◎Intern reporter Sun Mingyuan
Every child is a parent's treasure.
Seeing the sayings that "food additives affect children's intellectual development, leading to obesity and precocious puberty" and "don't let the accumulation of pigment become a child's childhood", parents will inevitably have various worries about children's food safety.
In fact, the above statements contain a lot of misleading and even rumor elements.
On December 6, Professor Wang Bei, deputy dean and doctoral supervisor of the School of Food and Health of Beijing Technology and Business University, said in an interview with a reporter from Science and Technology Daily that food additives have long been companions of human beings. It is an indispensable foundation, and the formulation and implementation of my country's food additive standards are very strict. Parents do not need to worry too much about additives when purchasing children's food.
Compared with food additives, parents should pay more attention to the nutritional content of children's food, and don't "stare at the sesame and lose the watermelon".
There are few types of additives allowed in infant food in my country
"There are more than 10,000 kinds of food additives that are allowed to be used in the world, but only 2,000 kinds in my country. A large number of food additives that have been allowed to be used abroad have not been listed in China due to food safety and the characteristics of my country's food culture. National standards. Therefore, in general, my country’s food additive use standards are quite strict, especially for infant food.” Wang Bei said.
According to Wang Bei, "National Food Safety Standards for the Use of Food Additives" (GB 2760, hereinafter referred to as the "Standard"), the food additives allowed to be used in infant food in my country are mainly emulsifiers, thickeners, acidity regulators, swelling agents, etc. There are more than 20 kinds of these 4 categories of loosening agents.
In addition, the "Standard" has strict regulations on the type, function and maximum usage of each food additive allowed to be used in infant food.
For example, infant formula is further divided into infant formula, older infant and young child formula, and infant formula for special medical purposes.
Although these 3 types of food belong to formula food for infants and young children, the types of food additives among the 3 types cannot be used in common.
For example, guar gum, a common food thickener, can only be used in follow-on infant and toddler formula, but not in infant formula.
In addition, the "Standard" also strictly stipulates that no food spices shall be added to formula food for infants and young children whose use range covers 0-6 months. The standard is very strict.
"Therefore, the use of food additives according to national standards is legal and safe, and consumers do not need to worry too much," Wang Bei said.
Parents should pay more attention to the nutritional content of food
Wang Bei pointed out that children are in an important stage of physical development, and their physical functions are still not perfect. Therefore, when formulating food additive standards, the country is very cautious in selecting the list of food additives allowed in infant food and the maximum amount of use.
In addition, the amount of food additives added to food is very small, so its impact on children's growth and development can basically be ignored.
"However, compared with food additives, what is more noteworthy is the nutritional content of the food itself. When buying snacks for children, parents should buy more foods with high nutritional value, such as milk, yogurt, etc., so that children can consume more protein and calcium. Elements, lutein and other nutrients. As for some high-sugar, high-fat, high-salt processed foods, you should eat less. Compared with food additives, the intake of nutrients has a much greater impact on children's bodies. Wang Bei analyzed that when buying food for their children, parents should pay more attention to choosing products based on the nutritional needs of their children at different stages of growth and development.
"Additives cause precocious puberty in children" is a rumor
Wang Bei bluntly stated that there is no scientific basis for "food additives leading to precocious puberty in children".
Wang Bei analyzed that the chemical components that lead to precocious puberty must be related to hormones, but there are no components related to hormone functions or structures in food additives, so legal food additives cannot cause precocious puberty.
"This rumor may have something to do with phthalates (bisphenol A). Early studies have found that phthalates in plastic baby bottles and other food containers for infants and young children can exert estrogen-like effects in the human body .But since 2011, my country has banned the production of baby food containers containing this chemical substance. So, this problem has become history.”
Wang Bei believes that such statements are very similar to rumors such as "soy milk causes precocious puberty", and may be the result of false rumors.
She advises consumers to trust foods produced by regular food manufacturers, and the additives used in these foods are all within a safe range, and neither adults nor children need to worry too much.
(Source: Science and Technology Daily)