Alex

Every year, it feels like I know someone who goes on vacation to Europe and, upon returning to the U.S., they can’t shut up about how much fresher and tastier the food is across the pond. Dishes are memorialized through a slew of Instagram stories that look too good to be true. Whether it was the dreamy cacio e pepe they had while in Italy, the never-ending piles of pastries from a French bakery, or the piping hot paella devoured in Spain, the quality of European food is consistently raved about. In some cases, I have even heard from friends who are gluten-free, but have been able to eat wheat-based foods in the EU with little to no issue.

As someone who has lived in the U.S. for most of my life and has never traveled to anywhere in the EU (thanks, Brexit!), I’ve always been so intrigued by these stories. Is it really true that the food across the pond is THAT much better, so much so that it can even overcome food intolerances? Fortunately for me, the co-author of Who Wants Seconds?, is someone who has spent a lot of time in both places. Margaux, I’m curious to hear your thoughts on this phenomenon. Do you think there is a noticeable difference in the quality of food?

Margaux

When I moved to the U.S., I became very concerned about what I was putting into my body: I thought the food was of lower quality than in Quebec (and Europe), and it stressed me out. For my first two years in the U.S., I shopped at Trader Joe's – student budget and all. But I found myself distrusting the labels, especially when so many products were marked “organic” yet remained surprisingly affordable. How could both be true? Something didn’t add up.

It wasn't until recently, when I got a full-time job, that I started doing almost all of my grocery shopping at Whole Foods. I've noticed some differences, especially with fresh fruits and vegetables. Still, I’m cautious: I’ve developed a bit of an obsession with checking ingredient lists. If you ask me, I’d still say the food I eat when I go back to France is better. But is this feeling scientifically grounded, or is it because I’m usually on vacation and not thinking about groceries? Are those products better outside of the U.S., and if so, what are the contributing factors? This is the question we decided to tackle in this month's article.

Does How We Farm Make a Difference?

Just like we used to do in our high school science classes, we decided to approach this question by making an initial hypothesis to try and guide our research. While taste is certainly subjective, one thing we can analyze is farm production approaches. Is it possible that the food in the EU tastes better than in the U.S. because of differences in how it is grown?

Using organic farming policy as a starting point, we wanted to examine whether there were clear differences in how organic production is regulated between the EU and the U.S. However, it quickly became clear that we weren’t asking the right question. As consumer demand for organic products has increased, the need for consistent organic regulations across countries has become more important. In order to support international trade, several countries have established equivalency agreements with one another that allow organic products to be sold, labeled, and represented as organic in both countries. Although the EU and the U.S. have some slight disagreements on what can be labeled as organic (namely, the U.S. allowing hydroponically produced products to be classified as organic), the two entered an agreement in February of 2012 that concluded that they would treat each other’s standards as equivalent. Since then, the EU has established additional equivalency agreements with Argentina, Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, India, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Tunisia.

It’s safe to say that if organic products can be freely exchanged between the EU and the U.S., their similar approaches to organic farming do not contribute to differences in quality and taste. But what about non-organic food – is it possible that differences in the production of conventional and processed foods are a factor? For conventional farmers, there has definitely been a noticeable shift towards the prioritization of yield over flavor as higher yields generate greater profits. In the U.S., traditional and wild varieties of maize, wheat, and rice, which provide both higher nutritional content and flavor, have been supplanted by the cultivation of higher-yielding varieties. It is thus fair to point toward selective crop breeding as having had some impact on the taste of our food. However, the shift toward higher-yielding varieties has not just been a U.S.-centric trend. With the impact of globalization on the food system, farmers all over the world (including the EU) have been incentivized to engage in similar yield-driven practices to gain access to global markets.

Distinct Food Manufacturing Regulations

So if differences in quality and taste aren’t necessarily linked to the way that European and American farmers grow food, then maybe the answer lies within the manufacturing of food products. For instance, while milk pasteurization techniques differ slightly between the U.S. and the EU, the main reason for differences in quality and flavor has to do with processing. Additives are used in the production of American cheeses, and the process is industrial in nature, whereas European cheesemakers tend to use “time-honored, artisanal methods, prioritizing tradition and terroir”. Additionally, there are a number of food additives and dyes banned in the EU that are still used in the U.S, which include:

• Titanium dioxide is an additive that serves as a whitening agent in bakery products and candy. It was banned in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) in 2022 due to concerns about genotoxicity, but is still used in “medicinal products until other safe alternatives are found”.

