“Do not buy vegetables wrapped with tape. Formaldehyde exceeding the standard ten times will lead to leukemia…”
Ms. Zhang bought a bundle of lettuce from the supermarket this morning and went home , with a circle of green tape on it. Unexpectedly, my mother-in-law changed her face when she saw this tape, saying that there is something wrong with this dish, and that it contains formaldehyde and will cause cancer.
“But aren’t all the vegetables in the supermarket wrapped with tape? Could there be any problem?” Ms. Zhang wondered.
“It is said all day on the Internet that there is something wrong with this kind of food, I would rather believe it than not!” The mother-in-law said with a serious face, and then threw away the vegetable she just bought.
Looking at the dish that was thrown away, Ms. Zhang was very distressed, but she was afraid that it really contained formaldehyde. After all, almost everyone knew the name of formaldehyde. Do vegetables wrapped in tape really contain formaldehyde? Can I still eat it later?
1. Are vegetables wrapped with tape poisonous? Formaldehyde exceeds the standard ten times?
Why does tape contain formaldehyde? The tape is usually composed of an adhesive and a substrate. Some adhesives use formaldehyde as an auxiliary material in the production process. If there is no complete reaction, a small amount of formaldehyde may remain. Many people are buying vegetables. At times, I also worry about formaldehyde on the tape wrapped around the vegetables.
In response to everyone’s concerns, in 2016, Shenzhen Quality Inspection Institute and Shenzhen Food and Drug Administration sampled 11 vegetables bound with tape in different supermarkets for formaldehyde residue detection , It was found that formaldehyde was not detected in all vegetable samples, but only 0.13-0.19 mg/m2 formaldehyde was detected in the tape, which belonged to a very small range.
Jiang Limao, a professor-level senior engineer on the quality and safety risk assessment of agricultural product packaging materials of the Ministry of Agriculture, introduced that there is no need to worry too much, the country has strict standards and regulations for materials that come into contact with food. According to the relevant provisions of the national standard GB 9685-2008 “Hygienic Standards for the Use of Additives for Food Containers and Packaging Materials”, the maximum formaldehyde residue used for food contact should not exceed 15 mg/kg, and the adhesive tape that meets the national standard should not be used. affect the quality of vegetables.
Second, take stock of the popular “formaldehyde dishes” on the Internet, don’t be fooled again
It is reported on the Internet that several vegetables contain formaldehyde, which can cause cancer when eaten, but this is not true.
1. Baby cabbage
There are rumors that baby cabbage will be soaked in formaldehyde, which will cause cancer if eaten. Eating baby cabbage bought from regular channels without adding illegal substances will not cause cancer. Even if the baby cabbage is dipped in formaldehyde, but formaldehyde is soluble in water and volatile, as long as it is fully cleaned, it can be removed.
2. White tofu
The color of tofu is actually affected by factors such as the type of raw material, coagulant, etc. White tofu does not necessarily have formaldehyde added, because tofu can also become very white under normal circumstances. It is unreasonable to identify whether tofu contains formaldehyde by color.
Third, find out those hidden “big formaldehyde households”
Of course, it is true in life There are foods that are easy to hide more formaldehyde, such as these two foods, we need to be vigilant:
1. Fried and burst “flowering” hairtail
Some unscrupulous merchants will add formaldehyde to hairtail to keep it fresh, prolong the shelf life, and make hairtail more elastic and brighter. Gong Jianzhuang, Deputy Chief Physician of the Department of Gastroenterology, Zhengzhou Central Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University explained that if hairtail bursts and “blooms” when fried, it may be related to formaldehyde, because when hairtail is treated with formaldehyde, strong>Due to the different concentrations of formaldehyde on the surface and inside of the fish, the degree of denaturation is different. Once suddenly encountering high temperature, it is easy to burst, and it looks like “blooming”.
2. Extremely crispy chicken feet with pickled peppers
The skin color of normal chicken feet is natural after being cooked, and the skin has no toughness. Easy to tear off, if the skin is thin and crispy after breaking off the chicken feet, and it is easily torn off, it means that the chicken feet may have been soaked in formaldehyde.
Fourth, how to eat less formaldehyde dishes?
There are indeed some dishes on the market that are easily added formaldehyde by illegal businesses. If you want to eat less formaldehyde-containing dishes, you can start from these three aspects:
1. Avoidance from the source
When buying food, it is best to go to a regular farmers market or a large supermarket to buy it, which can reduce the risk of unsafe food from the source.
2. There is nothing that cannot be solved by heating
Formaldehyde is easy to volatilize under high temperature, so it must be thoroughly heated when cooking food. Reduce the risk of ingesting formaldehyde.
3. Balanced intake of various foods
When ingesting food, it is necessary to have a balanced intake of various foods and follow the “balanced and varied” The idea is to reduce the intake of a certain food, thereby reducing the risk of problems such as food safety.
In short, it is illegal to add formaldehyde to any dish. The key is to improve your ability to distinguish.
References:
[1] “Vegetables tied with tape exceed the standard by 10 times? Test shows: no harm”. People’s Daily. 2017 -01-15
[2] “Phoenix feet with pickled peppers may be older than you and teach you four tricks to distinguish them”. Qingdao Market Supervision. 2015-06-24
[3 ] “These commonly eaten vegetables are actually “formaldehyde dishes”? Many people don’t know about it”. Popular Science China. 2020-05-31
[4] “Be careful! Hairtail “blooms” after being fried , may have been soaked in formaldehyde”. National Party Media Information Public Platform. 2022-04-22