I love pizza! It’s one of my top favorite foods next to kale and cake. And I know I’m not the only one that loves it, either. Recently, the USDA conducted a study which revealed the enormous amount of pizza we consume in the United States. American consumption of cheese increased by nearly 30% in 10 years because the dairy industry is spending big bucks to promote pizza and partner with big chains like Dominos. Congress even voted to declare pizza a vegetable in the school lunch program. The government wants us to eat pizza – a lot of it. But there’s a lot going on behind closed doors that nobody wants us to know or talk about, and it all starts with the ingredients.
When I started researching pizza ingredients, one thing became abundantly clear. Pizza restaurants did not like the questions I was asking.
The only way to find out what may be lurking in your pizza is to review its complete ingredient list, which is often concealed from the public. I began calling the top pizza chains and easily found a couple ingredient lists online. But, when I called most pizza restaurants and began asking questions, they blatantly refused to share ingredient lists and their customer service reps were oblivious to what their ingredients were – they had no clue.
Little Caesars, California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) and Mellow Mushroom have all refused to answer my questions about their ingredients. I was told by Mellow Mushroom’s corporate offices that they will only comply with minimal government regulations, which require them to publish an allergen list.
After sending me their dough ingredients, CPK suddenly claimed that due to “proprietary restrictions” they can’t disclose their full ingredient lists. They went on to tell me that they “don’t have an easy way to perform a search by individual ingredient” and would need to call each vendor first. While traveling, I stopped into a CPK in an airport to ask questions face to face. Both the manager and store clerk had zero access to ingredients. I even asked to look at the packages of their dough and other ingredients that got shipped to the store in and they said they did not have them.
I called many local pizza restaurants and was informed that it’s their policy to NOT disclose ingredients to their customers. Little Caesars literally told me that if I was concerned about what was in it, I “just shouldn’t eat there…” Ha! Don’t worry, I won’t!
Papa John’s also has repeatedly refused to release their ingredient list, which really caused a stir last year with my friend Melanie Warner, author of the processed food exposing book “Pandora’s Lunchbox“. How can Papa John’s claim to have “Better Ingredients… Better Pizza” without telling us what’s really in it? While they say their lack of transparency is due to the proprietary nature of their recipes, they could be hiding some seriously harmful ingredients. After repeated calls to corporate offices and some helpful photos sent to me by Melanie Warner, I was finally able to uncover some details about what is really in their pizzas.
Why are the ingredients so hard to find? Why are they refusing to share their ingredients? What is it that these pizza restaurants don’t want us to know?
Well, I’ll tell you what they’re hiding: Lots and lots of hidden MSG!
Restaurants don’t want to get a bad rap by putting monosodium glutamate (MSG) on their ingredient or allergen statements, so they have found another way to secretly add this potent flavor enhancer to your food, without the average customer realizing it. Instead of letting you know that they are putting MSG in your food, they are using an FDA loophole to sneak processed free glutamic acid into your food, which has the same effect as MSG – all without warning you. They simply use other forms of free glutamic acid (such as Hydrolyzed Soy Protein), which is the main component of MSG. This allows them to have “clean labels” and deceive us into believing their product contains no MSG – when it actually does!
While it’s true that tomatoes and cheese are naturally high in glutamates, they do not have the same effect on the brain as added manufactured free glutamic acid additives. When I talked to Papa John’s, they admitted that these additives are used as a replacement for MSG by the food industry.
It will blow your mind – literally
MSG tricks your brain into believing that what you are eating tastes so great that you want more of it. Your taste buds sense that there is more protein in the food than there really is – which is great for food manufacturers that want to save money by using less or lower quality meat. These ingredients also promote an addiction to pizza so that you keep coming back to order more. Repeat business keeps their pockets lined with lots of cash. Ever wonder why you can’t stop at one slice? This is why.
MSG and hidden MSG additives are known to commonly cause headaches, obesity and depression – and this is just the tip of the iceberg. As an excitotoxin, its effect on the brain is so toxic that it has been linked to learning disabilities, Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and Lou Gehrig’s disease. Board certified neurosurgeon Russell Blaylock, M.D. warns that, “Excitotoxins have been found to dramatically promote cancer growth… It also causes a cancer cell to become more mobile, and that enhances metastasis, or spread… When you increase the glutamate level, cancer just grows like wildfire”.
This is serious stuff. But the industry will tell you it’s harmless and that you are crazy for being concerned.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking that it is okay to eat this stuff occasionally, because these ingredients can stick around in your body for a long time, leach nutrients from your system, and can make you really sick. As put by my pal Kristen Michaelis at FoodRenegade.com, “Not only is MSG not a traditional food, not only are many people immediately sensitive to it, but it can also interrupt the hormonal and biological development of children! Lest you think this is all fanciful, it’s important to remember that a number of studies have found that the effects of MSG can occur cumulatively over time with subsequent exposure.”
Toxic hidden MSG ingredients buried in popular pizza menu items:
- Autolyzed Yeast Extract (Hidden MSG)
- Textured or Hydrolyzed Proteins (Hidden MSG and GMO)
- Hydrolyzed Corn (Hidden MSG and GMO)
- Modified Starches (Hidden MSG or Possible GMO)
- Natural Flavors (Possible Hidden MSG)
- Disodium Inosinate or Disodium Guanylate (MSG enhancers)
The additives Disodium Guanylate and Disodium Inosinate are not added to a product that doesn’t contain MSG because they are considered expensive additives that are ineffective without MSG ingredients. The presence of Disodium Guanylate or Disodium Inosinate in a product is a strong indication that a product contains hidden MSG.
I’m talking about more than MSG here
The ingredient lists that I could get my hands on are riddled with artificial colors, artificial and natural flavors, partially hydrogenated oils, cellulose (wood pulp) to keep the already shredded cheese from clumping, and GMO soybean oil.
