Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Secrets About The Food Industry They Don't Want You To Know

Assortment of various food
assorted fruits on brown wooden bowls
Photo by Jimmy Dean on Unsplash

Reddit user Lilyxrx asked: 'What’s a secret the food industry don’t want you to know?'

Make us preferred on Google

Whenever we go out to eat, be it at a fine dining establishment or a quick service window, some of us tend to wonder what the journey was for the food that we are looking at on our plates or in our take-out bags.

Many have similar thoughts when buying frozen or pre-packaged dinners at supermarkets.


The answers aren't always readily available, often because the food service industry will go to great lengths to keep them under lock and key. Well aware, most of the time, that current or former employees will spill the beans at one point or another.

Redditor Lilyxrx was curious to hear some of the most well guarded secrets of the food industry, leading them to ask:

"What’s a secret the food industry don’t want you to know?"

Next Time Your Craving Bananas Foster...

"The 'natural flavors' are just big jugs of glycerin with hyper concentrated flavoring in it."

"Banana flavoring is fairly flammable."

"Source: Worked in food manufacturing."- irony_in_the_UK·

Cholesterol Be Darned!

"Chef here."

"It’s salt and fat."

"If you have a question about anything it’s salt and fat."- LongRest

For Efficiency's Sake...

"Olive Garden makes all their necessary pastas for the whole day from 8-10am every morning."

"Partially cooked."

"So when an order comes through, they grab a serving of the needed pasta style and flash cook them in hot water."

"Also, it’s just the brand, Barilla."- Deerhunter86

Justin Bieber Food GIFGiphy

Before You Pay The Extra Money...

"Beekeeper checking in."

"There is no such thing as organic honey."

"I do not treat my bees with chemicals, but I have no idea where they get their nectar."

"A bee can fly up to three miles from a hive to get nectar."

"It is virtually impossible to guarantee they have not gotten nectar from a chemically treated source."- toad__warrior·

If You Ever Wonder What Makes It Taste So Good...

"Unless it’s a health conscious food joint you’re eating at, the food we serve is designed for maximum taste."

"It’s either dense with fat and sugar, or fat and salt "

"E.G. Those mashed potatoes you like?"

"Made with cream, butter, and salt."

"The quiche?"

"Made on cream, not milk."

"Etc, etc."- petuniasweetpea

Before You Start Bragging...

"Dragon fruit isn’t an exotic Asian fruit."

"It’s a cactus fruit, and as such are native to the Americas and can even be grown in the US."- ferretmonkey

dragon fruit GIF by Feliks Tomasz KonczakowskiGiphy

In Case You're Wondering why That Taste Is So Familiar...

"A lot of the processed cheese and cream cheese is all the same recipe we just switch the labels and packaging for the different brands we run."

"Source: I work in a cheese factory in a company that services 75% of America's domestic market."- anon5678903276

Another Reason To Have No Guilt Over Take Out...

"Well."

"I work at Dominos, and we are kept afloat by the people who don't coupon and pay full menu price."

"You people are the unsung heroes of labor."- LoweeLL

Unlike Any Chocolate...

"When I worked at a mass production bakery the chocolate for the chocolate covered doughnuts came in giant frozen blocks of 4x4 pieces and contained no actual chocolate what so over."

"When unfrozen it was like some sort of nasty smelling paraffin wax that I would break up with a hammer and place into a melter that would then pour over the doughnuts."- gil_beard

Chocolate Dessert GIF by HuffPostGiphy

What Do Orange Juice And Whiskey Have In Common?

"The reason orange juice tastes consistently the same year round, even though it's a crop harvested once a year, is because citrus oils and citrus flavor are added back to different batches and blended all together."

"Similar to how whiskey is blended from multiple barrels to make it consistent."

"The difference is that even though extra stuff is added back into the OJ, it doesn't need to be labeled because the flavors contain all ingredients from oranges (FTNF-from the named fruit) so the FDA doesn't mandate labeling additional ingredients."- PensiveDoughnut

Does That Explain Their Shape?

"Pringles (and baked Lays/similar) are made of rehydrated and compressed rejected/excess parts of potatoes that go into regular chips."

"I learned that from my dietician at work and thought that was odd."

"I still like them over regular chips."- bluesasaurusrex

A Secret Better Not Known...

"The 11 herbs and spices secret recipe."- NemoTheOneTrueGod

Food Pouring GIF by Great Big StoryGiphy

Just Pop It In The Fryer...

