The cabbage is sprayed with formaldehyde to keep it fresh, will eating it cause leukemia?
(Institute of Agricultural Quality Standards and Testing Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences)
As the saying goes“Chinese cabbage is a treasure, better than Ganoderma lucidum< span>”, for Chinese people, Chinese cabbage is undoubtedly one of the most friendly vegetables. However, in recent years, there have always been some sensational headlines in the media.“The preservation of cabbage depends on formaldehyde” “Eating formaldehyde-containing cabbage will cause leukemia”……, Is this really the case?
I. Is it necessary to spray formaldehyde on cabbage to keep it fresh?
Formaldehyde is indeed a fungicide with antiseptic, bactericidal and stabilizing properties. But for locally produced cabbage, it can be sold directly, and no special preservation is required at all. For cabbage that needs long-distance transportation, cold storage pre-cooling, ice cube cooling, and refrigerated truck transportation will be used to achieve the effect of low-temperature preservation. Only in summer when the temperature is high, there may be very few merchants who are greedy and will use low-concentration formaldehyde solution to prolong the fresh-keeping period of cabbage.
According toGB 2760-2014“National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives”, formaldehyde itself It is not a food raw material or food additive and cannot be used in food and agricultural products. The use of formaldehyde to keep vegetables fresh is a violation and illegal act, and should be severely cracked down.
Second, if cabbage is sprayed with formaldehyde, will it induce leukemia?
The researchers conducted a simulation experiment by spraying formaldehyde on cabbage. The results showed that: compared with the cabbage that was not sprayed with formaldehyde, the roots of the cabbage with formaldehyde were browned. The rate of change has slowed down, however, it does not prevent the rot of the cabbage roots. From the third day, the cabbage roots started to rot whether or not the formaldehyde was sprayed. In addition, because the volatilization speed of the formaldehyde solution is very fast, after one day of spraying, it has basically volatilized to a level that cannot be detected by the instrument. Therefore, even if there are illegal traders spraying formaldehyde on cabbage for freshness, as long as the smell of formaldehyde is not smelled, it means that the formaldehyde has basically evaporated, and there is no great threat to health, and it will not induce leukemia.
Third, how to identify whether the cabbage has been sprayed with formaldehyde?
Formaldehyde is highly volatile and smells very pungent. Therefore, it is easy to identify whether the cabbage has been sprayed with formaldehyde. If you can’t smell formaldehyde, it means that the cabbage has not been sprayed with formaldehyde, or even if it has been sprayed, it has basically evaporated. If you are still worried, you can peel off the outermost leaves of the Chinese cabbage, cut off the roots, and rinse with water several times.
In recent years, local governments have strengthened the overall supervision of the quality of cabbage, and carried out comprehensive inspections of foreign mobile cabbage transport vehicles in the vegetable market and transportation. The phenomenon of formaldehyde cabbage has been Very few, consumers can rest assured to eat.