Student raises concerns over possible carcinogens, dyes in foods
Preservatives banned in Europe; one, “reasonably anticipated” to be a carcinogen. Yellow and blue dye. One gallon of oil in the banana bread.
This is just a glimpse into nutritional labels on Rice’s servery foods, Zephyr Zoidis wrote in an April 1 LinkedIn post. Zoidis highlighted, beyond the dyes, Rice Housing and Dining’s failure to display nutritional information on their menus.
“At the dining hall … you can find substances banned in Texas public school lunches [and] chemicals outlawed in the European Union,” wrote Zoidis, a Baker College senior.
A servery turkey burger patty, for example, contains 14 ingredients including butylated hydroxyanisole, Zoidis wrote. The ingredient, more commonly known as BHA, is banned in the EU.
“I started to get interested in [nutrition] because a few years ago, I lost almost 100 pounds,” Zoidis said in an interview with the Thresher. “Then, being in Europe and seeing the difference in the food quality, it really made me look at the servery from a different lens.”
At the start of the fall semester, Zoidis said he reached out to H&D dietitian Clare Rezentes to learn more about the ingredients of different items.
“That was the really eye-opening moment for me,” Zoidis said. “If you ask any Rice student what’s the healthiest choice, [the turkey burger] is probably one of the main things they’re going to point to.”
Zoidis said he was initially disappointed with the responses he received from H&D. After continuing the conversation and receiving student support from Baker, Zephyr said that he was able to improve one servery offering.
“Pickles used to be made with Yellow 5, and after I complained about that enough, they were able to change the pickles.” Zoidis said.
In the EU, food products with Yellow 5, also known as tartrazine, must contain a warning label.
Johnny Curet, director of campus dining, said he values student feedback and is shifting campus menus in accordance.
“The turkey burger referenced is a pre-formed patty used for consistency and efficiency across multiple serveries,” Curet wrote in an email to the Thresher. “After reviewing product options over the past several months, we’re transitioning to a cleaner-label turkey patty next week.”
Curet said that H&D tries to avoid unnecessary additives per U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines, and that budget is a key consideration in selecting ingredients.
Curet also said several actions are being taken to ensure better transparency and communication with students.
“This year, we welcomed a registered dietitian to our team in response to students’ growing interest in nutrition and their desire for greater menu transparency,” Curet wrote. “We are implementing Culinary Digital — a comprehensive menu management and nutritional analysis platform.”
Zoidis said he believes it’s not just the university’s job to educate students, but also to provide nutritional foods.
“[Rice] has some responsibility to these students, to give them healthy choices.” Zoidis said.
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