It dawned on me that, whereas I never knowingly eat food with elements I don’t recognise, I had in all probability consumed lots of the “wonder products” on show here. Over current years, they have been launched slowly and artfully into foods that many of us eat every day – in canteens, cafeterias, pubs, hotels, eating places and takeaways. n a brilliant, cold day in late November 2013, I found myself at midnight, eerie, indoor expanses of Frankfurt’s Blade Runner-like Festhalle Messe. I was there undercover, to attend an annual trade show called Food Ingredients. This three-day exhibition hosts the world’s most important gathering of elements suppliers, distributors and patrons.

In 2011, when it was held in Paris, more than 23,000 guests attended from 154 countries, collectively representing a buying power of €4bn (£2.97bn). Anyone who tries to register has to show that they work in food manufacturing; I used …