Gold-leaf chocolate, gold-leaf cake, and even gold-leaf steak and gold-leaf sushi. In recent years, some businesses have begun to “gold-plate” the food in order to make the food they sell look more high-end and upscale, and they are immediately worth a hundred times more. In response to this situation, recently, the State Administration of Market Supervision, the National Health and Health Commission, and the General Administration of Customs jointly issued a notice, clearly stating that according to my country’s food safety laws and regulations and food safety standards, gold foil and silver foil, gold powder and silver powder are not food additives. It cannot be used for food production and operation.
The three departments including the State Administration for Market Regulation jointly issued a document
Make it clear that gold foil substances cannot be used in food production and operation
Beijing residents: I know it’s in the mask, but it’s the first time I’ve heard of it in the food. It should be acceptable for skin use, but food safety is still more important.
Beijing residents: You should be able to eat it, because the metal can be excreted out of the body, so it shouldn’t hurt much.
Gold leaf food is expensive, so some people think that eating gold leaf must be good for the body. But is this really the case?
Fan Zhihong, professor of nutrition at China Agricultural University: Actually, gold foil cannot be absorbed by us. If you add aqua regia (a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid in a certain proportion), you can dissolve it. The key is that the stomach acid in the stomach can’t play such a big role, so it can’t be said that gold can be absorbed by eating gold foil.
Is eating gold leaf harmful to health?
Experts make it clear that gold foil has no nutritional value for the human body, and it will be excreted as it is. Will eating gold leaf cause harm to health?
Fan Zhihong, professor of nutrition at China Agricultural University: Because gold is a relatively stable chemical element, it will not react with hydrogen ions in gastric acid and release some ions. So in a sense, it is relatively lazy. Therefore, eating a little gold leaf will not be poisoned. Of course you can’t eat too much.
Hu Xiangpeng, deputy director of the Department of Gastroenterology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University: If you take a large amount, it may cause indigestion and other conditions. Unless very large, build up in the gastrointestinal tract and may affect the gastrointestinal tract.
Gold foil does not belong to the category of food additives
In my country, gold foil does not belong to the category of food additives, so in my country, how to define food additives?
In my country, according to the relevant national standards for food safety and the use of food additives, food additives are defined as: artificial additives added to food for the purpose of improving food quality and color, aroma, taste, and for the needs of antiseptic, fresh-keeping and processing technology. Synthetic or natural substances.
Fan Zhihong, professor of nutrition at China Agricultural University: One case is to improve the nutritional value of food, such as adding some vitamins, minerals, calcium, and vitamin C. These are all permitted. Another situation is to improve the sensory quality of food, such as chocolate, if no emulsifier is added, its taste is not so silky.
Edible gold leaf is common gold
Edible gold leaf is what is commonly seen as gold. Experts said that gold foil is divided into two types: edible gold foil and decorative gold foil. Among them, the gold content of decorative gold foil is usually 98%, while the gold content of edible gold foil is as high as 99.99% or more, and it cannot contain other heavy metals that may poison the human body, such as copper and lead.
Gold foil has no nutritional value, the price is inflated, and there are hidden dangers
The golden foil can indeed make food look better, but it has no nutritional value for the human body. Why are some businesses so keen to wear gold and silver for their products? Quite simply, it can be sold more expensively. A 5 yuan ice cream with a piece of gold foil can be sold for 58 yuan.There was even a chocolate covered with gold foil, which sold for a sky-high price of 120,000 yuan. It sounds outrageous, but there are many people who pay for it. This time, the three departments jointly stopped the gold foil food, on the one hand to avoid potential food safety hazards, and on the other hand to curb this extravagant trend.