The Dangers of Commercial Bread

Have you ever wondered how commercial bread is made, or why so many people are allergic to it? Unlike what most people think, commercial bread that you see on supermarket shelves contains a whole lot more than just flour, water and yeast.

To demonstrate the dangers of commercial bread, I decided to conduct a crude experiment on commercial bread. I bought two loaves of bread from my local supermarket. They both looked like the typical bread you would see anywhere, packaged in a thin plastic bag. One was marked 100% Natural with no preservatives, but when I looked at the ingredients I noticed they added 2 types of bacteria in addition to yeast. The other was a spelt loaf with chia & flax seeds. Neither was organic. I stored both breads in my warm kitchen. Four months later, way past their expiration dates, they still have not turned moldy. They are as soft and foamy as the first day I bought them. In fact, they are softer than my pillow.

If bread doesn't turn moldy or dry out within a few days after being baked, you can be assured that it's not natural. The foamy softness is a result of chemical additives. To understand more about the dangers of commercial bread lets take a look at just 3 typical ingredients commonly added to bread.

1) Potassium Bromate- the Cancer Causing Dough Conditioner Potassium bromate is a highly carcinogenic dough conditioners. In the 1980's the World Health Organization classified potassium bromate to be a "genotoxic carcinogen" (cancer causing). In 1992, they stated that potassium bromates are 'not appropiate' to be put in bread. Countries around the world banned potassium bromates, but sadly, potassium bromates are still legal in the United States.

2) Azodicarbonamide- The Foam Creater Azodicarbonamide is a hazardous dough conditioner and flour bleaching agent. It is also an industrial chemical that creates the foamy texture found in shoe rubber, yoga mats, and synthetic leather. It also creates the foaminess in commercial bread. Azodicarbonamide is a carcinogen. It is also harmful to hormonal function as proven in multiple animal studies.

3) Nitrogin Dioxide- Toxic Bleaching Agent Flour is not naturally white. Even refined flour should have a beige color. To obtain that white color, flour producers bleach flour using bleaching agents such as Nitrogin Dioxide. Nitrogen Dioxide is classified as an 'extremely dangerous substance' in the United States as defined in the U.S. Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act. It is also known to cause asthma and other respiratory problems.

At Joseph's Organic Bakery we bake our breads with fresh flour. No dough conditioners, binders, or bleaching agents are added to the flour. All of our ingredients are organic and the highest quality possible.