Soy sauce is 'harmful oil', not only toxic but also carcinogenic? Look at those who dare not eat soy sauce.

"I heard that the old man next door got liver cancer because he ate too much soy sauce, didn't he?" Aunt He was eating the freshly made snacks and chatting with the little sisters.

"What does having liver cancer have to do with soy sauce? Lao Zhang is an alcoholic. I don't think his liver cancer is unusual at all!"

"Haven't you seen an expert on the Internet saying that soy sauce is a blended product of chemical black caramel , will you get liver cancer if you eat too much? Lao Zhang likes to eat soy sauce bibimbap the most." Aunt He took out her mobile phone and clicked on the article she saw. Show them.

"No, I usually like to put soy sauce in my cooking. I bought a few large bottles at the supermarket specials before, and it seems that I have to throw them away..."

In fact, on the Internet, Xiaojiu saw a lot of "black pots" about "soy sauce carcinogens", some said "carcinogens were detected in soy sauce", and some said "there is no GB18186" code is fake soy sauce", and even There is a saying that "raw soy sauce causes cancer". What is the truth? Today Xiaojiu will make it clear to everyone.

1. Soy sauce is "harmful oil". Will eating too much cause cancer? Don't be fooled

Soy sauce has been exposed that the carcinogen 4-methylimidazole has been detected in many soy sauce brands, which has attracted the attention of many people.

Why does soy sauce contain carcinogens? First, let's take a look at the production process of soy sauce.

The production of brewed soy sauce is based on soybean or soybean meal and other plant proteins as the main raw materials, supplemented by starchy raw materials such as flour, wheat and bran. , flavored condiments.

Soy sauce typically uses caramel color, a thick, dark-brown, viscous substance that is the most consumed natural color in the world. The darker the soy sauce, the more caramel coloring added to the soy sauce .

4-Methylimidazole is a by-product of caramel color. The national standard for food additives stipulates that the content of 4-methylimidazole in caramel color should not exceed 200mg/kg.

However, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives pointed out that the general consumption of 4-methylimidazole will not cause problems to human health, that is to say, normal consumption of soy sauce will not cause cancer .

In addition, 4-methylimidazole is a class 2B carcinogen, and the same class includes coffee, tea, etc., that is, there is insufficient evidence for human carcinogens.

But if you don't want to eat 4-methylimidazole, you can also avoid it.

It is recommended that when purchasing soy sauce, carefully check whether there is a column of "caramel coloring" in the ingredient list. If not, it does not contain 4-methylimidazole. You can also try to use light soy sauce instead of dark soy sauce. For coloring, dark soy sauce usually adds more caramel coloring, while light soy sauce focuses on seasoning and has a clearer color.

In addition, regarding the claim that "raw soy sauce is carcinogenic", in fact, as long as you buy regular and qualified soy sauce, you generally don't need to worry about the occurrence of pathogenic bacteria or carcinogens, and try not to buy bulk soy sauce that has not been tested.

2. How to choose 18186 and 10336?

There was a saying on the Internet that if there is no "GB18186" logo on the ingredient list of soy sauce, it is not safe. In addition to GB18186, there is also a logo "SB10336", what is the difference between the two?

GB18186 is a standard to certify that soy sauce manufacturing complies with the "National Standard of the People's Republic of China: Brewing Soy Sauce".

Brewed soy sauce is a liquid condiment with special color, aroma and taste made from soybean, defatted soybean, wheat, wheat flour or bran, using standard brewing water, edible salt, food additives, and microbial fermentation. When the above conditions are met, GB18186 can be marked .

SB10336 is a commercial industry standard for formulating soy sauce . The standard stipulates that the brewed soy sauce is made of soybean, defatted soybean, wheat, wheat flour or bran as raw materials, using standard brewing water, edible salt, food additives, and fermented by microorganisms. It is a liquid seasoning with special color, aroma and taste. Taste.

Are soy sauces without the label "GB18186" unsafe? not really.

The label "SB0336" is just for the needs of changing the flavor and reducing costs, and adding some other processing procedures and additives. And some imported soy sauces are not marked with "GB18186" because they do not use China's national standards .

3. How to pick out a good soy sauce? There are 2 standards

There are so many brands of soy sauce on the market with different tastes. How to choose a good quality soy sauce?

1. Choose amino acids with high nitrogen content

After getting the soy sauce, first look at the indicator of "amino acid nitrogen" in the "ingredient list" of the soy sauce bottle.

Generally speaking, the higher the "amino acid nitrogen" content, the higher the quality of soy sauce and the stronger the umami taste. The "amino acid nitrogen" content of premium soy sauce can reach as high as 0.8 g/100 ml.

2. Prefer "brewing" and "serving"

According to national standards, all soy sauce products will indicate on the packaging whether they are brewed soy sauce, table soy sauce or prepared soy sauce. Generally, the first two are preferred.

The brewed soy sauce is made from by-products of soybean processing through fermentation, and there are strict regulations in the national standard (GB18186-2000), while the soy sauce can be eaten raw, and the hygiene requirements are relatively high .

In addition to paying attention to the quality of soy sauce, you should also pay attention to the content of sodium. After all, soy sauce contains salt, so eating more is not good for your body.

Generally speaking, a spoonful of soy sauce contains about 1g of salt, and a tablespoon (10mL) of soy sauce contains 1.5g to 2g of salt. According to the dietary guidelines, the daily salt control should be within 5g.

Extension - light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, extremely fresh, oyster sauce, what's the difference?

Soy sauce is one of the more common seasonings in life, but it also has similar seasoning effects, such as dark soy sauce, extremely fresh, and oyster sauce. What is the difference between these seasonings?

• soy sauce

The color is relatively light, usually reddish-brown, but the salty taste is relatively heavy. It is often used in cold dishes or stir-fries, and attention should be paid to the amount used.

• old soy sauce

The color is darker, dark brown, suitable for coloring, used for roasting and cooking dark dishes, etc. When cooking, if you want to make the dishes look good, you need to put the old soy sauce early.

• very fresh

Similar to raw soy sauce, food additives are added on the basis of raw soy sauce, and it smells fresher than raw soy sauce . It is generally used for stir-fries and cold dishes.

• oyster sauce

It is a seasoning made from raw oysters. The texture is thicker than soy sauce, and the taste is more delicious than seafood. It is generally used when it is about to be out of the pot . Because it is easy to spoil, it needs to be refrigerated in the refrigerator.

Soy sauce is rich in amino acids, potassium, magnesium, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, etc. Moderate consumption still has a positive impact on the human body. However, it must be used to replace part of the table salt under the premise that the amount of salt is not eaten much.

References:

[1] "Contain carcinogens in soy sauce? This is a false report". Journal of Food Science. 2017-01-26

[2] "Can soy sauce without this code on the bottle cause cancer? Here comes the authoritative explanation! ▏ Rumors". South China Sea Market Supervision. 2017-10-11

[3] "What's the difference between 10 yuan and 35 yuan of soy sauce? Thankfully I know...". People's Daily Online. 2021-07-12

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