Food additives are not terrible, 'zero addition' ≠ safer

A few days ago, the "Measures for the Supervision and Administration of Food Labeling (Draft for Solicitation of Comments)" publicly solicited opinions on the website of the State Administration for Market Supervision and Administration, which stipulates that the words "no addition", "zero addition", "not containing" or similar words can not be used in food labeling.

In the past, many food packages were marked with "zero addition", "no synthetic pigments, no flavor enhancers" and other words, which has won the favor of many consumers. But it has to be said that "no additives" actually contains "flicker" ingredients to a large extent.

"Zero Additive", as the name implies, means that there are no additives. But think about it, is it possible in modern society? Steamed buns used to have alkaline noodles, but now they have to use yeast too? The same goes for making bread. Not to mention that in today's industrialized food production, there are traces of pre-packaged food processed by many companies in our daily lives. It may be difficult to find food without any food additives.

It is worth noting that some foods that are marked with "zero-addition" on the packaging of some merchants are actually added. The so-called "zero-addition" is sometimes just a means of promotion by merchants, which not only harms consumers' right to know , And disrupted the order of competition in the food market.

In fact, food additives are not monsters. The more developed countries and regions use food additives, the more varieties. At present, there are more than 4,000 kinds of food additives allowed in the United States, while there are only more than 2,000 kinds in my country, including more than 1,000 spices. In fact, the legal and appropriate use of food additives will not only harm your health, but will also keep food fresh and increase the taste.

On the contrary, even if it is really "zero addition", it is not necessarily safe. If there is no invention of preservatives, we are still in the age of eating rotten and spoiled food, because it may not be able to inhibit the reproduction of microorganisms in the food, which makes the food easy to spoil. So far, the biggest hidden danger of food safety in the world is still food-borne diseases.

The science popularization of food additives is relatively lagging, which provides opportunities for related rumors and businesses to openly fudge. With regard to food additives, it is time to have to popularize science. In the book "Food Additives You Can’t Avoid" edited by Professor Sun Baoguo, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Food Sciences, he often said: China has made tofu for more than 3,000 years, and the brine in the brine tofu is the most typical food. additive.

Finally, we sincerely hope that in the future science popularization, relevant departments and institutions can do more for people to correctly recognize additives, and then cooperate with relevant systems to regulate business behaviors to ensure that consumers can buy and eat with confidence. At the same time, continue to improve the standards for the use of food additives, severely crack down on illegal food additions, and give consumers more confidence in food safety.