These commonly eaten vegetables are actually formaldehyde dishes? Is it harmful or carcinogenic? tell you the truth
"This vegetable you love is soaked in formaldehyde to keep it fresh!"
"Vegetables tied with tape contain a lot of formaldehyde, which is harmful to cancer when eaten."
Food safety has always been the focus of public attention, and there have been many news exposures on the Internet. Have you seen the above-mentioned articles, some of them say that black-hearted merchants use formaldehyde to make baby vegetables, some say that spinach suffers, or that vegetables bound with tape have formaldehyde... Is this true?
1. Are these vegetables "none spared"?
Baby cabbage, Chinese cabbage, Flammulina velutipes, lotus root... Internet rumors contain a lot of formaldehyde. Eating it not only hurts the liver and kidneys, but also causes cancer. Is it true?
In fact, formaldehyde is an irritating chemical substance with a wide range of uses. It can be used as a disinfectant and preservative, and it can also be used to make plastic resins. In the past, some unscrupulous merchants would use formaldehyde in food such as yuba, vermicelli, and beef louver. In order to prolong the shelf life of food and bleach, it is illegal, and formaldehyde has been explicitly prohibited from being used in food processing .
What if there are still illegal businesses using formaldehyde in food? It is not ruled out that there are, but it is relatively rare . The current food technology basically does not use formaldehyde for preservative and bleaching, and the irritating odor of high-concentration formaldehyde is relatively large , and it is easy to be found when used in food.
In addition, the cost of using formaldehyde in food is not low , and there are more affordable and legal broad-spectrum fungicides. Why take the risk?
To put it 10,000 steps back, even if the vegetables do contain formaldehyde, the residual amount is very low, because formaldehyde is easy to volatilize. Under normal circumstances, most of it has been volatilized into the air during transportation, storage, and cooking.
Some people say that vegetables bound with plastic tape contain formaldehyde. In this regard, Shenzhen Quality Inspection Institute has conducted relevant tests and found that in 11 samples of vegetables and tape, no formaldehyde was detected in the contact area between vegetables and tape, although the tape Trace amounts of formaldehyde were detected, but only after immersion in an acetic acid solution at 60°C for 2 hours. There is no such situation in the normal sales link, so you can buy and eat with confidence .
2. In fact, "talking about the color change of formaldehyde" is too exaggerated
The reason why everyone talks about the discoloration of formaldehyde is because formaldehyde is indeed a carcinogen, and it is a class of carcinogens, and there is sufficient evidence that it can cause nasopharyngeal cancer.
When formaldehyde enters the human body, it will be converted into formic acid/formate, then into carbon dioxide, and finally excreted through breathing. As more and more formaldehyde enters the body and exceeds the processing limit of the enzymes in the body, it is easy to change the properties of the protein, or make the protein inactive, eventually causing lesions.
However, it is difficult to consume a large amount of formaldehyde through food, and it is almost impossible to eat vegetables alone . The WHO also stated that we should pay more attention to low-level and long-term chronic hazards. The main harm of formaldehyde is inhalation rather than consumption , and if there is formaldehyde on vegetables, the pungent taste will be discovered at once, and avoiding consumption can reduce the risk.
What many people don't know is that formaldehyde is actually everywhere . Formaldehyde is produced when frying dishes when cooking, formaldehyde is produced in the adhesives used in furniture, formaldehyde is produced when cleaning agents and disinfectants are oxidized, cigarette smoke and car exhaust contain formaldehyde...even when every cell in the human body is metabolized. formaldehyde.
We live in the encirclement of formaldehyde, but we don't have to run away when we talk about formaldehyde. Talking about the color change of formaldehyde is too exaggerated.
3. How can I tell when a black-hearted businessman sprays formaldehyde on food?
Dietitian Wang Silu reminded: If there is a food with illegally added formaldehyde, it is more likely to appear in five kinds of food: noodles, pork trotters, squid, hairy belly, and louver . So how do we tell the difference?
First of all, scientifically treat rumors, rationality prevails, and the ability to think independently. Secondly, it is best to choose formal channels to buy food, such as large supermarkets or farmers markets, and try not to go to small stalls and hawkers to buy food, otherwise it will be difficult to be held accountable if there is a problem.
Furthermore, do not eat a single food for a long time, and ensure that the food is diversified and nutritionally balanced, which is both healthy and reduces the risk of poisoning. Finally, in order to avoid real ingestion of formaldehyde, food must be thoroughly cooked and eaten, because formaldehyde is easily volatilized in a high temperature environment, which can minimize the residue of formaldehyde.
Extension: The harm of formaldehyde mainly lies in "inhalation", how to remove indoor formaldehyde?
In fact, as one of the strong carcinogens, formaldehyde exists in large quantities indoors. For example, decoration is inseparable from various coatings and building materials, and a large number of adhesives are used for furniture.
According to the national standard GB/T18883 "Indoor Air Quality Standard", the indoor formaldehyde concentration is 0.10mg/m³. However, even the concentration of formaldehyde below 0.10mg/m³ may cause asthma in children, so the lower the formaldehyde concentration, the better.
So how can we minimize the concentration of indoor formaldehyde?
First, four principles: high temperature, high humidity, long time, and more ventilation . It is best to open the windows for ventilation in the new house, and maintain the humidity of the room by spraying water and placing water basins. It is best to move into the new house after a summer.
Second, it is best to choose environmentally friendly decoration materials. Although the price will be more expensive, the risk can be reduced accordingly, and an efficient air purification system can be installed if conditions permit.
All in all, formaldehyde is ubiquitous in our lives, and everyone does not have to think of toxic and carcinogenic when they hear formaldehyde. Quantitative changes can lead to qualitative changes. As long as they are viewed rationally and scientifically prevented, risks can be effectively reduced.
References
[1] "Formaldehyde vegetables in the vegetable market hurt the liver and kidneys and activate cancer cells? Remember these 4 tips to help you avoid pitfalls! 》. Ruan Guangfeng Nutritionist. 2021-03-03
[2] "The rumor has been refuted! Are the vegetables bound with tape really "excessive formaldehyde" and can cause "cancer"? 》. Nutshell. 2017-01-07
[3] "Scary! Such oranges and baby vegetables must not be eaten. They are poisonous and carcinogenic? Hurry up and watch...". Popular Science China. 2021-01-27
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