Seconding what Sarbar said - the basic food elements are usually free of preservatives and flavor enhancers. They are put into finished food products because they allow the food to last longer without flavor changes and spoilage. Frozen, vacuum-sealed food may be one exception, since no stabilizing additives are needed due to freezing and oxygen-free packaging. You still have to check the label.

OTOH, those labels don't tell you EVERYTHING you know. Like canned oranges - the label doesn't say what pesticides, fertilizers, and growth supplements were fed to the trees. The same is true of meat, fish (ESPECIALLY fish - heavy metal contamination), poultry (hormones hormones hormones), and...hey, isn't that just about everything we eat? So you buy free range or organics? What's in the water? How about the rain? What about the ground? Some ground is naturally high in hazardous substances. (LOL when I saw the "organic" orchard next to the Quicksilver Mines in San Jose - lots of mercury in the red dirt) And those pollutants in the air go somewhere - is your free range right next to a major highway? It's enough to make ya wanna starve!

So here's what I do - I try to keep myself healthy by regular exercise, proper diet/hydration, and getting enough sleep. I get an annual physical. I trust my body to deal with the minute quantities of toxins I eat.

- Jim