Dishwashing liquid is probably the most common item in every modern kitchen and is used almost every day.
A lot of readers have recently asked:
Is dish soap safe? I heard that long-term exposure to detergent left on food or tableware can cause cancer, teratogenicity, and heredity…
Are fruit and vegetable cleaners safer than dish soap? What about fruit and vegetable cleaners specifically for babies?
Figure | pixabay
I said
As long as it is a regular produced detergent and used reasonably, it is safe.
Fruit and vegetable cleaning agents and fruit and vegetable cleaning agents specially designed for babies are all marketing by merchants, and you can buy them if you don’t have a lot of money.
What’s in the dish soap?
The main ingredient in dish soap is surfactant.
The reason why the tableware is difficult to wash is because the oil of the dishes is attached to it. The oil is insoluble in water, but the surfactant can make the oil and water “blind” and achieve remove greasy > purpose.
Surfactants are still organic compounds, and some organophosphorus and carbamate pesticides remaining on fruits and vegetables are also organic compounds, and the two are mutually soluble, which is why some detergents can help
strong>Reduce pesticide residues on the surface of fruits and vegetables.
Figure | pixabay
Is dish soap safe?
Everyone has been very vigilant about the residual problem of detergent, in fact, they are worried about the safety of surfactants.
The acute toxicity of surfactants is usually expressed by the median lethal dose ( LD 50 , g/kg ) of oral administration of experimental animals, that is, the dose is eaten/smeared/injected once, half of the experiment Animals will die.
The smaller the value of the LD50, the greater the toxicity. Generally speaking, if the LD 50 is above 1000 mg/kg, the acute toxicity is considered to be low. In order to give you an idea of this value, let me tell you two data first, the LD 50 of salt is 3000 mg/kg (rat), and alcohol< The LD50 for /strong> is 6670 mg/kg. [1,2]
Surfactants are further divided into anionic, cationic, nonionic and zwitterionic, of which anionic and nonionic are the most produced and used in my country. [3]
As can be seen from the table below, the most toxic sodium stearate among anionic surfactants is already less toxic, nonionic Amphoteric and amphoteric surfactants are generally less toxic than anionic surfactants, similar to table salt, and can be said to be quite safe. [1,2]
Image from reference [1]
As for carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, heredity and other issues that may be caused by long-term use, studies have also confirmed that anions such as LAS, AES, and AOS are widely used. It is a type of surfactant that is not harmful to humans or the environment. The subacute and chronic toxicity test results of nonionic surfactants were also non-toxic. [1,2]
The research and development of products such as detergents has been relatively mature, and in recent years, the market spot check pass rate is also quite high, almost all of them are 100% qualified. [4-6]
Image from reference [4]
Is fruit and vegetable cleaner better than dish soap?
Fruit and vegetable cleaners, as well as so-called baby-specific fruit and vegetable cleaners, are actually Class A detergents that can come into direct contact with food.
“GB 14930.1-2015 National Food Safety Standard Detergents” implemented in 2016 divides traditional detergents into two categories according to the different uses of the product:
Class A products: Detergents for direct food cleaning.
Class B: Detergents for cleaning tableware and tools, equipment, containers, and food packaging that come into contact with food.
The outer packaging of the detergent product should be marked with the category (Class A, B), and the packaging of Class A can also directly state “” Can be in direct contact with food“, so that even if you accidentally eat it, you don’t have to worry about the safety after the entrance. [4]
If you want to wash fruits and vegetables, choose products with the words “GB 14930.1 Class A”, “Class A” or “Food” on the package. There is no need to spend a lot of money to buy special fruit and vegetable cleaners, baby-specific fruit and vegetable cleaners.
Actually, both Class A and Class B dishwashing liquids are safe and reliable under reasonable conditions of use. If you want to use dishwashing liquid and are particularly concerned about safety issues, you can choose to use Class A dishwashing liquid to clean food and tableware, and rinse with running water for a while after use (30 seconds is almost the same).
Actually, if you place an order on major e-commerce platforms, you can buy it as Class A detergent. Really, I have helped you to look through the top-selling detergents on major e-commerce platforms, and they are all Class A!
Figure | pixabay
Reminder
More and more manufacturers are choosing to use milder and less irritating surfactants based on consumer demand, but surfactants will reduce sebum in the epidermis /strong>, this problem is hard to avoid.
To protect your skin, you can wear gloves when washing dishes, apply hand cream after washing, or use dishwashing machine~
Look at what type of detergent is in your home?
References
[1] Fang Yun, Xia Yongmei. Safety and mildness of surfactants [J]. Daily Chemical Industry, 1998(06):24-29.
[2] Wang Xuechuan, Qiu Baiyu. Toxicity of Surfactants [J]. Science of Daily Chemicals, 2005(06):22-26.
[3] Zhang Biao, Fan Weili. Application progress of surfactants in household detergents [J]. Applied Chemical Industry, 2008(02):205-210.
[4] Results of Quality Supervision and Spot Check of Detergent Products in Hainan Province in 2021 (2021-10-14) https://amr.hainan.gov.cn/zw/zlcc /202110/t20211014_3074673.html
[5] Announcement of results of quality supervision and random inspection of detergent products by Xi’an Market Supervision Administration (2020-12-10) http:https://scjg.xa.gov.cn/hdjl /xxgs/ltlyspzljcgs/5fd97c74f8fd1c59665351be.html
[6] Announcement on Municipal Supervision and Sampling Inspection of Dishwashing Detergent Product Quality in 2021 (Phase 7) (2021.3.17) http:https://scjgj.suzhou.gov.cn/ szqts/zlcc/202103/a7d24cc432b84f56a216893505726de1.shtml
[7] GB 14930.1-2015 National Food Safety Standard Detergent