Yeah. The problem is that it's actually hard to do good research and in some ways the internet makes it harder. There is so much information -- and so much of it is bad! There are websites that look at first glance very scholarly, but then it turns out that all the references are to a self-published monograph that the self-same person who authored the website wrote, etc. If I didn't have access to journals through a campus library I would feel as if I was missing an important tie point to reality. And I don't have time to research everything to that extent.
By and large I think most agencies like the FDA are mostly trying to do the right thing. They can be swayed by lobbyists and other outside influences, but there is no point working for an organization like that unless you are in it to try to do the right thing. You make more money in industry. So I trust.... but verify... up to a point. I've seen the pendulum swing back and forth so many times in my lifetime. Eggs are a great case in point.. first they were "the perfect food", full of high quality protein and low in calories. then they were the consummate evil in food, all that cholesterol, all that fat! Give the yolks to someone you hate! Now they are considered healthy again, and the fats a good source of essential fatty acids, with the dietary link to blood cholesterol increasingly weak!
I suspect we may see something similar with preservatives. At first they were an incredible breakthrough, they made the storage of food much, much safer. Currently they are much maligned, although most of the research is still inconclusive. However, we are seeing more and more cases of people suffering from severe food poisoning in foods that are preservative free.... it's not always easy to see the lesser of the evils when you're in the middle of the fray.
So my motto is moderation in everything (including moderation), variety, and a healthy dose of skepticism. YMMV.