Not long ago, the issue of the use of food additives in soy sauce has attracted attention, and some consumers have begun to pursue "zero-added" foods on the market.
However, some experts said that "zero additive" is not synonymous with health and safety, and it is recommended that consumers view food additives dialectically.
dispute
The old-fashioned soy sauce is caught in the "double standard" question
Citizen Ms. Liu stopped for a long time in front of the supermarket shelf and carefully checked the instructions on the packaging of soy sauce, "I started to pay attention to the additives after reading the news. I looked at the ingredient list carefully. There are indeed many additives in some soy sauces, but I can't understand the details of these additives. what is."
Not long ago, Haitian Flavor was deeply involved in the "double standard" controversy of soy sauce.
Several short video accounts said that the ingredients list of Haitian Soy Sauce sold abroad by Haitian Flavor Industry has no food additives, but only natural raw materials such as water, soybeans, wheat, and salt. more food additives.
Haitian is questioned that the internal and external standards are not uniform.
Food additives refer to chemically synthesized or natural substances added to food in order to improve the quality, color, aroma and taste of food, as well as for the needs of antiseptic and processing technology.
At present, there are about 2,000 kinds of food additives approved for use in my country, which are divided into 23 categories according to their functions. agent, etc.
Taking soy sauce as an example, the sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate and sodium dehydroacetate used are preservatives, sucralose and high fructose syrup are sweeteners, disodium nucleotide and sodium glutamate are sweeteners. flavoring agent.
After the dispute, Haitian Flavor has responded several times, saying that all the company's products are produced in strict accordance with the "Food Safety Law", and that the food additives contained in the products meet the national standards and regulatory requirements, but it still failed to dispel everyone's doubts.
On the short video platform, the content of a video blogger's use of additives and other means to process ingredients has also sparked discussions.
Add a spoonful of three-flower evaporated milk to the water, and it will immediately become a "stock"; gelatin sheets, non-dairy creamers and syrup can be used to make "instant bird's nest"...
visit
"Zero additive" products account for most of the containers
The controversy over soy sauce has brought about the hot sale of "zero additive" soy sauce on the market.
The reporter visited and found that on the shelves of major supermarkets in Beijing, "zero additive" soy sauce occupies half of the country, and it is also a category strongly promoted by shopping guides.
"This soy sauce has no additives and also uses black beans." In the Changying store of Yonghui Supermarket, as soon as the reporter walked to the condiment area, a shopping guide began to recommend a "zero additive" soy sauce.
The outer packaging of the product shows that the product does not add preservatives, monosodium glutamate, colorants, flavor enhancers and sweeteners, and the ingredients include water, black beans, wheat, edible salt, white sugar, and yeast extract.
However, its price is also more expensive, the price of 1 liter is 39.9 yuan, while 1 liter of ordinary soy sauce is only 24.9 yuan.
"You can also choose a small package. This 160ml bottle is doing activities, and it only costs 3.9 yuan." The staff said.
The reporter came to the opposite shelf, and another shopping guide recommended a "zero additive" soy sauce.
"This one has only 4 ingredients, no additives, and children's soy sauce suitable for babies." Following the shopping guide's guidelines, the reporter saw that there are quite a few "zero-added" soy sauces on the shelves, all with striking "zero-added" soy sauces. " lettering.
The shopping guide revealed that in the past month, the sales of "zero-added" soy sauce have increased significantly.
A similar situation also appeared in the Auchan supermarket in the Huiju shopping mall.
The reporter found that among the more than ten brands of soy sauce it sells, more than half of them are marked with the "zero additive" label, and the price is 30% to 50% more expensive than ordinary soy sauce.
Not only soy sauce, the concept of "zero additive" extends to a variety of foods.
Relying on the label of "zero additive", the old brand Huiyuan Juice has unexpectedly become popular recently, and millions of people have poured into the brand's live broadcast room.
According to third-party data, on Tmall supermarket and other channels, the monthly sales of Huiyuan's classic boxed orange juice have exceeded 30,000.
In the beverage area of Auchan supermarket, one juice emphasizes no water, no sugar, and no additives; another hawthorn juice is marked with "no preservatives, no pigments"; a coconut juice is marked "dare to promise not to add flavors" , no coloring, no preservatives”.