• Propylparaben is used in food products to fight fungus and other germs. However, it was banned in the EU in 2006 because it has been linked to hormonal imbalances. Note that its use is still authorized for cosmetics and pharmaceuticals.

• FD&C Green No. 3 is a green dye that is used in food, drugs, and cosmetics in the U.S. It's not allowed in food products in the EU, but it is allowed in cosmetics and is known as CI 42053.

• Potassium bromate serves a maturing agent for flour and as a dough conditioner, usually for bread. The EU has classified it as a 1B carcinogen, which de facto excludes it from any food use.

• While hormones are not food additives per se (they are classified as veterinary drugs), the EU has banned their use in beef production since the 1980s, which is not the case in the U.S. Several types of hormones, both synthetic and natural, are still fed to American cattle.

While the EU applies the precautionary principle—barring additives until they’re proven safe—the U.S. tends to follow a more permissive approach, allowing their use unless or until harm is demonstrated. Take the Generally Recognized as Safe (GRAS) classification, for example: substances classified as GRAS can be used as food additives without undergoing formal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) review. This doesn’t mean that products are perfectly regulated in the EU. A study published just 10 days ago by Pesticide Action Network Europe reveals that many European wines were contaminated with trifluoroacetic acid (TFA), also known as a per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).

Conversely, some progress is being made in the U.S, where some additives have recently been banned from American food manufacturing. Last summer, the FDA announced that it was removing brominated vegetable oil from the list of food additives (but had been aware of safety concerns since the 1960s). Just 3 months ago, a type of red dye called FD&C Red No. 3 was found to be unsafe for use in food and drugs manufacturing and should be completely removed from the market by 2027/2028.

These bans directly impact imports of U.S. products and have led many brands to adapt their formulations for the EU market or develop certification like certified hormone-free U.S. beef. The only exception is chlorinated chicken, which has been effectively banned since 1971 due to the EU’s prohibition on antimicrobial treatments in poultry.

Let’s take a closer look at the ingredient list of some of these branded products and how these differences manifest.

These findings are consistent with existing knowledge and reinforce the understanding that the U.S. is a leading consumer of processed and ultra-processed foods (UPFs). A team of researchers found that 58% of staple products in leading U.S. supermarkets were ultra-processed, which is 41% more than their European counterparts. More importantly, consumption of ultra-processed food has been increasing among the U.S. population between 2001 and 2018, which raises public health concerns: numerous epidemiological studies show a close link between increased consumption of UPFs and increased risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity and adverse mental health effects.

Conclusion - It’s Complicated!

So, where do we land after all of this research? Circling back to our original question, our goal for this article was to try and determine what factors contribute to EU food being better in terms of taste and quality compared to the U.S. It turned out that answering this question was a lot harder than we originally thought because there aren’t obvious reasons as to why this might be the case. On the one hand, processed foods are more strictly regulated in the EU. As shown in our comparison of branded products, ingredient lists tend to be shorter/healthier for European products because fewer additives are legally allowed. However, when it comes to unprocessed produce like fruits and vegetables, it’s less clear as to why taste and quality feel higher in the EU.

One potential explanation for this discrepancy may be that fresh, high-quality food is less expensive and more accessible in the EU than it is in the U.S. The U.S. has great products (any trip to the local farmers market can confirm this), but accessing this food is often more difficult and less affordable for the average American consumer. Most U.S. households do their main grocery shopping at supermarkets and supercenters (i.e. Walmart, Target, Sam’s Club), where fresh and high-quality produce tends to be less available and more expensive than ultra-processed options.

Thus, when Americans go to Europe and rave about the food, part of their admiration might be rooted less in the taste of the food, but rather in the convenience they’ve experienced. They no longer need to take a trip to the farmers market or an expensive grocery store just to find a juicy ripe tomato. They can expect to find one from the local street vendor for a reasonable price. The same experience can be said for eating out at restaurants. The quality and taste of the produce used in meals are often better in the EU, while still costing less than similar meals in the U.S. It feels refreshing as it’s something they are less accustomed to.

Nonetheless, the fact of the matter is that it’s complicated! We hoped that our research would leave us with a straightforward answer that we could point to, but that wasn’t the case. There are a lot of factors at play, and that makes sense because food systems are complex. In the future, we hope to investigate some of these unanswered questions in greater depth.

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