Is it safe to use "water-retaining artifacts" food-grade sodium hexametaphosphate?

　　Nowadays, food additives are full of people eating and drinking, and almost every product will come with food additives. Food moisture preservers are actually phosphates. Taking it as an example in meat products, the addition of food-grade sodium hexametaphosphate can reactivate the meat protein tissue and restore the water retention capacity of the meat; at the same time, it can adjust the pH value of the meat, the pH value increases, and the water retention capacity will also increase.

　　

　　In fact, the use of quality improvers in food is the result of the continuous development of the food industry, rational use can inhibit the growth of harmful microorganisms, prevent health hazards caused by these harmful microorganisms, and extend the shelf life of food. Food grade sodium hexametaphosphate improves the adhesion and water retention of meat and increases taste, and is a quality improver often used in food processing.

　　Compared with the industrialized and standardized production and processing of food, foods that extend the shelf life with high salt, high sugar and high oil such as salting, sugar staining, and oil immersion have health risks and are more worthy of vigilance. There are also some foods with high moisture content and rich nutrition, such as cakes, ham sausages, etc., if they do not use preservatives, they are likely to have spoiled before they leave the factory, and they are even more unsafe.

　　Several principles for selecting food grade sodium hexametaphosphate moisture retention agent products:

　　1. The solubility of food grade sodium hexametaphosphate, the water retaining agent can only be used after it is dissolved, and the product that is not well dissolved cannot play the role of the product;

　　2. The ability to preserve water and hair color of the marinated meat filling: after the meat filling is marinated, it will be elastic, and the meat filling will have brightness;

　　3. Product taste: food grade sodium hexametaphosphate that is not pure enough and poor quality, made into meat products, there will be astringency when tasting, which is obviously reflected in both sides of the root of the tongue, followed by the product taste and crispness and other details.

　　In addition to adjusting the pH of the meat and increasing the ionic strength, sodium hexametaphosphate can also chelate metal ions such as Ca20, Mg20, Fe20, etc., improving water retention performance and improving antioxidant effect. Because the metal ions are activators of fat oxidation rancidity, after the addition of sodium hexametaphosphate, the calcium and magnesium ions that originally bound to the muscle are chelated by polyphosphate, and the carboxyl groups in the muscle protein are released, due to the electrostatic repulsion between the carboxyl groups, the protein structure is loose, which can absorb more water, thereby improving the water retention of the meat.

　　It is worth noting that for the use of sodium hexametaphosphate added to food, China has a strict food safety risk assessment and standard specifications and other management systems. In modern industrial production, the use of food additives such as sodium hexametaphosphate is also added in strict accordance with its prescribed scope of use and dosage specifications, which will not cause harm to health, and can be described as a safe "water-retaining artifact".