There are also many brands that have launched sparkling water marked with "0 sugar, 0 fat and 0 calories", and dairy products with "0 added sucrose".
dispel doubts
Learn to treat food additives dialectically
With the upgrading of consumption, people's consumption concept is also changing.
According to a survey by a third-party agency, Chinese consumers' health awareness is increasing, and 79% of them are paying more and more attention to various ingredients in their diets.
Are "zero additive" foods the best?
Do you want to buy "zero additive" food?
The reporter interviewed a number of experts.
"'Zero additive' is by no means synonymous with safety and high quality." Luo Yunbo, dean of the School of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering, China Agricultural University, said that my country has made strict regulations on the types, amounts and scope of use of food additives.
On the contrary, for "zero addition", there is no unified national standard and specification so far. It is more of a business propaganda method for businesses to take advantage of poor information and to favor consumers.
Zhong Kai, director of the Kexin Food and Health Information Exchange Center, also said that "zero-additive" products are expensive and have high profit margins. Naturally, they are the main products of merchants, but "zero-addition" does not mean safer and healthier.
He took the common "zero sugar" in beverages as an example. Some beverages do not have sugar, but add honey, concentrated fruit juice, jam, fructose syrup, etc. "It can be done without additives in the food industry, but the price will be higher. It is expensive, and the color and flavor are also worse, so additives need to be viewed dialectically.”
Fan Zhihong, an associate professor at the Department of Nutrition and Food Safety, School of Food Science, China Agricultural University, bluntly said that although "zero-additive" food is more expensive, sometimes its cost is not higher than that of ordinary food.
For example, "zero-added" pickles can be made without preservatives, with more salt and sugar, and can be made with traditional techniques, but if there is no corresponding method to inhibit microorganisms, the safety will be reduced.
"Food additives do not exceed the range or excess in food, and do not cause harm to human health. What causes consumers to panic is actually the issue of adulteration caused by food additives."
"As long as it is a food additive that can be publicly sold on the market, it is in the catalogue of food additives approved by the state and has been strictly demonstrated in terms of safety." Luo Yunbo said that the public need not panic too much about food additives.
At the same time, merchants are not allowed to abuse food additives at will, and must be within the prescribed scope and limit of use.
Tips
How to read a food ingredient list?
Fan Zhihong: The nutritional quality of food essentially depends on its raw materials and their proportions.
The ingredient list mainly depends on three aspects:
① Look at the order of raw materials.
According to the regulations, the raw material with the largest amount should be ranked first, and the raw material with the least amount should be ranked last.
For example, the ingredient list of a toffee reads "milk powder, sucrose, maltodextrin, etc.", indicating that the milk powder content is the highest, followed by sucrose.
② Look for unwanted ingredients, such as unhealthy ingredients such as hydrogenated vegetable oils, and ingredients that may cause allergies or adverse reactions.
③ Look at food additives.
From June 2010, manufacturers must label all food additives.
Words with color, such as "lemon yellow" and "carmine", are generally pigments; words with flavor, such as "cyclamate", "aspartame", "stevia", etc. are sweeteners; The words "glue" are usually thickeners, gelling agents and stabilizers.
At the same time, pay attention to the nutritional composition table of food instructions. The higher the content of protein, vitamins and minerals, the higher the nutrition.
For foods that win on taste, also watch out for indicators such as energy (calorie), fat, sodium, and cholesterol content.
What additives should I pay attention to when buying condiments?
Fan Zhihong: What we need to pay attention to the most is the question of how much salt is added to the condiment, which is one of the biggest factors affecting the cardiovascular health of the human body.
Eating too much salt increases the risk of many diseases, such as gastritis, high blood pressure, heart disease, and kidney stones.
People tend to ignore the risk factors brought about by familiar things around them, such as oil, salt, and sugar, and instead worry about unfamiliar additives, such as sodium benzoate, potassium sorbate, and sodium dehydroacetate.
In fact, these compounds have undergone various toxicological tests, have also been used in food for many years, and remain stable during cooking.
(Beijing Evening News reporter Ma Jing Yuan Lu)