Dried Mango

For my blog this week in my Environmental Science class we are researching one food we particularly like. I chose dried mangos and dried chili mangos because both are my favorite snacks. My absolute favorite is the Davis Lewis Orchard chili mango slices, this is the product at this site http://www.davislewisorchards.com/chili-mango.html. The mangoes use: Mango, Sugar, Chili, Salt, Citric Acid, Sulphur Dioxide, Color FD&C Yellow 5/6 and originate in Thailand. There is not much information about how it is made or where the products came from besides Thailand. One thing that is a little annoying is how much plastic they use to wrap the tiny amount of mangoes you get in the pack, they should probably find a more Eco-friendly way to package them. They don't really have any nutritional value good or bad, the only thing that may be concerning is the sodium. Another thing that might be concerning is the Sulphur Dioxide and the Color FD&C Yellow 5/6. According to the sources I have read it seems that Sulphur Dioxide would be dangerous to lungs and respiratory systems of a not so healthy person, possibly causing asthma but those who are healthy are not to threatened by small doses of it. Also, the food color FD&C yellow 5/6 is one of the most irritant colors that are out there causing more allergic reactions out of most the colors, this color also may have a link with asthma and maybe even hyperactivity in children when mixed with other compounds but these are still being tested. The dried mangoes without chili I like from Gerrard's but I could not find much information on them like I could the chili mangoes but would thing they are made relatively similar without the chili. I do also notice a difference in the mangoes where Gerrard's taste more like real mangoes as were the Davis chili mangoes taste a little more gelatinous. The mangoes from gerrards are definitely more natural just by taste alone maybe leaving out more unnecessary chemicals?