Stevia is a plant-derived sweetener but the plant isn't approved for eating.

The Stepan Company works closely with Coca-Cola so that the soda giant can continue to use coca leaves for its beverages. Today, the cocaine from the coca leaves is removed before they are used to create Coca-Cola.

The US Food and Drug Administration does not regulate products including vitamins, probiotics, and herbal mixes as drugs due to the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act of 1994, which amended the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Because dietary supplements are regulated as a subcategory of foods, inspectors do not assess whether dietary supplements work as advertised before sale.

Unlike the enforcement done by the USDA for meat, dairy and eggs, the FDA offers loose guidelines for using a "natural" food label on most foods, and following the guidelines is voluntary. As a result, many products labeled as "natural" can contain processed ingredients and synthetic additives.

Processed foods are those that have been altered from their original state, which includes numerous processes that we consider natural, such as cooking or salting. Ultraprocessed foods contain at least one item that wouldn’t be found in a kitchen, like hydrogenated oils or high-fructose corn syrup. It’s estimated that nearly 75% of all foods consumed in the US are ultraprocessed, though that doesn’t mean that all of them are unhealthy. In fact, some, such as prepackaged whole wheat bread and soy milk, are recognized for their health benefits.

Consumer Reports, which tests supplements for safety, urges consumers to avoid these four supplements due to safety warnings from researchers and public health authorities.

Humanity's ancestors evolved to wring more calories from sugary fruits by storing excess sugar as fat, an adaption that's culminated in many peoples' palettes preferring calorie-rich sweet. Now, the desire for sugar has both contributed to a widespread health crisis and been at the center of atrocities around the world.

Encompassing at least 136 plants and animals, the concept has been criticized by nutritionists for its scientific value, which has been exploited by the wellness industry for profit. Although the label has encouraged the consumption of fruits and vegetables, food variety and minimal processing remain key to a healthy diet.

Often disguised as healthy options like granola bars and low-fat yogurt, these foods silently fuel chronic diseases, despite dominating diets. Reviewing labels for ingredients like stabilizers and emulsifiers can serve as indicators to help identify these products.

The black-and-yellow USP-verified program seal on a dietary supplement bottle means that the nonprofit US Pharmacopeia tested a sample of the product and verified that it was made in a facility with good manufacturing practices and that it will dissolve in the body. Their certification also means they tested to confirm that the product contains the ingredients listed on the bottle at the specified levels, and that it doesn't contain harmful levels of certain dangerous contaminants.

Although it provides a defense against insects trying to eat caffeine-bearing plants, the molecule is an example of exaptation, where its original function was repurposed over time. Studies show that some plants now produce caffeine-laced nectar to help pollinators move more quickly and pollinate more efficiently.

Listen to this question and answer session with the US Food and Drug Administration about dietary supplements—vitamins, minerals, probiotics and similar products people may buy in liquid, pill, or powder form. They are categorized legally as a category of food and can be legally brought to market without the FDA even knowing about it, though consumers can tell FDA about issues with the products and FDA can take action to remove dangerous or unlawful items after they're available.

Most modern processed foods rely on a number of preservatives to stay fresh from production to our plates. The most common include citric acid (preservative and flavor), sodium benzoate (preservative), xanthan gum (thickening and stabilizing), carrageenan (thickening), and red dyes 3 and 4 (for color).

Scientists are trying to figure out if there are unique receptors that respond to the molecules that make up flavors we associate with calcium, blood, batteries, and other items that often escape dinner menus. Taste researcher Dr. Danielle Reed says the minimum evidence for a taste category typically involves identifying dedicated receptors and then removing them to show the taste vanishes.

Food products can only be classified as “organic” if they meet the standards defined by the US Department of Agriculture. For crops, that means avoiding prohibited substances and genetic engineering, among other requirements. For livestock, that includes a minimum number of grazing days.

Producers of foods like Healthy Choice frozen meals are placing "GLP-1 friendly" labels on their food, but there's no regulation about what that label means. Nutritionists say that GLP-1s can help reduce appetite, but healthy, balanced diets are a necessary complement to the medications. Data shows that about half of GLP-1 users quit these medications within a year and then rapidly regain weight, underscoring the importance of also prioritizing healthy eating.

There are a few reasons why American Coke turned away from sugar in the 1980s, but none of them are related to consumer health. This Reader's Digest article breaks down the history behind Coke's recipe change, explaining why the company continues using high-fructose cough syrup.

In recent years, many critics have voiced their concerns about the food industry and how ultra-processed foods affect our health. Despite our awareness of these issues, processed foods are still incredibly hard to remove from our diet. In this podcast by The Guardian, Dr. Chris van Tulleken explains how “junk food” is created to get us hooked, how it negatively affects us, and what we can do to improve our eating habits.

Love vanilla-flavored foods? Well, it was once made from castoreum - a yellowish exudate from the castor sacs of mature beavers. And the FDA regards castoreum as “natural flavoring."

Kids are hardwired to prefer sweets over greens, with sweetness a shorthand for calorie-rich and bitter flavor warning of potentially noxious plants. This holds true even in the womb, where fetuses have been seen via ultrasound scans grimacing as their hosts consume kale capsules. As they age into double digits and beyond, their taste cells and sense of smell diminish, leading to broader and less sensitive palates.

Pringles aren’t chips—legally speaking. In the US, the FDA said they’re not potato chips. In the UK, courts ruled they’re not even crisps. Turns out, being 42% potato creates a lot of legal confusion. So what are they, really?

The US Food and Drug Administration regulates supplements like foods and can only take action about a supplement if they learn that there are problems with it after it's on the market. This website allows consumers, industry, and others to file a complaint about a product that made them ill or raised other concerns.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention urge people to stay away from street food while traveling. But if you still want to eat it, the agency recommends making sure it’s cooked food and that it’s served steaming hot. Also, avoid eating any raw vegetables as they may be more likely to harbor pathogens.

A typical gummy vitamin contains about the same amount of sugar in a single serving as one Sour Patch candy. It's linked to the increase in pediatric overdoses for products including multivitamins and melatonin. Gummy formulations also degrade quickly, so they often include much higher levels of the product in each serving than the label advertises—boosting overdose risks due to this unchecked variability.

Consumer Reports' tests of more than 20 supplement powders and shakes in 2025 found that more than two-thirds of them contain unsafe levels of lead. Some contained 10 times the amount of lead that's considered acceptable to ingest in a day. The levels they found, in some cases, were even higher than when they tested the products 15 years earlier.

Developed to reduce the volume of goods—thus lowering storage and shipping costs—the concentration process uses pressure and heat to remove water, pulp, and skin from fruits. Concentrates provide significant flavor, sugar, and calories to foods in small quantities, but do not retain most of the fiber, vitamins, and other nutrients from the source fruit.

When humans eat plants with certain natural toxins on them—including a family of toxins called aflatoxins that fungi produce on crops like peanuts and corn— they can become ill with food poisoning. Toxins can still harm humans even if animals or plants appear fine to the human eye. The World Health Organization advises that we should throw away moldy or discolored foods, refrain from eating wild plants or mushrooms that aren’t definitively nonpoisonous, and remember that just because something is “natural” it’s not always safe to eat.