Partially Hydrogenated Oils (Trans-fat) – There is absolutely no reason for anyone to still be using this. These oils are so bad that even our FDA has woken up and warns that it’s not safe to eat this in any food. Partially hydrogenated oils block arteries and the CDC estimates that they could cause up to 20,000 heart attacks every year! I found these dangerous oils in Pizza Hut’s hand-tossed crust, Round Table’s Creamy Garlic sauce, Papa John’s dipping sauces and Dominos Philly Steak pizza. Partially hydrogenated oils are found in 21 menu items at Cici’s Pizza – it’s even added to their cheese!
Soybean Oil (likely GMO) – You’d hope to see just olive oil in there, but soybean oil is the oil of choice for most pizza restaurants. It’s in the dough and pizza sauces, so it basically makes its way into every pizza. This genetically engineered inflammation causing oil is being used at these restaurants:
- Papa John’s
- Domino’s
- Pizza Hut
- Uno Pizzeria
- Papa Murphy’s
- Little Caesars
- Cici’s
- Mellow Mushroom – “Soybean oil is a major ingredient in our pizzas”
- California Pizza Kitchen – “our Ciabatta Bread and our Wheat Dough do contain Soybean Oil”
- Round Table Pizza – Creamy Garlic sauce
BHT/BHA (Butylated Hydroxytoluene.Butylated Hydroxyanisole) – BHT is used in embalming fluid and to fuel jets. BHA is toxic to your organs and linked to cancer. These were found in the pepperoni on every ingredient list I looked at from Uno’s to Dominos.
Sodium Nitrite – Whenever this is added to a meat, there is a really good chance that it contains cancer-causing Nitrosamines. Nitrites are often found in the pepperoni, ham, bacon and sausage toppings.
Enriched Flour – This is a dead food that has had some vitamins and minerals artificially replaced. It’s absorbed by your body as a starch, rather than a whole grain. This flour is used in pizza dough, except the gluten-free versions.
Artificial Colors – These are petroleum-based colorings linked to asthma, allergies and hyperactivity. I found them in the banana pepper toppings, the cheese at Cici’s, and specifically in the garlic oil used by Domino’s.
Caramel Coloring – This is often made by heating ammonia and sulfites under high pressure which creates carcinogenic compounds. You’ll find this very controversial coloring in the bacon at Pizza Hut, the Italian sausage at Round Table, the beef at Little Caesars, the zesty pizza sauce at Cici’s and in the BBQ Chicken pizza at Uno’s.
BPA (Bisphenol A) – You won’t find this on any ingredient label, but BPA leaches from the cans that hold pizza sauce in some restaurants. Many fast food pizza chains use canned tomato sauce that could have BPA. This substance exposure increases your risk for cardiovascular disease, breast cancer, prostate cancer, diabetes and a slew of other medical problems.
How these pizza restaurants stack up
Papa John’s – They add a lot to their “Better Ingredients”. For instance, their “100% Beef” topping is a lot more than just beef! It contains corn syrup, maltodextrin, natural flavor, natural smoke grill flavor, beef flavor and seasonings. Also, so much for believing that there is 100% real cheese topping their pizzas, as they add modified food starch (hidden MSG), preservatives and powdered wood pulp (cellulose) to their cheese blend. They also add natural flavors to their thin crust, pepperoni, and chicken topping, as well as hidden MSG (autolyzed yeast extract) to their garlic ranch and spinach alfredo pizza sauces. Those little dipping sauces that come with your pizza are loaded with partially hydrogenated oil, GMOs and (you guessed it) more hidden MSG.
Update: In June 2015 Papa Johns announced they’re removing 14 ingredients by the end of 2016, including artificial colors, caramel color, the preservative sodium benzoate, and hidden MSG ingredients like autolyzed yeast extract and hydrolyzed proteins. They have also listed ingredients on their website (however this list is not entirely complete as they don’t publish the ingredients in some of their seasonings, such as in their beef topping).
Domino’s – One of the few pizza restaurants that openly publishes their ingredients online – and their ingredient list has hidden MSG written all over it. It’s almost impossible to avoid at Dominos, as it’s in their cheese, marinara sauce, white sauces, BBQ sauce and a slew of toppings (chicken, beef, Italian sausage and Philly steak). They also add “flavors” to their pan crust, cheese, pepperoni and shake-on seasoning. The garlic oil used on nearly every pizza is NOT what you’d expect (garlic & oil). It’s actually a toxic combo of over 20 ingredients including artificial colors, artificial flavors and TBHQ.
Pizza Hut – You get a lot more than “100% Real Beef” in this topping loaded natural and artificial flavors. Their sausage and bacon toppings have hidden MSG (autolyzed yeast or hydrolyzed proteins), and you are eating modified starches in their cheese, chicken and cream sauce (starches usually derived from GMO corn). The garlic sauce and seasoning used on every hand-tossed pizza is loaded with natural flavors, artificial flavors and partially-hydrogenated GMO oils. Pizza Hut recently reformulated their hand-tossed crust by replacing the high fructose corn syrup with sucralose (Splenda) – an artificial sweetener that has been shown to cause DNA damage to the gastrointestinal tract, reduces beneficial gut bacteria, and is linked to inflammatory bowel disease. Recent research indicates that sucralose is linked to leukemia.
Round Table – “The Last Honest Pizza” honestly adds straight “Glutamic Acid” to their creamy garlic sauce. They add hidden MSG ingredients to their pizza sauces, chicken and sausage toppings. Their cheese is far from “100% real” with “Natural Smoke Flavoring” and cellulose.
Little Caesars – Although their corporate office told me that their ingredients are top secret, the first gal I talked with admitted that there is yeast extract in their beef topping. I also called a local store and found that their super-secret ingredients were listed right there on the package for anyone in the kitchen to read. According to my local restaurant, their sauce contains natural flavors and the cheese contains wood pulp (cellulose). They also rattled off the beef topping ingredients to confirm it contains yeast extract, beef flavorings and caramel coloring.
