How Bread and Ice Cream Contain Human Hair and

A new investigation into what our goods, drinks and beauty products contain has exposed some of the most bizarre ingredients.

Some supermarket breads contain a protein called L-Cysteine, designed to give it a longer shelf life.

However, the amino acid usually comes from China and made from hair gathered from the floors of barbershops.

The vanilla taste in ice cream comes from castoreum - the scent sacs used by female beavers to mark their territory.

It is allowed to be called a "natural flavouring", meaning you probably don't know you're eating it.

Whereas some beers and stouts, such as Guinness, have particles of fish bladder, known as isinglass, in them.

The bladder is used as part of the filtering process to remove excess yeast.

The research, which took two months to carry out, was commissioned by Privilege Insurance to uncover that not all labelling can be trusted.

It reveals the secrets behind various everyday items including orange juice and shoes.

Other claims include that bananas are not strictly vegetarian as they are sprayed with a pesticide made from shrimp and crab shells.

Chicken nuggets are only 50 per cent chicken and include a chemical found in breast implants.

While a key ingredient in antifreeze is used in ready-made cake batters to stop the mix from clumping together.

Another claim included that gelatine, made from boiling animal bones, is used as a binding product in many foods, including marshmallows, yogurts and cereal.

Olive oil isapparently one of the most polluted products in the EU, with almost 70 per cent of oil being sold is cut with cheaper variations.

And your leather handbag might not actually be 100 per cent leather. For example, EU rules stipulate only 80 per cent of an item needs to be genuine for it to be labelled as a leather product.

Egyptian cotton is known for its luxurious qualities and many bedding sets often use the term to entice customers into buying them.

However, they only have to contain five per cent of the Egyptian cotton to use the label.

And "British wool" has to only contain 50 per cent of UK sheep in its mix.

Dan Simson, head of Privilege Insurance, said: "Privilege believes in straight talking and consumer confidence, so we commissioned this research to confirm or dispute once and for all, some of the everyday consumer scenarios we are all faced with.

"Some of the findings are shocking and more should be done to encourage labelling that doesn't insincerely disguise something as 'natural'.

"It is paramount that the consumer has all the facts so they can make a logical and sensible choice about the products they are buying."