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Pink slime part two: Americans eat beaver glands and insects without knowing

Ryan Lovelace Contributor
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If the old saying “you are what you eat” is true, then most Americans are a combination of beaver glands, the shells of desert beetles and wood pulp, among other things.

While the pink slime scare from earlier this year has mostly subsided, Reader’s Digest compiled a list of six food ingredients you didn’t know you were eating that will make even the strongest stomachs churn.

Among the ingredients on the list are the perineal glands of beavers, which are used as fruit or vanilla flavoring in some gum, candy, gelatin and pudding.

Furthermore, the shells of desert beetles are often used as red food coloring for fruit juices and candy, and the female Lac beetle provides the “confectioner’s glaze” used to make candy and fruit shine.

The FDA, perhaps amazingly, takes little issue with the inclusion of these ingredients in your diet.

The FDA thinks 19 maggots and 74 mites in every 3.5 ounce can of mushrooms is permissible, Forbes reported earlier this year, but finds raw milk to be out of line.