Grandma might tell you that “love” is the secret somethin’ somethin’ that makes her food taste so good — but sorry Nanna, it turns out that ingredient is not FDA-approved.
A Massachusetts-based bakery learned that recently when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration took issue with it listing “love” as an ingredient in its granola.
“‘Love’ is not a common or usual name of an ingredient, and is considered to be intervening material because it is not part of the common or usual name of the ingredient,” the FDA wrote in a Sept. 22 warning letter to Nashoba Brook Bakery.
The letter, which followed FDA inspections at the company’s Concord, Massachusetts, manufacturing facility, alleged other violations, including cross-contamination of allergens at the facility, debris found “encrusted” on equipment and other “unsanitary” conditions.
Nashoba CEO John Gates told Bloomberg that some of the FDA’s observations, such as those regarding sanitation, were useful and the company would take steps to address them.
Gates wasn’t so pleased, however, with the agency’s position on love.
“In the public’s interest, it is a good idea to have food safety regulation. It has done well in most of the U.S.,” Gates told The Washington Examiner. “Telling an artisan bakery that we can’t list love in our ingredients in our granola feels overreaching. It seems kind of silly.”
Nashoba has been in business for two decades and sells its products in about 120 stores, according to Bloomberg, .
The crispy treat has 15 ingredients, including PGPR, a cost-saving chocolate emulsifier often used instead of cocoa butter. Sugar, wheat flour, nonfat milk, cocoa butter, chocolate, palm kernel oil, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin, PGPR, yeast, vanillin, artificial flavor, salt, sodium bicarbonate
Milky Way
This chocolate sweet also has 15 ingredients: Sugar, cocoa butter, skim milk, chocolate, lactose, milk fat, soy lecithin, artificial flavor, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil and/or palm oil, cocoa powder processed with alkali, malted barley, salt, egg whites
Nerds
The majority of the 17 ingredients in Wonka Nerds are artificial colors and sugar by other names. Dextrose, sugar, malic acid, corn syrup, artificial flavors, carnauba wax, carmine color, blue 1, blue 1 lake, blue 2, blue 2 lake, red 40, red 40 lake, yellow 5, yellow 5 lake, yellow 6, yellow 6 lake
Whoppers
There are 17 ingredients in Whoppers, including a couple that are especially tricky to pronounce -- a big red flag. Sugar, corn syrup, partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, whey, barley malt, wheat flour, milk, salt, sodium bicarbonate, cocoa, resinous glaze, sorbitan tristearate, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, calcium carbonate, tapioca dextrin
Skittles
Don't let the "apple juice from concentrate" fool you into thinking that the 19 ingredients in Skittles have some health value -- it's just a sneaky way to say "sugar." Sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, apple juice from concentrate, citric acid, dextrin, modified corn starch, natural and artificial flavors, yellow 6 lake, red 40 lake, yellow 5 lake, blue 2 lake, yellow 5, red 40, yellow 6, blue 1 lake, blue 1, ascorbic acid
Butterfinger
Among the 19 ingredients we counted on a Butterfinger label is TBHQ, a form of butane. Yes, as in lighter fluid. Corn syrup, sugar, ground roasted peanuts, hydrogenated palm kernel oil, cocoa, molasses, whey, confectioner's corn flakes, nonfat milk, salt, lactic acid esters, soy lecithin, soybean oil, cornstarch, artificial flavors, TBHQ, citric acid, yellow 5, red 40
Twizzlers
They look harmless enough, but Twizzlers Strawberry Twists contain 20 ingredients, including glycerin, which is also used in some soaps. Corn syrup, flour, niaicin, ferrous sulfate, thiamin mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid, sugar, cornstarch, palm oil, salt, artificial flavor, mono- and diglycerides, citric acid, potassium sorbate, red 40, mineral oil, soy lecithin, glycerin
Jason Fitz and Frank Schwab join forces to recap the draft in the best way they know how: letter grades! Fitz and Frank discuss all 32 teams division by division as they give a snapshot of how fans should be feeling heading into the 2024 season. The duo have key debates on the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants, New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, Las Vegas Raiders and more.
The first electric vehicle I ever drove was a Tesla Roadster in 2011. It was with great anticipation that I slid behind the wheel of the 2025 Acura ZDX Type S. Sure, it's a midsize SUV, but it wears the Type S moniker, a name reserved only for the most fun-to-drive in the Acura stable. On launch, the ZDX will be available in A-Spec and Type S trims -- both of which come equipped with a 102 kWh battery.