"I was a young lad working at Church's Fried Chicken during the summer, many years ago."

"The owner refused to throw out chicken that had already gone bad; to the point where you'd gag if you smell them."

"Apparently if you batter them bad boys up and deep fry them, the rancid smell goes away."

"His customers never knew they were eating spoiled chicken."- Dirt_E_Harry·

Sweet... But Safe!

"The amount of sugar that goes into Costco bakery products is absurd, especially the apple pie."

"That being said; Costco does not f*ck around when it comes to food safety."

"Every area that is responsible for producing food is most likely cleaner than a white room for producing computer parts."

"There are virtually zero roaches, we found one in the bakery once and shut it down until the exterminator did his thing that very night."

"Someone returned a package of dinner rolls because their child had bit into one and a sharp piece of metal was in it, within less than 2 minutes every manager in the building was doing an investigation that led all the way up to the regional manager and his boss for several hours and determined that it had come off of a piece of machinery before it reached our location."

"We throw away rotisserie chickens if they have left (even for a few minutes) the shelf and someone tries to put it back."- Deathnachos

Costco GIF by hero0fwarGiphy

We'd like to think that everyone who works in the food industry shares the same high standards.

But, as in any industry, there are those out there who will cut corners for speedier results.

On the bright side, it does save you the trouble when deciding what cream cheese to buy...


More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Donald Trump; a Domino's Pizza location
Saul Loeb/Pool/AFP via Getty Images; Peter Dazeley/Getty Images

White House's Attempt To Piggyback Off Of A Domino's Pizza Meme Backfires Spectacularly—And The Jokes Are Delicious

The White House was mocked almost immediately after its social media team repurposed a tweet from Domino's Pizza to promote President Donald Trump and his administration.

The UK division for Domino's recently shared a viral post in which it declared something—namely its pizza—"starts with D and never disappoints."

Keep ReadingShow less
Eva Mendes; Ryan Gosling; Johnny Depp
Gotham/GC Images/Getty Images; Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images; Hoda Davaine/Red Sea International Film Festival/Getty Images

Eva Mendes Slams AI-Generated Image Of Husband Ryan Gosling And Johnny Depp—And We're Obsessed

Hitch and 2 Fast 2 Furious star Eva Mendes isn't going to let anything slide when it comes to husband Ryan Gosling's reputation, and she's not going to let AI slop go by undetected, either.

Last weekend was San Diego's giant annual Comic-Con, with big reveals about what to expect next in the entertainment industry, including Ryan Gosling's official casting as Ghost Rider in an upcoming Marvel film, which was announced during the MCU panel centered around Avengers: Doomsday in Hall H.

Keep ReadingShow less
Glen Hansard
Luciano Viti/Getty Images

Celebrity Tributes Come Pouring In For 'Once' Star Glen Hansard After His Tragic Death In Motorcycle Accident—And Fans Are Heartbroken

Irish musician and Oscar-winning performer Glen Hansard has tragically passed away at the age of 56 after a motorcycle accident in Dublin, Ireland.

Hansard was best known for the 2007 Oscar-winning film Once, which went on to win eight Tony Awards for its Broadway adaptation. He also received an Oscar for Best Original Song for his single "Falling Slowly."

Keep ReadingShow less
Keira Knightley; Donald Sutherland
Vanity Fair; Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic/Getty Images

Resurfaced Video Of Keira Knightley's 'Funny' Story About Working With Donald Sutherland Sparks Debate

Keira Knightley, despite having major roles in films like Pirates of the Caribbean, Atonement, and Pride & Prejudice, has spent most of her career operating under the radar when it comes to controversy.

That's changed now that a clip from an interview opposite Rosamund Pike for Vanity Fair resurfaced last weekend.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kaitlan Collins; Donald Trump
Taylor Hill/WireImage; Eric Lee/Getty Images

Kaitlan Collins Describes What Trump Is Really Like During Oval Office Press Conferences—And We're Nodding Hard

In an appearance on The Daily Show, CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins made revealing comments about President Donald Trump's conduct during Oval Office press conferences, saying she doesn't let his personal attacks stop her from asking "challenging" or "critical" questions.

Collins said she's had "the same model the entire time" she's covered the president, saying she's "never had a back and forth with him" and has "always brought it back to the question."

Keep ReadingShow less