Mellow Mushroom – One of the most tight-lipped restaurants I talked to would only admit to the use of soybean oil, which is likely GMO – “Soybean oil is a major ingredient in our pizzas” they wrote to me in an email. Furthermore, when I asked about hidden MSG ingredients, they told me that they weren’t required to tell me since they are not one of the 7 major allergens designated by the FDA and don’t list them on their allergen list. So I decided to go use their allergen tool to see what they do list and found something shocking. The tool gives misleading, inaccurate and potentially dangerous information if you have a soy allergy. For example, I confirmed their crust uses soy, but when you use the tool, it says there are plenty of pizzas without soy. The information doesn’t add up and regardless of whether if you have an allergy, I would not trust Mellow Mushroom until they release the full ingredient lists for their menu.
Uno Pizzeria – They are not much better than the rest with hidden MSG in their BBQ Chicken pizza, Harvest Vegetable pizza, sausage topping and gluten-free crust. I was a bit surprised to see that they also add caramel color, artificial flavors, and a large amount of natural flavors to their BBQ Chicken pizza – it’s totally unnecessary.
California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) – As they were being very difficult in sharing ingredients, I was only able to confirm that the Thai sauce, tomato pizza sauce, pepperoni, salami, bacon, romano cheese, and chipotle sauce do not contain any of the hidden MSG ingredients that I listed. Because they refuse to share an ingredient list, I have no way of knowing whether they contain other additives or hidden MSG that I didn’t ask about – so don’t be convinced that these menu items are clean! I also inquired about hidden MSG ingredients in their other cheeses, BBQ sauce, chicken, sausage and ham toppings – and they have not responded at all regarding those items. Again, I will take their lack of a response as an indication that they do contain hidden MSG until they inform us otherwise.
Papa Murphy’s – It’s all about the sauces at Papa Murphy’s, where there’s yeast extract in their basil pesto sauce and modified food starch in their BBQ sauce, buffalo sauce, creamy garlic sauce and sweet chili sauce. They also add “flavors” to nearly every meat topping available and to their cheese.
Cici’s – They don’t really hide it by adding straight MSG to 10 menu items including their “Zesty” pizza sauce. Cici’s further adds hidden MSG to their buffalo sauce, ranch dressing, bacon cheddar sauce, sausage topping and beef topping. Quite frankly, I can’t believe how bad their “cheese” is – modified food starch, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, (added) casein, aluminum, natural flavors and artificial color! I was also astounded to find high fructose corn syrup in their BBQ sauce and dessert pizzas, as well as carrageenan and propylene glycol in several of their sauces, including the Alfredo.
Are you wondering about your favorite pizza place?
The good news is that you can do the exact same thing I did at your favorite pizza place, and please share the outcome with me!
To get the best results, plan to visit your pizza place during a slow time and not during their dinner rush. This way their employees won’t be rushed and will have time to answer your questions. Right off the bat, ask them if they have an ingredient list to share with you. Most likely they won’t, but it’s worth a try. If their ingredients are not readily available, here’s my game plan for navigating the menu and asking the right questions:
- Typically the safest bet is to stick with a veggie pizza without cheese. This is dependent on what they have lurking in their sauce and crust, so it’s really important to find out what is in those items! Ask them to read you the complete ingredients in the sauce and dough.
- Hidden MSG is most often found in meat toppings, seasoning mixes and creamy sauces – so if you plan to order those things I would ask specifically about hidden MSG ingredients. Ask them if monosodium glutamate, autolyzed yeast, hydrolyzed proteins, modified starches, or natural flavors are in any of those menu items. Which ones?
- GMO soybean oil is usually found in the crust and the sauces. Ask them if they use soybean oil – and in what menu items. Is soybean oil used in their pans? Can they make you a pizza without it?
- Ask them directly if any of their ingredients are GMO. You may be surprised as they may have no clue what you are talking about. Use this as an opportunity to briefly share with them what a GMO is and why you don’t eat GMOs. Let them know that most soy is GMO so if they use soy in any products, it is probably GMO. Their allergen statement should also be able to tell you if soy is used in any product.
- Remember that “garlic oils” and “shake-on seasonings” may contain a bunch of questionable ingredients and MSG. Ask them if there are any specialty oils, butter sauces, or seasoning mixes used on their pizzas. If they can’t tell you the ingredients in those, ask them not to use it on yours.
- Do they use high fructose corn syrup or other sweeteners in their sauces or dough? These sweeteners are probably derived from GMO sources – including “sugar”.
- Most vegetables will not be GMO, unless they have corn, tofu, zucchini or yellow squash toppings. I would avoid those.
- What about cellulose in their cheese? Are flavorings and preservatives added to the cheese as well?
Beware that often times the restaurant employees truly do not know the answers to your questions, and will give you incorrect answers. For instance, they may tell you that their cheese is “100% real cheese”, without realizing that the pre-shredded bag of cheese in the back contains an ingredient list. On that ingredient list, they will likely find cellulose, some preservatives, and possibly some flavors and colors. It’s good to remember that it’s not all that it seems on the surface, and in order to find out what is really in their food they will need to read the ingredient list on the box, bag or can that the menu item comes in. The bottom line – If they won’t tell you what is in their food, don’t eat there.
They don’t expect the average customer to demand answers about their food!
Only four of the restaurants I investigated publish their current ingredient lists online – Dominos, Uno’s, Papa Murphy’s, Cici’s. (Pizza Hut publishes them online, but they admitted to me they aren’t current in an email). As in my Chipotle investigation, I had to be extremely persistent over several months to get the limited information that I did from the other restaurants. This took multiple phone calls, voicemails, emails, and website contact forms – which often went unanswered. I had to ask specific questions about obscure ingredients. They are counting on the average customer to not do this!
On Papa John’s website, they say that their cheese is “crafted from 100% mozzarella and high-quality milk by one of America’s finest cheese producers” – But the ingredients tell the real story. Now we know their cheese also contains wood pulp and modified food starch… and that IT’S NOT 100% CHEESE. When Papa John’s claims in all of their advertising that they have “Better Ingredients”, yet they won’t openly tell us what they are, it’s a safe bet they’re hiding something.
I wonder if any of these restaurants will have the courage to discuss this issue. Will they do the right thing now that we are calling them out, like Chipotle did when they finally released their full ingredient list online for everyone to see? These companies do not deserve our business, until they publish their ingredients online and make them easily accessible to the average customer.
