# I learned that salmon is dyed--disgusting--plus other fake food travesties that horrify you **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 25, 2012, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229 "2012-06-25T09:42:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Bridget\_Burke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7cd45c/32.png) [@Bridget\_Burke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bridget_Burke)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 12:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/21 "2012-06-25T12:49:52Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > I feel sorry for Americans if this is some kind of news 😛 > > Here rules are pretty strict on labelling foods. I’ve become pretty good at noticing the small print that says it’s not “x” but “x-flavoured y”. And I normally check the ingredients if there’s doubt. I’d guess the rules are more relaxed in the US. We didn’t invent adding [annato](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annatto) to cheese… > [@](#): > > Using annatto for color has been a traditional characteristic of Gloucester cheese since the 16th century when producers of inferior cheese used a coloring agent to replicate the orange hue achieved by the best cheesemakers. During the summer months the high levels of carotene in the grass would have given the milk an orangey color which was carried through into the cheese. This orange hue was regarded as an indicator of the best cheese and that is why the custom of adding annatto spread to other parts of the UK with Cheshire and Red Leicester cheese as well as colored cheddar made in Scotland all using this natural dye. Annato is a natural substance with a long history in cuisines around the world-- although it could theoretically cause allergies in some. Dyed yellow cheddar is not necessarily inferior–except that white cheddar is more likely to be the product of artesanal cheese makers. Are you making up a cheese tray to end a special dinner or making a grilled cheese sandwich? During the War, butter was rationed. Margarine makers were forbidden to sell colored margarine, so the consumer was given a capsule of annato to knead into the pasty white stuff. (That was one of my mother’s contribution to the family dinner–she didn’t enjoy it!) ---
**Author:** ![Smeghead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f1d935/32.png) [@Smeghead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smeghead)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/22 "2012-06-25T12:53:34Z")
There was a minor kerfuffle here in Vermont a couple of years ago when McDonald’s introduced their oatmeal, including a flavor that they labeled “maple syrup”. There’s a law in Vermont, to protect the syrup producers, that you can’t call something maple syrup unless it started life running through a maple tree. In the end, I think McD’s agreed to use real syrup in Vermont. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/23 "2012-06-25T12:55:59Z")
> [@bouv](#): > > Yeah, but it’s pretty likely that you’ve _never_ had 100% real olive oil. That Cracked article only touches on a [major problem in the olive oil industry.](http://www.truthinoliveoil.com/extra-virginity) So it’s not like that extra virgin olive oil you had a couple years ago is now suddenly fake and screwing up things, it was fake all along. Odds are, any major brand is probably fake or adulterated in some way. The general “you”, sure, but I have had real olive oil and honey (and read that website). 🙂 I would sometimes use cheaper extra-virgin olive oil while saute-ing, and couldn’t figure out why there were all these warnings about smoke point when I didn’t see problems. So now I’m sorta picky about what I get. I don’t necessarily trust my palate to be educated enough, however. ---
**Author:** ![Bozuit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/edb3f5/32.png) [@Bozuit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bozuit)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/24 "2012-06-25T12:58:34Z")
> [@Bridget\_Burke](#): > > We didn’t invent adding [annato](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annatto) to cheese… I never said you did. But American cheeses are obviously messed up if it’s news that cheddar isn’t naturally orange, or if you need to go to a special shop to find ones that aren’t orange. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/25 "2012-06-25T13:05:04Z")
Some “fake” foods are pretty good. I’ve grown to prefer Krab over Crab in most applications. ---
**Author:** ![Cheesesteak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cheesesteak/32/3694_2.png) [@Cheesesteak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cheesesteak)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/26 "2012-06-25T13:12:56Z")
You don’t have to go to a special shop. I can get white cheddar at my local crappy Pathmark, it’s right next to the orange stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Pixel\_Dent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Pixel\_Dent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pixel_Dent)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/27 "2012-06-25T13:16:05Z")
> [@Bozuit](#): > > I never said you did. But American cheeses are obviously messed up if it’s news that cheddar isn’t naturally orange, or if you need to go to a special shop to find ones that aren’t orange. You don’t. Even the blandest brands of factory produced cheese sell un-dyed cheddar and virtually all the better cheddar is un-dyed (of which you can find at least 10 different brands in any grocery store I’ve been in in the last 20 years). Based on some recent threads I’d say don’t believe anything you read on the straight dope about the contents, or lack thereof, of US grocery stores. ---
**Author:** ![mcgato](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac8455/32.png) [@mcgato](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mcgato)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/28 "2012-06-25T13:22:21Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I was horrified that they offered “whipped margarine” for the hotcakes–I thought trans fat was _out_ these days. According to the [McDonald’s nutrition facts](http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf), the whipped margarine contains 0 g of trans fat. I think the serving size is supposed to be 5.7 g, not 5.7 oz. I should note that 0 g of trans fat may not really be 0 g, but just less than 0.5 g. Or maybe even less than 1.0 g, I’d have to look it up. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/29 "2012-06-25T13:28:54Z")
> [@GreasyJack](#): > > Ah, but I believe if you check the package, that substance isn’t even claiming to be syrup. Granted it’s been a _very_ long time since I’ve had a fast food breakfast, but don’t they call it “breakfast dip” or “hotcake juice” or something like that? Well, syrup could be anything, like Karo, so that’s not my complaint. I don’t even hate pancake syrups like Log Cabin. I just shocked at how fake and horrible the McD’s syrup tasted. