What's in My Food?: 75 Additives & 25 Grocery Staples Visually Explored

In the bestselling tradition of The Elements and Salt Sugar Fat, an unprecedented visual exploration of what is really inside our food, setting the record straight on the controversial and fascinating science of chemical and synthetic additives in processed food—from Twinkies and McNuggets to organic protein bars and healthy shakes.

What’s really in your food?

We’ve all read the ingredients label on the back of a can, box, or bag from the grocery store. But what do all those mysterious-sounding chemicals and additives actually do?

Focusing on 75 of the most common food additives and 25 ordinary food products that contain them, acclaimed photographer Dwight Eschliman and science writer Steve Ettlinger demystify the contents of processed food. Together they reveal what each additive looks like, where it comes from, and how and why it is used.

Essential for everyone who is concerned about the wholesomeness of their diet or merely curious about “polysorbate 60” or “tertiary butylhydroquinone,” Ingredients is a visually and scientifically stunning journey from ketchup to Cool Whip.

You’ll be surprised at what you find.

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Ingredients focuses on processed food additives from acesulfame potassium to xanthan gum, including artificial and natural flavorings, sweeteners, colorings, preservatives, thickeners, emulsifiers, dessicants, and more.

It also shows what is inside Amy's Burrito Especial, Campbell's Chunky Classic Chicken Noodle Soup, Doritos Cool Ranch Flavored Tortilla Chips, Dr. Pepper, General Mills Raisin Nut Bran, Hebrew National Beef Franks, Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Hidden Valley The Original Ranch Light Dressing, Hostess Twinkies, Klondike Reese's Ice Cream Bars, Kraft Cool Whip Original, Kraft Singles - American Skim Milk Fat Free, McDonald's Chicken McNuggets, MorningStar Farms Original Sausage Patties, Nabisco Wheat Thins, Naked Green Machine 100% Juice Smoothie, Nestle Coffee-Mate Fat Free The Original Coffee Creamer, Ocean Spray Cran-Grape Juice Drink, Oroweat Healthy Multi-Grain Bread, PowerBar Performance Energy Bar Oatmeal Raisin, Quaker Instant Oatmeal Strawberries and Cream, Red Bull Energy Drink, Snickers Bar, Trident Perfect Peppermint Sugar Free Gum, and Vlasic Ovals Hamburger Dill Chips.

Dwight Eschliman is a world-renowned photographer whose work spans subjects from bicycles to Legos, clean rooms to castles in Germany, the newest tech products to Twinkie ingredients. His work has appeared in the New York Times Magazine, Time, Esquire, dwell, and Wired and in campaigns for Absolut, Apple, Audi, and other companies whose names do not begin with the letter A. Dwight lives near San Francisco with his wife and two sons.

Steve Ettlinger has been an author, editor, and book producer since 1985, and has helped create over forty books—with more than a million copies sold—that explain complex and daunting but common things like wine, artificial food ingredients, ethnic cuisines, beer, and DIY hardware. Ettlinger is the author of Twinkie, Deconstructed and is a former president of the American Book Producers Association. He is a graduate of Tufts University. Ettlinger lives in New York City.