The people care about food safety, is to eat at ease, eat healthy, once the food problem, children, pregnant women, the elderly and other groups are most susceptible to being affected, light indigestion, heavy chronic poisoning, the consequences are unimaginable.
Recently, the "additive problem" of multiple batches of food has been exposed, which makes people worry. What went wrong with them? What are the consequences of eating?
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" >, "additive" problems are frequently exposed, and the people need to be vigilant</h1>
On March 25, the Chongqing Municipal Market Supervision and Administration Bureau issued a notice exposing 22 batches of unqualified food, and the food sampled included 24 categories of biscuits, soy products, convenience foods, quick-frozen foods, and confectionery products, with a total of 1879 batches.
Among them, there are 9 batches of food with quality index problems, 10 batches of foods with food additive problems, and 3 batches of foods with microbial contamination problems.
Among the 10 batches of products detected as food additives, the ingredients that do not meet the national regulations for food safety are ethyl maltol, sulfur dioxide, potassium metabisulfite, sodium sulfite, potassium aluminum sulfate, annatto, etc.
Ethyl maltol: a flavor enhancer that can improve and enhance the aroma of food, prolong shelf life, excessive intake can cause nausea, vomiting, headache and other uncomfortable symptoms, but also cause damage to the liver.
Sulfur dioxide, potassium metabisulfite, sodium sulfite: bleaching agents and preservatives commonly used in food processing will retain sulfur dioxide. According to the regulations, the residual amount of sulfur dioxide in pickled vegetables should not exceed 0.1g/kg, and the residual amount of sulfur dioxide in dried vegetables should not exceed 0.2g/kg. Excessive sulfur dioxide will irritate the eyes, nose, mucous membranes, resulting in dull sense of smell, chronic rhinitis, bronchitis, etc., and can also lead to bronchospasm, causing pulmonary edema, suffocation, and even death.
Potassium aluminum sulfate: Ammonium alum, a leavening agent and stabilizer, can cause aluminum residues. Because aluminum is not an essential trace element for the human body, when the aluminum exceeds the standard, it will accumulate in the body, affecting the normal absorption of other trace elements, resulting in osteoporosis, anemia and other problems.
Carmine: A synthetic colorant with strong coloring power, low cost, excessive intake can cause DNA oxidative damage, with certain carcinogenic and mutagenic effects.
On March 25, the Jiangxi Provincial Market Supervision and Administration Bureau also announced 6 batches of unqualified food, involving catering food, beverages, alcohol and other foods, of which 2 batches of food were detected as food additives, one is that the aluminum residue exceeds the standard, and the other is that the cyclamate exceeds the standard.
In addition, in the recent food safety supervision and sampling organized by the State Administration for Market Supervision and Administration, 11 batches of samples of 8 major categories of food were also detected to be unqualified, and the reasons for the unqualified also included the use of food additives beyond the range.
A series of sampling results show that the problem of illegal use of additives is more prominent, which has become the hardest hit area of food safety, and the masses should polish their eyes.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > Second, additives should be used according to law, excessive amounts are harmful to health</h1>
If a food brand advertises "no additives", would you believe it? In general, it is almost impossible for modern foods to completely avoid food additives.
For additives, many people are like birds of fright, panic when they see them, and fear when they hear them. But in fact, food additives are not the devil. Data show that 97% of modern people's food contains additives, and China's allowed use of food additives has reached more than 2500 kinds.
The use of additives is to make the food look more marketable, eat more appetizing, more flavorful, but also preservative and fresh, and extend the shelf life of the food.
Food additives are not illegal additives, many people see the word "added", they have a misunderstanding of them, thinking that eating them will cause cancer. There is no 100% non-toxic food in the world, and whether it is toxic is related to the content and amount of toxic substances. Under normal circumstances, as long as food additives are used within the limit range, they are non-toxic and harmless.
Of course, some illegal additives we should be vigilant, such as melamine, Sudan red, hanging white block, clenbuterol, etc., they are not food additives, but illegal additives, there is a difference between the two. When people eat additives that meet the standards, part of them will be excreted through the urine, and the other part will be absorbed by the human body, which will hardly affect health.
We should pay attention to the use of excessive standards, different food additives exceed the standard on health effects are not the same, such as:
Color protectors such as sodium nitrate, potassium nitrate, sodium nitrite and potassium nitrite exceed the standard and will react with proteins to form nitrosamine compounds, which are carcinogenic.
The flour treatment agent benzoyl peroxide, excessive intake will increase the burden on the liver, has a potential safety risk.
Water retention agents nitrates improve the proportion of calcium and phosphorus in the diet, and excessive intake is not good for health. Moreover, phosphate will bind to calcium to produce calcium orthophosphate, which is difficult to dissolve in water, affecting the body's normal absorption of calcium.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" >3, how to avoid ingesting too many additives? </h1>
We need to acknowledge the fact that food additives have become an indispensable part of life, and although there are problems of abuse or illegal addition from time to time, as long as we learn to avoid excessive intake, we can reduce their harm to health.
In daily life, we can try to eat original food, preferably fresh, less processed food; secondly, carefully read the product label before buying food, choose food with less food additives, etc.
Food additive problems frequently break out, reminding us to improve food safety awareness, but also do not have to walk on thin ice, after all, as long as they are used within the normal range, food additives are safe and harmless.
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Resources:
Jiuwen Food Additives. Food R&D and Production. 2017-06-04
[2] Do you know about food additives in the food profession?.Food Laboratory Services. 2020-05-04
[3] After eating food additives for so many years, is it poisonous or not? The academician told the truth. Life Times.2017-04-26
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