Flour Tortillas — DUMP

Munch or Dump rates Flour Tortillas by Usm DUMP — score 17/90.

A tortilla needs four ingredients: flour, water, fat, salt. This one uses twenty, including hydrogenated soybean oil — the trans-fat ingredient the food industry spent two decades apologizing for — and not one but two aluminum-based leavening salts. It's a chemistry set folded into a flatbread.

Why this verdict

• Hydrogenated soybean oil — a trans-fat source with no safe intake level; automatic disqualifier
• 20 ingredients for what is traditionally a 4-ingredient staple
• Two aluminum additives (sodium aluminum phosphate + sodium aluminum sulfate) stacked as leavening
• Triple preservative system: calcium propionate, potassium sorbate, and sodium metabisulfite (a sulfite that can trigger asthma)
• Hyper-palatable triad present: dextrose + refined soybean oil + enriched flour

Ingredients (20)

• Enriched wheat flour (moderate) — Refined flour stripped of bran then fortified - the crust base.
• HYDROGENATED SOYBEAN OIL (avoid) — A source of trans fat; an automatic red flag regardless of anything else.
• Soybean Oil (moderate) — Refined vegetable oil for body and mouthfeel.
• Mono and Diglycerides (moderate) — Emulsifier that keeps fat evenly dispersed.
• Dextrose (caution) — Second added sweetener.
• calcium propionate (moderate) — Mold-inhibiting preservative; common in commercial bread.
• Potassium Sorbate (moderate) — Preservative for shelf life.
• Sodium Metabisulfite (caution) — Sulfite preservative; can affect sulfite-sensitive people.
• Sodium aluminum phosphate (caution) — Chemical leavening/buffering agent - an industrial additive.
• Sodium Aluminum Sulfate (concerning) — Second aluminum leavener — doubling up on industrial dough chemistry.
• Cellulose Gum (moderate) — Thickener adding to the multi-gum stabilizer system.
• Xanthan Gum (moderate) — Industrial thickener.
• Fumaric acid (moderate) — Industrial acidulant for the tangy crust note.
• Salt (moderate) — Used in moderation, might exceed necessary amount.
• Corn Starch (moderate) — Refined starch for texture; part of the hyper-palatable structure.
• Sodium Bicarbonate (safe) — Standard baking leavener.
• yeast (safe) — Leavening agent for bread rising.
• Water (safe) — Used as a basic ingredient in bread.
• rice flour (moderate) — Refined starch that completes the fast-carb triad.
• enzymes (safe) — Microbial rennet that coagulates the milk. Standard and harmless; also makes this vegetarian-friendly.