CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- With obesity rates rising, more people are becoming aware of what they eat. But there are some things to think about before you sit down for your next meal.
According to WebEcoist, an eco-friendly website, there are some rather strange things in our food that could be unhealthy for us.
It says beetle juice can be found in sprinkles and beef fat can be found in Hostess products like Twinkies or Zingers.
How about beaver anal glands in raspberry candy? According to the list, that's the case.
Did you know crushed bugs are supposedly found in food coloring?
Some folks we saw grabbing lunch near uptown Charlotte don't believe it.
"That's not true," said Dennis Covington, who lives in the Charlotte area.
"Some things are just better that you just don't know," said Jason Norvell, who was having lunch in Charlotte.
We took the list to an expert -- Dr. Greg Pillar, an assistant professor of environmental science and chemistry at Queens University of Charlotte.
"There are a lot of things that are added to food for a variety of reasons, including preservation and appearance," said Pillar.
We asked Pillar if there's really chemical fertilizer in Subway sandwich rolls like the list claims.
According to him, fertilizer can be found in a lot of breads to give the yeast more consistency.
What about sand in Wendy's chili?
"I know sand is oftentimes added as an anti-caking agent to keep the chili, in this case, from clumping together if it's over time on top of a stove or heat source," he said.
Wendy's contends the silicone dioxide used in food is not the same as in sand.
We wanted to know if we should avoid these foods altogether.
"Some of these things are harmful to our health. However, they're added in such a way that we may minimize our contact with them," Pillar said. "The average person consumes several pounds of food additives each year and so it's almost impossible to completely avoid food additives altogether."
"You can't protect yourself from, I guess, everything, right?" said Josh Duncan, a Charlotte area resident.
We contacted Subway and Hostess to get their reactions to the story. So far, we haven't heard back from them.
If you'd like to avoid additives in your food, doctors say consider eating organic foods and avoid processed foods like fast food.
