"Get up in the morning, buy a gutter fried fritter, a sudanese red salted duck egg, drink a cup of melamine milk powder...."..."
In the past, because food safety incidents occurred repeatedly, netizens made up a funny paragraph, which is enough to see everyone's attention to food safety. Now many people often think that the high incidence of cancer in China is related to food safety, especially the problem of food additives, and that foods with additives must be unsafe and even carcinogenic.
"If a restaurant advertises like this, 'Food doesn't contain any food additives,' it's an absolute lie."
Sun Baoguo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, said that when it comes to food additives, we cannot throw the "pot" of some illegal additives on it, so that people have disgust and fear for food additives. Sudan red and melamine are illegal additives!
Why is the soup of instant noodles always fresher than cooking yourself? Why is the bread bought in the supermarket softer than the bread machine? Why is the canned yellow peach sweet but not greasy? All of them are the credit of food additives. Cheng Yiyong, president of the Chinese Nutrition Society, said that food additives can improve food quality and color, aroma and taste, set antiseptic, preservation, processing technology as a whole, it can be said that without food additives, there is no modern food industry.
There are many rumors about food additives on the Internet that they are harmful substances. In fact, food additives are everywhere, preservatives in rice, antioxidants in oil, leavening agents in steamed buns... They are all one of food additives. As long as they are added and used within the limit range, food additives are safe and do not pose a health hazard.
Food additives are not "flood beasts", and the "evidence" that has been slandered over the years has made it criticized.
1. Delicate taste of cancer?
MSG is an indispensable dish condiment for many families, but do not know when, there are rumors: sodium glutamate in MSG heated to 100 degrees will produce carcinogens, so that many people dare not use MSG from now on.
Li Juan of Shanxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine said that the taste of exquisite cancer, fake! The main component of monosodium glutamate is sodium glutamate, which will be decomposed into glutamic acid and sodium after entering the human body, and glutamic acid is one of the essential amino acids of the human body, which is beneficial to the human body and has no carcinogenic effect. Another substance, sodium, is the main component of table salt, although it is necessary to control the intake of sodium, but the sodium content in monosodium glutamate is low, not enough to cause side effects on people, and sodium is not carcinogenic.
2. What is the carcinogenic cause of instant noodles?
The reasons why instant noodles are called "junk food" include the statement that "there are too many preservatives, and eating too much becomes 'mummified'". Preservatives are very common in life, and the salt and sugar we eat every day belong to a kind of preservative.
In fact, the instant noodles that everyone really cares about do not need to add preservatives. The production process of instant noodles determines that its dough cake is very dry, the water activity is low, and it is difficult for microorganisms to survive in this environment, so it is generally not added, or added in small quantities. Even the sauce bag is high temperature sterilization, sealed packaging, and does not add a lot of preservatives.
3. "Glue porridge" causes cancer?
A bowl of porridge in the morning is the eating habit of many people. Many viscous and soft porridges on the market have actually added "additives", which may also add xanthan gum, which is often referred to as "glue porridge".
Xanthan gum is a legal food additive, but according to food safety standards, it is only allowed to be added to "noodle products", not to "rice and its products". Xanthan gum added to porridge, there is a controversy over illegal food addition, but if discussed its carcinogenicity, in fact, the safety of xanthan gum is still relatively high, the dose is small, it will not be digested and absorbed after entering the human body, and it will not cause health harm. Therefore, the theory about xanthan gum poisoning and carcinogenesis is purely a rumor.
Food additives are everywhere in life, but all additives have their own standards of use, once beyond the scope, the original harmless substances, will also become "harmful".
1. Cyclamate
Cyclamate, chemically known as sodium cyclohexylsulfamate, is one of the commonly used sweeteners, and its sweetness is 40-50 times that of sucrose. Long-term intake of cyclamate exceeding the standard of food, may cause certain harm to the human liver and nervous system.
2. Sorbic acid and its potassium salt
Sorbic acid and its potassium salt are acidic preservatives that can be metabolized in living organisms to be excreted as carbon dioxide and water. However, if you eat foods with sorbic acid and its potassium salt in excess for a long time, it may have a certain impact on the body's bone growth, kidneys, and liver health.
3. Potassium aluminum sulfate
Potassium aluminum sulfate, also known as potassium alum, is a commonly used food additive in food processing, and aluminum residues are produced after use. Long-term intake of aluminum residues exceeding the standard of food, may affect the body's absorption of iron, calcium and other nutrients, resulting in osteoporosis, anemia, etc., and even affect the development of nerve cells.
4. Nitrite
Nitrite is a general term for a class of inorganic compounds, commonly used in the food addition of meat, fish and cheese products, playing a role in color protection and regulating the flavor of food. A one-time intake of 200-500 mg of nitrite may be poisoned, causing breathing difficulties, dizziness, headaches, etc. When nitrite enters the human body and decomposes into nitrosamine, it may increase the risk of stomach and bowel cancer.
Japan's "god of food additives" Anbu has estimated that a person's daily intake of additives is about 10 grams, which is roughly equivalent to the amount of salt per capita per day (it is recommended that the daily salt should not exceed 6 grams). A single sandwich alone may contain more than 20 kinds of additives. In the modern food industry civilization, it is the right choice to accept food additives and use them legally. #Health Science Contest ##健康明星计划 #
Resources:
[1] "After eating food additives for so many years, is it poisonous?" The academician told the truth". Life Times.2017-04-26
[2] "Can long-term consumption of MONOS cause cancer?" Can MSG be eaten in the end? 》. Shanxi Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.2021-06-12
[3] "22 batches of unqualified food were notified: cyclamate, aluminum and other additives exceeded the standard". Beiqing.com.2021-07-01
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