What's that doing in my bread?

Did you ever wonder why there is such a long list of ingredients on your food labels?  Take bread, for instance.  Bread and the human race have a long history together.  In its “manna” form it gave nourishment to the Israelites; along with “a jug of wine and thou” it makes for a great intimate lunch.  It exists in many cultures, under various forms, and it’s even got great symbolic meaning.  Bread has historically been made of flour, yeast, water and salt.  You can add sugar, eggs, oatmeal, cinnamon, raisins…. well, I could go on.  So if all it takes is just four ingredients, why do we see a list of fifteen or more on our bread wrappers?  And by the way, what is all that stuff?  If it has that many syllables, I don’t think it belongs in my food!  Take for instance Azodicarbonamide, or Azodicarboxamide as the FDA likes to call it.  (Let’s call it ADA here so I don’t get cramps in my fingers.)  It’s a bleaching agent and a flour-maturing agent.  Is that ADA’s principal use… conditioning the flour in our bread?  No, as a matter of fact its principal use is to make gaskets for use around door- and window-frames, shoe soles, and padded floor mats.  (That’s floor not flour!)  In other words it’s used in the manufacture of foam plastics- food not so much-- at least not in other countries.  The UK, Australia and Europe don’t allow it.  Singapore goes a little further:  you face a fine of $450,000 and a jail term for using it… those Singaporeans apparently take their bread seriously.  Some of the caveats for folks handling it are downright scary!  Inhalation of ADA may cause asthma or trigger asthma; it must not come in contact with skin; it’s to be kept out of the reach of children; one must wear suitable gloves, eye and face protection when using it.  (Do bakers get hazard pay?  Maybe they should.)  Anyway the FDA allows it in our food, although according to the FDA it’s NOT used in any of our food, but it would be OK with them if it were.  Well, FDA, check your bread wrappers!   I found it listed on the labels of most of the brands in my supermarket.  (I couldn’t read them all, I was drawing a crowd.)  Additionally, McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, Panera and Dunkin’ Donuts use it in their breads and rolls, too.  What’s the answer?  Make your own, buy a bread machine, buy and bake frozen bread (it’s not listed on the frozen bread wrapper in my freezer), buy a brand that doesn’t use it, or move to the UK, Australia, Europe or Singapore- although it would be easier to just check labels. Oh, and let’s not tell the FDA.  I want to see the expression on their faces when they find out it’s in our bread already!!