What to eat instead:
Okay, this is the good part! I’m thrilled to say that I’ve found some pizza places that are doing it right!
Pizza Fusion – I called up a Pizza Fusion restaurant and they freely answered every question I had about their ingredients – a big WIN in my book! Their sauce is super simple: organic tomatoes, olive oil, water – and no nasty additives or hidden MSG. They only use olive oil in the restaurant, so you won’t find any GMO soybean or canola oil here. They confirmed with me that their gluten-free crust no longer contains canola oil and that they are diligent about preventing cross-contamination with gluten. I was really happy to find out that all of their meat toppings are antibiotic-free! Their chickens are also fed a non-GMO diet. Many of their veggie toppings are organic and local, and all are non-GMO. This varies and depends on what is seasonally available, so simply ask them which veggies are organic when you order. They have about 12 locations right now, and I really hope they grow into a larger chain so that more of us have access to pizza places like this!
Pure Pizza – I simply love this place. If you are ever in Charlotte, this is the place to go. They have an amazing organic sprouted grain crust, and source their toppings locally.
Truly Organic Pizza – This pizza chain in Florida is USDA certified organic. Because of this, none of their ingredients can be GMO, and all of their meats are antibiotic-free and not injected with hormones. I called them up and asked specifically about hidden MSG ingredients. They told me that they do not use any flavor enhancers such as autolyzed yeast extract or hydrolyzed proteins to season their food. They cook their meatballs and chicken from scratch and only season them with basic seasonings like what we would use at home! This is another great option if you are in Florida.
My Favorite Homemade Pizza Recipe – If you don’t have pizza restaurants like these in your neck of the woods, my homemade pizza recipe is super simple and will be ready in less time than it would take you to order and have it delivered – I promise! This recipe cures my pizza craving in no time!
If you know someone who is ordering or eating pizza with these terrible ingredients, help them make the switch by sharing this very important information with them!
Together we are changing the world, one company at a time, by sharing the truth.
Xo,
Vani
I’m really happy you posted this! at work recently, they brought us pizza and my boss asked if i would eat pizza (they know my healthy eating habits!). when he said papa johns i said NO WAY! i suggested a local place that offers ORGANIC PIZZA!!! and he said “no its too expensive.” i responded with ” so are medical bills….”
Lol that’s a good one. People are being cheap nowadays
Can you explain to me the dangers with GMO, please. I’d like to get an uncomplicated answer so I can understand.
Also, do you know if Whole Foods pizza is any good?
Thanks.
GMO means genetically modified organism, or a food product (seed) that has been genetically engineered. In other words, its natural genetic makeup or DNA has been altered, corrupting it’s perfect design. I say corrupted, as the food in its natural design has been specifically designed to perform health-providing activity in every part of our bodies. Thus, the corrupted food performs health-damaging activity in our bodies. Did you know that cancer (all forms) is now the number two (2) cause of death in the United States? Scientific research indicates that GMO food is greatly responsible, as it assists with cell damage. Search the net for the free fact download, called “GMO Myths and Truths”. You will learn much.
To Edward. I think you would be better informed if you did some research.
Please visit the Earth Open Source website and download the “GMO Myths and Truths” report, study it well, and then you can make an educated decision as to whether or not there is a serious health risk. You will learn much from Michael Antoniou, PhD and also John Fagan, PhD, who is founder and chief scientific officer of the world’s first GMO testing and certification companies. He holds a PhD in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology from the Cornell University. Earth Open Source is a not-for-profit organization.
Please visit the Earth Open Source website and download the “GMO Myths and Truths” report, study it well, and then you can make an educated decision as to whether or not there is a serious health risk. You will learn much from Michael Antoniou, PhD and also John Fagan, PhD, who is founder and chief scientific officer of the world’s first GMO testing and certification companies. He holds a PhD in biochemistry and molecular and cell biology from the Cornell University. Earth Open Source is a not-for-profit organization.
Those that are not informed please understand that EVERYTHING in Wholefoods is NOT ORGANIC or GMO FREE.
* Courtesy Whole Foods Market Whole Foods will work with its suppliers to ensure that all its products containing genetically modified ingredients are labeled by 2018*.
The BEST food on earth is the food that YOU prepare for yourself that way you know exactly what is actually “natural”. I have been a part of the GMO label movement for years. It doesn’t take a person with a genius IQ to know that if a seed is created to grow without the natural elements of rain, sun, or nutrient rich soil what that seed can potentially do inside your body. I don’t believe GMO’s will ever be eradicated from our food supply (too much $$ funded to U.S. Government by GMO Corps), however I believe as a PAYING consumer I should have a right to know WHAT I’m paying for ESPECIALLY if those ingredients are more than likely to create obesity as well as health problems in the future.
GMO,,,is a modified gene cell with “RoundUP” from Monsanto,,,embedded within it. Basically you’re eating this pesticide .
My husband and I went out to eat at Pizza Hut the other day. We ordered a Hamburg pizza. Well let me say it did not taste anything like Hamburg. We make a habit of eating organic when possible, we also buy organic for home cooking and grass fed beef. Could you please tell me what this stuff was. This is one place we will not be going back to. Thank you Food Babe, Joan
I would recommend, just generally speaking, never to go out to eat to a Pizza Hut.
Thanks for this info! No wonder it’s difficult to change your eating habits! I’ve been trying to cut out processed foods and let me tell you it has been struggle!
I am beginning to understand that these chemicals can be addictive. Thanks again and keep up the good work!
My favorite go-to pizza is a frozen pizza found here in the Chicago area. The brand is Home Run Inn. Here are the simple ingredients in the Ultra Thin Cheese Pizza:
Crust: Wheat flour, water, corn oil, yeast, salt
Mozzarella Cheese: Pasteurized part-skim milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes
Sauce: Tomato puree, water, oregano, salt, black pepper
It has simple and good ingredients and it tastes better than any other frozen pizza I’ve ever had (and believe me, I’ve had nearly every kind of frozen pizza available to man-kind). The good ingredients really do make a difference in taste!