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/30 "2012-06-25T13:30:26Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Once upon a time in the not too distant past, Cracker Barrel served 100% maple syrup. Now they serve 100% \*natural \*syrup, which is (I believe) 60% maple, 40% corn syrup. > > I’ve been surprised how many containers of “ice cream” are actually labeled “frozen dairy dessert” - bad enough you can’t buy a half gallon of the stuff any more, but you may not be buying what you think you’re buying. > > And don’t get me started on those pathetic pale things in the grocery store that they dare to call tomatoes… That pisses me off, and that change must have been made recently, as I remember not too long ago looking at the menu or some other writing on the table, and they were bragging about using a significant percentage of the total maple syrup output in the US. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/31 "2012-06-25T13:32:03Z")
BTW, I know that there is such a thing as food coloring, and I had known about the coloring in cheddar cheese, which doesn’t bother me all that much. But the idea of dying a _fish_ strikes me as rather gross and dishonest. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/32 "2012-06-25T13:35:16Z")
> [@mcgato](#): > > According to the [McDonald’s nutrition facts](http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/getnutrition/nutritionfacts.pdf), the whipped margarine contains 0 g of trans fat. I think the serving size is supposed to be 5.7 g, not 5.7 oz. I should note that 0 g of trans fat may not really be 0 g, but just less than 0.5 g. Or maybe even less than 1.0 g, I’d have to look it up. According to wikipedia ([Margarine - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margarine)), “In recent decades, margarine spreads have gone through many developments in efforts to improve their healthfulness. Most brands have phased out the use of hydrogenated oils, and are now also trans fat free.” So I guess I was wrong. Still a cheapass thing to give people to put on their pancakes, though. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/33 "2012-06-25T13:38:11Z")
As an interesting aside, I read a book published in Japan around 1977 or so that was all about how fake and shitty the foods there had gotten. It’s hard to believe, but the author complained that there was not a single major brand of soy sauce on the market that was traditionally brewed (they were made the fake way like La Choy). All of the rice vinegar was essentially imitation too. And the book just went on and on. It was quite shocking. I was reading this in the 1990s, when, thankfully, almost all soy sauce in Japan was real again. ---
**Author:** ![Tapiotar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3be4f8/32.png) [@Tapiotar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapiotar)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 1:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/34 "2012-06-25T13:47:49Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > BTW, I know that there is such a thing as food coloring, and I had known about the coloring in cheddar cheese, which doesn’t bother me all that much. But the idea of dying a _fish_ strikes me as rather gross and dishonest. Wild salmon isn’t dyed – it is naturally orange. The farm-raised fish is a very unappealing color, and no one believes it is salmon if it isn’t orange, so it is dyed. There are ecological issues with farm-raised salmon, and some say it doesn’t have the health benefits of wild salmon, but neither of those issues have to do with the color. If you don’t mind colorized cheese or think that it’s dishonest, why mind colorized fish, if you don’t care about the other issues? ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/35 "2012-06-25T14:01:12Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > You don’t have to go to a special shop. I can get white cheddar at my local crappy Pathmark, it’s right next to the orange stuff. In New England it’s actually difficult to find a dyed cheddar. It’s all undyed white. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/36 "2012-06-25T14:03:10Z")
> [@Cheesesteak](#): > > You don’t have to go to a special shop. I can get white cheddar at my local crappy Pathmark, it’s right next to the orange stuff. [church lady]Well, isn’t that _special!_[/church lady] ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/37 "2012-06-25T14:04:44Z")
> [@Tapiotar](#): > > Wild salmon isn’t dyed – it is naturally orange. The farm-raised fish is a very unappealing color, and no one believes it is salmon if it isn’t orange, so it is dyed. There are ecological issues with farm-raised salmon, and some say it doesn’t have the health benefits of wild salmon, but neither of those issues have to do with the color. If you don’t mind colorized cheese or think that it’s dishonest, why mind colorized fish, if you don’t care about the other issues? I understand that wild salmon is orange. The farmed stuff is clearly a less appealing product, and instead of letting it stand on its own merits, the producers are trying to fool people. I would have a big problem with dyed apples, for example. Or apples that had been injected with “natural apple flavor” to make them taste better. Cheese is by definition a processed food. I would rather have it not colored, but the addition of color does not gross me out. That said, I really don’t like artificial colors overall. I’d much prefer the cheese without them. It’s just a matter of degree of dislike, that’s all. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/38 "2012-06-25T14:18:04Z")
Fat Free Half & Half???FAT FREE HALF & HALF. Half & Half is half milk and half cream. Both of which contain fat. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/39 "2012-06-25T14:34:41Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > The farmed stuff is clearly a less appealing product, and instead of letting it stand on its own merits, the producers are trying to fool people. All salmon flesh is grey before adding food coloring. In wild salmon, that food coloring comes from krill. In farm raised salmon, it comes from food pellets. I don’t really see the difference. Consumers won’t accept uncolored salmon, so it is done; no harm no foul. ---
**Author:** ![purplehorseshoe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/purplehorseshoe/32/2996_2.png) [@purplehorseshoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/purplehorseshoe)\ **Post date:** [June 25, 2012, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229/40 "2012-06-25T14:49:46Z")
McDonald’s serves shitty food and cuts corners to save money and maximize profits. Film at 11. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-learned-that-salmon-is-dyed-disgusting-plus-other-fake-food-travesties-that-horrify-you/626229.md?page=3)