With the box office success of the animated movie sausage party. It’s no wonder people are getting nostalgic about their favorite childhood snacks, like Twinkies.
Urban legend has it that Twinkies have no expiration date.
So which secret ingredients preserve their “freshness”? Twinkies contain emulsifiers. Those are the food additives used in processed foods that are known to extend the shelf life. And improve the texture. Well, such emulsifiers like monoglycerides, diglycerides and polysorbate 60 are added in.
Twinkies actually do have an expiration date, a shelf life of 45 days.
Now you might scratch your head if you knew that in a recent study on mice, those that were fed certain emulsifiers, like CMC and P80. They ate more food, gained more weight, had higher blood sugar levels, and were resistant to insulin.
This is troubling since their condition was similar to the human condition known as metabolic syndrome which is a group of risk factors that increases your risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke.
But don’t panic just yet Twinkie lovers, Twinkies do not contain the food additives from the study. More research is needed on the effects of emulsifiers on the human body. And in what quantities but studies like these highlight the importance of reading labels. Using fresh ingredients while avoiding processed foods.