Um, corn oil- GMO
Wheat flour- GMO
Pasteurized skim cheese? Most likely from a sick cow pumped full of hormones, antibiotics, and fed GMO corn and soy
Hi there – I won’t deny that the corn oil most likely is GMO – it’s hard to get away from. They claim their product is non GMO (again, the corn oil, I know…). Their wheat flour is non GMO as are their tomatoes. Their cheese is hormone free from cows that have received no antibiotics, as far as the cow’s diets, I don’t know for sure.
I’m not trying to start anything – I just wanted to share what I have found to be the quickest, easiest, and best option for a great tasting frozen pizza with no preservatives, nitrates, and very few ingredients – that in itself is hard to find. There is no need to be rude and condescending. Home Run Inn is a small family run company.
There is no GMO wheat being grown commercially anywhere.
sariff is not being rude, you shouldn’t post crap that an entire article was just attempting to school you about In Great Depth and act like it’s all legit and/or you didn’t even read a word of the article! IF they say they’re NOT GMO then why would you say “oh yeah their corn oil is probably gmo” It’s REALLY not hard to get away from toxic versions of food items, they simply can use Non toxic versions of the food items! It’s extremely simple, there’s no excuse unless you just don’t care. (I mean They don’t care) The most pathetic part is, if the popularity of organic went up past a certain point, and more than a random straggler here n there complained or inquired, they would probably “proudly” change to non-gmo in a SECOND FLAT. But since so many people are still gaily buying the poison they vend, they will keep gaily feeding it to everyone! Knowing exactly what they are doing…
Now was *that* rude? Ruder than sariff, not ruder than companies knowingly carelessly poisoning you, or your ridiculous display about it..
You’re right. I won’t argue with you. I like your comment to me much better than Sariff’s because you’re not assuming anything about what I said. You’re taking what I said and letting me know how I am mistaken. It is appreciated.
I’m still learning about everything. A lot has changed quickly over the years. Companies hide the truth so well. I love Food Babe for opening my eyes and commenters for bashing me over the head when I’m dense. I think we can all use the truth (even if it seems rude).
Us old school types are some of the hardest to ‘get to’. We don’t take kindly to people telling us we’re wrong when we’ve been around so long and seen so much. GMO was nothing we’d ever heard of – nor organic for that matter. The organic movement has been an easy transition. The GMO movement is quite different as normal sounding ingredients can be GMO. This is why I love Food Babe, she dissects ingredients and reveals the truth.
I think I’ll write and call Home Run Inn pizza and talk to them about their selection of ingredients. Maybe I won’t be the only one. Maybe they’ll come around.
hey bless you Tiffany! the best we can ask for is people to be grateful for the truth and open and hopeful to learn it. I’m still acclimating as well, I’ve recently realized that I can trust far less brands than I thought.. I live by a quite nice Co-op that sells a lot of organic and almost no mainstream brands, but now I am seeing that there are still Tons of crap brands they are just masquerading! marauding.. so I am going to be more scrutinous and now I am just checking things off my consumable list if they have even one sketchy ingredient. like I said there’s no excuse to poison us, but almost all of them keep doing it anyway!! Like corn really needs to be a freakin ingredient??!!? lol or soy?? cmon.. it’s actually pretty weird. but thankfully there are the handful of companies that seriously do care and wouldn’t dare try to sneak or do anything dumb like that, what’s the point? The only thing I can think of is so many of them are covertly owned by similar conglomerates and deliberately sickening people is part of their purpose.. then again I just don’t know, so many brands seem trustworthy, but no.. I just found out Connie’s Pizza and a lot of other brands are using gmos. (at least most likely since the usually suspects are there and no statement of non-gmo in site) Also, I had eaten Home Run Inn pizza recently actually, and I purposely did not look at the ingredients so I didn’t know and could let myself think it was actually trustworthy.. I just called one of the brands tonight and left a message lol I forgot which. It’s good to call them though you’re right, and if a few people did that every day honestly that could be enough to knock sense into a company.. I have a problem with supporting a company that was once ok with feeding people toxic bacteria that’s been genetically modified tho.. or any of the other sad ingredients. A lot of products say “natural flavor” as an ingredient too, but that is another flag, because why wouldn’t they just say what the flavor is if it was natural and something you wouldn’t have a problem with consuming? I believe beaver anal secretion is a popular ‘natural flavoring’ Well anyway *sigh* I guess it’s extra important that we give props to the people that deserve them then. I bought a dressing today (from the “regular” grocery store which I happened to be by from school and usually don’t go to) because it was like one of two brands on the whole shelf, amidst an area of “natural” selections too, that was actually not containing a poison ingredient. and it was less than $3! so were the only brands or tortilla chips that weren’t toxic! lol.. I know some organic stuff is bound to be more expensive, but people don’t even try and just assume. also we have to keep in mind the love and energy that goes into real products. =) Ok, I’ll conclude my rambling, thank you a lot for turning around and letting me know, it made my night ^_^
oh, I just want to add, yeah I’m so glad I stumbled upon FoodBabe recently. A lot of popular figures don’t deserve the attention or reputation but she is top notch and a beauty to boot. I already learned something I had no clue about, that oils aren’t actually good for us to consume.. and also saw she went strong into the caffeine issue which is another thing that most people just believe the hype about. what a blessing. and then this careful attention to detail and serious investigating.
Yeah, you’re right, the organic movement makes simple sense as it basically means No Poison lol.. but with gmo, it’s like a disease.. I know a lot of companies are owned by the same type of people, but gosh.. and of course they’re going to want to infiltrate the growing truth movement that they see as a trend, and we all have a tendency to fall for it, because we just don’t naturally perceive so much badness to exist or expect it! There’s one conglomerate Hain Celestial that owns a Ton of organic and other ‘natural’ companies, I’d look at an infograph about them and avoid those brands. it’s a lot tho I’m warning you.. but No company neeeds to own that many different brands!! It’s clearly a ploy.. plus their stock is mostly owned by obvious badguys. ah anyway, I best go lol. anyhow this way it will be easier to make decisions at the grocery store lol
Fod Babe, YOU ARE SO AWESOME! Thank you so much for uncovering the dirty ingredients in the pizza industry! It is all basically, in one word, FAKE!
