether you believe what you hear from others. I find very offensive the appeal to anti-expertise, like "Don't eat what you can't pronounce!" I do know something about some kinds of food contamination. I would be very much against eating bread with fungal molds, even if I had baked the bread myself. Some fungal toxins are very very bad. I think it's very unlikely that any preservative that had been approved as a food preservative could be as bad as the worst mold species. On the other hand, fresh foods that turn brown by oxidation are probably fine to eat. There's a difference between browning by oxidation, which has no bad health effects, and browning by bacterial decay, which might well make you sick. So it would be useful to know what the preservative is preserving. When I bake my own bread, I always freeze most of the loaf because otherwise I end up throwing away half the bread.

[@cgaccount3669]

I love food. Unspoiled food. So ... go preservatives! It's like the anti vacine crowd. If it does more good that harm it's good. Imagine starvation if we let food spoil

[@Antonio-iu1nv]

Denle una cerveza a CG, primer buen comentario.

[@FlyingDwarfman]

Also just like anti-vaccine claims of harm (and other food- and medical-linked pseudo-science, the claimed harms are also not found in the research. The only widely-used preservatives that have ever legitimately found to be harmful at any levels are sugars and salt. And it must be noted how those in appropriate amounts are not only safe, but absolutely vital. The closest anything else has been to get to the level of "maybe possibly having an effect on especially-sensitive people" are, as mentioned in the video, benzoates with ADHD.

[@jacobw5153]

Can you please make more riddle videos!

[@deaayeshawidyaswari7965]

This helps me much in understanding the science behind preservatives

[@Unbrokenli]

What kind of the program is used to create this kind of animation!!? I will go study!!

[@rmondave]

Great vid, and cute animation! How about a caution concerning the antifungals put on California Oranges? I see people using the sliced oranges, INCLUDING THE PEAL to make punch or just infused water. I would bet that is toxic?

[@FlyingDwarfman]

Can't caution against something if: 1. We don't know what it is 2. You can't support your claim-phrased-as-question of "I would bet that is toxic? (sic)" What is this anti-fungal that concerns you? Why is it you bet it is toxic? Do you have access to peer-reviewed research on this un-named fungicide/ anti-fungal that indicates using it as you describe would be toxic?

[@rmondave]

Your not serious

[@ezyryder11]

Just wash the oranges first

[@yashchandwani5786]

this ted ed video rather confused me..now I feel more confused about using preservatives or not

[@DCice13]

I am curious if Eating lots of preservatives effect your body decomposition rate. I am sure normally you cant eat a significant about, but I am fascinated by body decomposition rates

[@frankschneider6156]

+Darkking Ice Just drink a few liters of formaldehyde and you'll experience changes to your once living body..

[@speedy01247]

Liter's of anything is bad for you, maybe a couple of mili or micro ounces should be fine. (animal cell's are often stronger then bacteria or viruses when it comes to these thing's)

[@themightypicklerex7688]

not really, because your body isn't really decomposing whilst you are living. you body digests or breaks down old or defective cells and reuses as much of the nutrients as it can. other dead cells fall off and get eaten by dust mites.

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

*affect

[@kenmore01]

No. The amount you consume has no effect. It's like saying if I drink enough alcohol, will that stave off viruses or bacteria. If you had that much, of course you would be dead.

[@gregoryyang8988]

TLDW: 1. Watch the video it's literally 5 minutes. 2. Preservatives are not bad if you don't eat a lot of preserved foods. 3. If you're concerned ask a doctor.

[@TheOswald42]

salting sometimes combined with drying

[@CalifornianViking]

I am surprised that there is no mention of canning en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canning - This is a way to kill the microbes and keep oxidation away without using chemicals. Drying (some times with the combination of salt) is also commonly used. Cooling was also used long before refrigeration was invented, see ice cutting en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_cutting . There is a good overview of food preservation here en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_preservation

[@relax]

Starring in this episode- Matthew Santoro

[@kennethquinonez2854]

Who's narrating? I really like his speaking voice.

[@shubhamsabale4654]

great and very halpfull video 👍👍👍

[@brookelopez1977]

Is that background music the Revenge of the Nerds song?

[@TheWarcryyyyy]

"They aren't perfect, but we don't have any alternative"

[@vandana6481]

Is sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate preservation good for food and cosmetics

[@vandana6481]

Is sclerotium gum and salinatural preservation save for skin use as a cosmetics for a very long time

[@jaym9846]

Processed foods and additives in them can alter your gut microbiome resulting in chronic inflammation, obesity, diabetes, CVD, etc.

[@cmwHisArtist]

Can anyone tell me what the effect of preservatives is on living cells, like our eyes? I started to get cataracts shortly after start to use glaucoma drops with preservatives in them, that burn my eyes for 15 minutes after use.

[@pratschie]

What about the preservatives in the Bread ? Lots of E numbers ?

[@reckless5785]

This made my brain die lol good job u are veary smart

[@reckless5785]

I mean very

[@moayadyaghi]

I'm still waiting for the answer...

[@angiepangie2288]

Can you do this for one of your videos can birds see glass?

[@notnotknowing2946]

Adel Davis wrote diet for a small planet . Adel omitted persertives from her diet. Adel died from stomach cancer.

[@uchejerry7898]

Please I wanna know Can I know the non preservative fruit for better digestive system?

[@jeffcenoura]

Good video

[@3ddesigncentrecalicut17]

LET ME KNOW WHAT IS THE BEST PRESERVATIVE FOR FACE CREAM SIR

[@cyriljuliandanojog6716]

So we have to refrigerate mayo to slow down the multiplication of bacteria in it.

[@Beans4Prez]

Got here looking for info about Potassium Metabisulfite

[@alyserdar]

Well, this video doesn't seem to be answering the question in full scale as emulgators and similar agents which are the main concerns are not mentioned...

[@michak8029]

smoking food - ancient method of preservation was banned by EU because some idiots said it's unhealthy.. we miss traditional smoked meat so much..

[@frankschneider6156]

+Michał K Actually was that pretty smart as smoke contains a lot of carcinogenic substances (don't forget, smoking cigarettes is in principle nothing else, but inhaling smoke of burning leaves).

[@monkiram]

Yes, smoked food is carcinogenic. Higher smoked food consumption is correlated with higher rates of stomach cancer, I don't know why they didn't mention that in the video.

[@michak8029]

ppl ate it by thousands of years and we are still here, but suddenly now some sciencetists foud out how bad is it. I wonder who payed to them for research like this. Some big lobby related with production of shitty sausages using chemical "smoking" to remove competition with naturally smoked sausages?

[@monkiram]

Michał K Chemically smoked sausages tend to be similarly carcinogenic, I believe, from what I've read. I'm not sure why you're so skeptical. Lots of things we've done for centuries have been recently found to be harmful (for example, a lot of makeup used to contain lead, hats and thermometers used to be made with mercury, etc). I'm surprised it was banned though, there is so much that is carcinogenic that hasn't been banned, like the nitrite preservatives this video mentioned and cigarettes, the number one cause of preventable death in developed countries. It seems to me like they should label carcinogenic products so that people are aware but allow people to decide whether or not they want to use them.

[@MH-ve5sz]

This is an interesting video about food preservation techniques. But it is NOT a video discussing whether or not preservatives are bad for you, which is the title.

[@sardarasif9065]

How do we preserve the leaf 🌿 for 6 months to 1 years

[@lavendersun3025]

Put Lemon Juice on your apples. It helps.

[@holdmybeer2579]

you are really smart

[@dilmaneblett8912]

How about can foods that expire in 4 or 5 years time do those fall in the same category