Of course the meat and dairy is also from the horrific factory farm operations or confined feeding operations (CFA’s) where the animals were injected with bovine growth hormones, antibiotics and fed GMO grains.
You really brought up enough here though based on all your research.
Man, you are sure hot on it! Lol. Much respect for all the hard work you been doing. YOU ARE SO AWESOME!
Been learning about my food ever since 2011 when I seen the documentary hosted by Woody Harrelson, called Ethos.
Keep it coming! I will be trying to keep up! 😉
On Trip Advisor, a customer complained that the St. Augustine, FL Mellow Mushroom uses High Frutose Corn Syrup in everything. The Manager responded that they use Corn Syrup only in their Red Pizza Sauce.
No we don’t, we use olive oil. If they are using that, than they aren’t using the right product or the corporate spec.
ZPizza is great — organic and msg/additive free.
Thank you for this explanation. Certainly very interesting, however, I would like to ask your opinion about pribiotic pizzas. A new trend.
http://www.emaxhealth.com/1275/74/33653/probiotic-pizza-joins-functional-foods-market.html
What would you say about them?
Food Babe: How do you feel about Amy’s frozen pizzas?
Thank you so much!
To the person that asked about GMO’s. GMO stands for Genetically Modified Organism which means that it has been modified from its natural state. GMO’s were hypothesized to be able to stop hunger in the world by making genetically altered fruits or vegetables that can withstand drought, pests, etc. Need anyone really say anymore than that? ANYTHING that is genetically modified is not going to be compatible with your body. Your body does not know how to break down a modified apple or tomato, etc which therein lies the problem. Your body is not made to accept artificial food. This is why most of the country is not only obese but SICK and DISEASED! India was a huge example when they were sent GMO corn feed for their cows and every one of them died.
They were modified by “breeding” one type with another basically.. So tell me exactly how breeding different strands of a crop together make them bad? They took a crop that was drought resistant and crossed it with another crop that had higher yields etc. until they had a crop that was resistant to the things that harm them. There is nothing wrong with them, people are only seeing that it was done in labs and that it was changed, not how it was done. It’s no different than someone picking their mate for certain characteristics. I really wish people would go sit through some agriculture classes or actually have been to a farm more than just a quick visit before they start making their options, there is absolutely no way to feed this world without modifying our crops it’s getting too large and too little of land for it to ever be possible.
Um, they take it to another level by breeding it to be intertwined with pesticide idiot
Not all of them are like that, but instead of calling out the few like that everyone one is calling them out all together. Yes there are a few that could have health effects but we don’t know that for sure because they haven’t been around long enough to know for certain but there are also lots of varieties that don’t have the health concerns but are actually very beneficial. The thing we have to really think about even if they do modify the crop to be pest or herbicide resistant it really probably isn’t any worse than all the chemical the crops get sprayed with if they aren’t modified in those ways but again there are many other modifications than just those 2 where they aren’t putting foreign things into the seed! The biggest problem that is a major factor why these seeds are being modified is because the is no way to feed this growing population with less land unless our crops are producing as much as possible. At the current population rates our farmers will have to increase their production by 70% in the next 10 years and remember that when there are more people there is less land to grow their food on. I have spent lots of time in research of GMOs through my course work and feel I do have a good knowledge of it
what they do dear, for gmo corn for example which is the most popular and prevalent (be sure to see the extended list of what ingredients all come from gmo corn) Is they inject the corn with a genetically modified bacteria toxin that creates its own pesticide so that other creatures eating the corn explode their guts. in laymen’s terms that’s pretty much what gmo corn is 😉 and guess what, those lil bacteria gut exploding buddies can make their new home in your gut too! which is the main station of your entire immune system.. and you kind of need beneficial bacterias to stay there, but the evil gut exploding genetically modified kinds don’t care for your ‘good guys’ much, so sure go on and eat gmos, find out the rest of the repercussions before you do tho if you still have an appetite for them after learning about the bacteria toxin buddies involved
I don’t know much about GMO, Why is it everything has to be argued. People understand what they choose to understand.. I know that since I’ve become a diabetic, foods like bread and pizzas, pasta etc.. Increase my sugar levels, So I believe there is something in these foods that effect my body chemicals. I think that GMO authors need to explain more about GMO ingredient itself. What is it? How is it made?. Why are the companies adding it? Would be my question. Bashing of Companies makes me skeptic.
IF you stop poisoning yourself with toxic artificially genetically fkd crap and impure sugar and start treating your body with respect and with real food and water in their natural, organic (just means original, non-compromised with poison or whack ‘processes’) You can overcome diabetes and pretty much any disease or disorder, because pretty much all of them are just poisoning and malnutrition.
Anyway, as for gmos’ deal..
what they do, for gmo corn for example which is the most popular and prevalent (be sure to see the extended list of what ingredients all come from gmo corn) Is they inject the corn with a genetically modified bacteria toxin that creates its own pesticide so that other creatures eating the corn explode their guts. in laymen’s terms that’s pretty much what gmo corn is 😉 and guess what, those lil bacteria gut exploding buddies can make their new home in your gut too! which is the main station of your entire immune system.. and you kind of need beneficial bacterias to stay there, but the evil gut exploding genetically modified kinds don’t care for your ‘good guys’ much, so sure go on and eat gmos, find out the rest of the repercussions before you do tho if you still have an appetite for them after learning about the bacteria toxin buddies involved
I would NEVER EVER patronize amy of the chain pizza places. I live in Connecticut,so there are many individually owned pizza places. All those chain places are absolute crap. Growing up in New Haven and had Modern Pizza ,Sally’s,Pepe’s and (the now dearly missed) Venice Pizza.
Please come here to have some real pizza.
Dave…out!
Hey can look at a great frozen pizza…Against the Grain…..sold in Whole Foods and organic parts of Publix stores….to my family they taste better than any pizza we could get gluten or non gluten…the crust which is gluten free is absolutely amazing taste….
I have no comment about these pizza’s ……..I tell everyone I know, (MAKE YOUR OWN FOOD AT HOME) at least you know what your putting in it!!! shred your own cheese , cook your own meats, cut up your own veggies…Make your own crust….in the long run the cost is cheaper. and NO I don’t use organic! I put my vegetables in the sink with white vinegar and wash them off before even cutting them. It’s much healthier for my pocket book!!!
I work at Dominoes
They now make sauce from concentrate and mix it with city water
I never eat their pizza anymore 🙂
this is a lie about pizza hut and papa john i worked in there center were we make all this goodluck get better info
This is a breath of fresh air from “Food Babe”. I’ve been concerned about these things for years. MSG, under whatever name, or guise, is pure poison, as well as Aspartame.. I do my best to make “safe” pizza dough, and my own pizza’s as I’m able. With “real” cheese?; God who knows anymore! I rarely (almost never), buy “out”. I’ve learned, due to financial constraints, and out of experience, to cook my own foods. I wish I could always afford “organic”, but I’m on 100% legal disability. Money’s tight as hell. Anyway, “Food Babe” is right on the mark, and it’s right down the alley of thinking, that I’ve been on since 1973.
can i just say that all this fuss over MSG is ridiculous, there is absolutely nothing dangerous about MSG
What do you think of Amy’s frozen pizzas, Food Babe?
Vani! You just totally rule! Thanks for sharing all this info and taking the time to blog…on my way to recovering my lost health thanks to people like you. <333
Vani,
Excellent article. I have only one minor point of disagreement. Butylated Hydroxytoulene (BHT) maybe in embalming fluid and jet fuel and is listed by the FDA as a “food preservative”, but there is research out there that would suggest it has some very positive health benefits. Firstly, it has been touted as cure (that’s right, a cure) for any virus that is lipid encased. That would include Herpes Simplex 1 and 2; Hepatitis B and C; Ebola; Epstein-Barr; SARS; Rubella; and HIV. As someone who travels a lot, I was susceptible to cold sores due to the change of climates. Since I started taking BHT over two years ago I haven’t had one outbreak. Apparently, BHT disrupts the lipid encasing around a virus rendering the virus ineffective. Also, studies have been done on Scottish deerhounds, who have a short live expectancy (4-6 years). The study was small (36 dogs), but the 18 dogs that took BHT everyday lived between 8-10 years dying of heart and kidney failure. All the control dogs died at 4-6 years mostly of sarcoma (bone cancer). Qualitatively, the BHT dogs look sleeker and trimmer than the non-BHT dogs. Steven Wm. Fowkes has a short book out on BHT that is worth the read. Any mention of BHT as a carcinogen is nonsense as the source of that was one study on rats that actually died of aflatoxin from rancid feed, not BHT. The results of that study have never been repeated because BHT is not a carcinogen. I hope this adds to the discussion.
Best,
Stephen
Its actually quite simple… Just make your own pizza!
The recipe is simple and you can put what you want on it.. no nasty stuff.
I always use honey instead of sugar, olive oil… then lots of finely chopped vegetables and maybe a bit of marinated chicken…
You will also save loads of money too…
Most people but pizza when they don’t feel like cooking:)
If you just move here to the italy, theres not many chains. i seethe owner of my favorite place at the farmers market buying his ingredients
Vani- I love your investigations and I use your tips in recipes when shopping and cooking. I’m glad I found out about the ‘hidden’ forms of MSG I cook most of my food at home, from scratch, using only a few simple, organic ingredients….. but when I do eat out, I take a chance. I don’t bother lower level food service workers who have no say in what is in the food they make. I wouldn’t even ask the manager at a chain restaurant, because they probably don’t make the decisions about what goes into the food…and same thing with the people who work at a company’s headquarters-they just answer phones. These people are just trying to do their jobs to earn a living. if you have any reservations about the ingredients in their food, don’t harass the employees who have no control over the ingredients, just don’t eat there! That’s what I do most of the time, except for on very rare occasions.
The bottom line is a good pizza does not cost under 10$ And it does not come from a big money hungry corporation.
Round Table is probably the best of the big pizza chains, and if you must go eat pizza, and if there is no decent mom and pop joint, RT will probably not kill you.
There is a reason they are more expensive. Most of their ingredients are real.
At least this was the case 15 years ago. Might have changed since then.
Oh well get over it already i eat pizza once a month and thats it i dont crave it
What about Peter Piper Pizza?
Ewwww, this really did BLOW MY MIND! I will never eat pizza again. I mean, GROSS!
Great information to know. As a college student, it’s really hard to steer clear of popular pizza chains (they are cheap and very popular amongst the college population). However, with my knowledge and awareness of the toxicity and overall inhumanness of this industry I try not to cave. Also, it doesn’t help that whenever I consume it I wake up feeling bloated and sluggish from the massive amount of sodium.
I would love advice from Food Babe on navigating around these obstacles as a college student. Obviously being on a college campus limits your options somewhat. But I’d love to know some brands that are safe to buy (frozen pizza suggestions?). Since it’s difficult to make things from scratch living in a dorm/greek housing/ect. with limited access to a kitchen. That’d be great. Otherwise I love this website and how it reveals what is really going into our food. It’s truly disheartening that many people are unaware of the truth behind the food industry and their toxic ingredients. Restaurant chains and their secretiveness about their ingredients is a huge red flag. I’d never take a drink from someone at a party who refused to disclose what was in the beverage…I use this same philosophy for what foods/drinks I choose to consume!
>it doesn’t help that whenever I consume it I wake up feeling bloated and sluggish from the massive amount of sodium.
If by “sodium” you mean overeating. even magic save pizza is 3-500 Kcals a slice, so if you eat half a pizza in a night the 500% daily sodium intake is the least of your worries.
If MSG is so bad for you, why doesn’t everyone in Asia have a headache?
http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2005/jul/10/foodanddrink.features3
I do understand and agree with finding out what is in your food and being conscious of what is being put in your body…
But many things are only bad for you as fad’s, and nothing more.
Wow. I didn’t know that they kill grains and that that creates msg. And that caramel color has ammonia and sulfites.
My parents started making us eat healthy foods, and for the past 3 or 4 months we haven’t had pizza or any greasy, fattening food! Only veggies, fruit, chicken, steak, pork, and like 85-90% dark chocolate. It’s really good, and this is coming from a 13 year old! Thank you for giving such detailed and important info about Italy’s icon, pizza.
I’m curious about Smashing Tomato…? We love their pizza, and the website mentions some organic ingredients, but it’s hard to trust anyone any more.
What about Amy’s pizza? Please let me know food babe! You rock!
What about Z Pizza?
Any good pizza places in lake norman?
I bet people that eat this poison laced pizza are gonna die. The jokes on them. We can sit back and laugh as we live forever and watch them keel over one by one!
The winners are of no help to the majority of us.
Pizza Fusion has only 12 locations, Pure Pizza is only for people who live in Charlotte, and Truly Organic Pizza is a pizza chain in Florida.
So, I’m willing to bet that the majority of the people reading these locations, like myself, are SOL.
Food Babe, thanks for this incredibly informative article! Would you happen to have any info on the Costco pizza sold at their food courts?
You briefly mentioned Papa Murphy’s at one point in this article but never mentioned any of the ingredients you found in their products. I rarely eat pizza, I mean raaaaaarely since im 90% strict paleo but when I do I make it myself or my quick go to option is papa murphys.
Hi Christa!
Papa Murphy’s is one of the few pizza places that publishes their ingredients on their website. They use soybean oil and this is the excerpt from the post above about Papa Murphy’s:
“It’s all about the sauces at Papa Murphy’s, where there’s yeast extract in their basil pesto sauce and modified food starch in their BBQ sauce, buffalo sauce, creamy garlic sauce and sweet chili sauce. They also add “flavors” to nearly every meat topping available and to their cheese. “
How about Costco pizza? My understanding is that they are one of the largest pizza providers in the country. It seems they should be included in the research and findings. I am guessing they are no better than the rest, but it would be good to find out. Especially since costco is the only one of the “pizza establishments” expanding their line of organic products for their customers (granted the other pizza establishments don’t sell groceries!). It seems Costco has the potential, if given the motivation by customers who demand it, to provide a healthier, more natural ingredient laden pizza. That said, their other major food product are hot dogs/sausages and who knows what is crammed into those!
I’ve been eating really well as of late. (Ok, better! ) My office had pizza on a Friday so I had some. HOLY CRAP- bad idea. My regular work out that night about killed me, and my runs to the bathroom were SO not worth it. So glad you posted other options 🙂 thank you!
Who cares? Seriously. Does it matter if a $5 pizza has “possible msg” in it when you’d still eat an entire 5 dollar pizza regardless? As long as they post correct nutritional information that allows people with basic self control to not overindulge i don’t really care if food scientists have managed to make a cardboard and ketchup dominoes pizza taste like real food.
Nice article to raise awareness, in Pizza companies defense tho, if I ever had a Pizza Resteraunt or any kinda food company for that matter, I would show as little ingrediants as possible to hide my secret recipes. Id find ways to enhance flavour that is practically invisible and not immidiatly apparent on first taste so less people would know my awesome secret techniques. If anyone has allergies and they wont tell me what they are id tell them just to not eat the food.
I’m sure a lot of companies hide more good ingrediants than bad. People just assume stuff hidden from them is bad lol. Human nature I guess.
I used to make the dough for Little Caesar’s. One batch would be one package of ‘hi-gluten’ flour, mixed with about 6 fl. oz of canola oil, and these dough packets that corporate would send us(not really sure what ingredients were in them besides yeast, and there were deep dish, and regular dough packets.) The sauce was made out of 3 bags of tomato paste, mixed with two packets of spice, and water( again even the employees didn’t have access to ingredients.) Corn meal to keep the dough from sticking to the pans (Which never get washed by the way, only brushed out with a brush that doesn’t ever get cleaned.) Then, cheese which was the most expensive product according to the store owner. My guess is that the dough is the most unhealthy aspect of Little Caesar’s pizza. Hope I could give a little extra insight.
Pizza is my favorite!!!!…..increasingly, every time I have it I get a severe hive breakout after 45 minutes….it starts with an itch on my forehead or chest and then big red hives cover my body for 2-3 hours. A picture would scare anyone! It has happened at Dominos, Pizza Hut and Subway(from a sandwich) as well as 3 local pizza shops. Does anyone know what addititive would cause this problem? There are some pizza shops where I don’t have a problem, which is good because…..Pizza is my favorite!!! Tks in advance, Dave
Hello Food Babe,
I love pizza. It’s a simple fact. I used to make home made pizza’s but stopped for convenience reasons. Well, I have great memories of Round Table and have in the recent months, eaten there twice. Both times, I was left with the impression of how good the pizza tasted and continued to crave it above others. Then I read your post and thought: !#*!.
Well, I’m familiar with how powerful MSG can be with fast food and decided to go back to round table and order a pizza but really taste the ingredients (both separately and together).
You were entirely right. At first bite and it seems pretty good. But the secret is tasting everything slowly. I shocked myself on what I missed.
On it’s own the dough is flavorless, the pepperoni is worst than generic store pepperoni (which is made with god knows what), the cheese is really sub-standard, and the sauce is okay (but ultra salty). Somehow these ingredients come together in my memory as fantastic. So what was it that made it great aside from the salt and fat, is what I now know to be MSG.
So I guess I want to say thank you and I will be getting back to controlling the ingredients myself.
-Stevo
Thank You so much for this.
The last 2 years my daughter and I have been making pizza’s at home, the difference being, now we can taste each and every component that is on them. We don’t buy from pizza outlets anymore !
Hey Vani! Thanks for being my ultimate food guru! I am in Charlotte for a friends wedding and currently eating at Pure Pizza for dinner (I live in San Antonio). I’m looking forward to digging into my organic local pizza! I’m a vegetarian and pizza is my FAV food!