Principles for the use of food additives

作者：admin  点击次数：105  发布时间：2025-05-20

(I) Toxicity of food additives
Food additives are not normal ingredients inherent in food. Most food additives are chemical synthetic products. With the development of modern food industry, the safety of food additives has always been the focus of people's attention. Although food additives have been evaluated for toxicological safety before being used in food, the abuse, excessive use or over-range use of food additives poses a serious threat to the health and safety of consumers. With the development of detection technology, the in-depth study of food toxicology and human epidemiological investigation and research, the chronic toxicity and cumulative toxicity of food additives have been discovered. Different food additives cause different hazards, but people are most concerned about the long-term and hidden hazards of food additives, which have a wider range of influence. At present, the toxicity of food additives mainly includes the following aspects.
1. Acute poisoning and chronic poisoning
A systemic disease in which chemicals enter the human body and accumulate to a certain amount at the effect site to cause damage is called poisoning. Chemicals that cause poisoning are called poisons. Any approved food additive is unsafe if used in excess, and excessive use or abuse of food additives will cause poisoning to consumers. Poisoning can be divided into two categories: acute and chronic, which are mainly determined by the dose and time of exposure to poisons. ① Acute poisoning: poisoning caused by exposure to a large amount of poisons in a short period of time.
②) Chronic poisoning: poisoning caused by long-term exposure to a small amount of poisons.
Acute poisoning occurs suddenly, with severe symptoms and rapid changes. If not treated in time, it may be life-threatening. Chronic poisoning has a slow onset and a long course of disease. Many poisonings lack specific diagnostic indicators and are easily misdiagnosed and misdiagnosed. The "Morinaga Milk Powder Incident" in Japan in the 1960s was caused by the use of arsenic impurities in the improver, resulting in more than 10,000 infants and young children being poisoned and more than 100 deaths. China has experienced many acute and chronic poisoning incidents caused by excessive use of food additives, such as nitrites, bleaching agents, pigments, etc. 2. Allergic reactions
In recent years, reports of allergic reactions caused by additives have also increased, and some allergic reactions have been found to be related to food additives.
It has been reported that saccharin can cause skin pain and itching, as well as photoallergic dermatitis with desquamative erythema and edematous papules as the main symptoms; azo dyes and benzoic acid can cause a series of allergic symptoms such as asthma; lemon yellow, sulfur dioxide, etc. can cause urticaria, bronchial asthma, etc.; and many ingredients in spices can cause respiratory inflammation, cough, laryngeal edema, bronchial asthma, etc.
3. Accumulation in the body
When the intake of some food additives is greater than the absorption and excretion, the concentration in the body gradually increases, and cumulative poisoning will occur. When vitamin A is added to children's food (milk powder) as a nutritional enhancer, when the total intake reaches 250,000 to 840,000 I after 3 to 6 months, loss of appetite, constipation, excitement, hepatomegaly, cramps, and even neurological symptoms such as headache, limb pain, and walking difficulties will occur. Excessive consumption of vitamin D and other substances will also cause cumulative poisoning. 4. Teratogenicity
The carcinogenic and teratogenic effects of food additives have always been a hot topic of research. Many animal experiments have confirmed that large doses of food additives can induce tumors in animals. Some food additives themselves can cause cancer, such as sodium saccharin, which can cause liver tumors in experimental animals, and azo dyes can show carcinogenic toxic effects when accumulated in the body.
5. Toxicity of transformation products
Toxic and harmful impurities will be produced during the production of food additives, such as the impurity o-toluenesulfonamide in o-benzoylsulfonic acid imide (saccharin), and 4-methylimidazole in caramel color produced by the ammonia method. Food additives or transformation products may also react with certain ingredients in food to produce harmful compounds, such as nitrites and organic amines to form nitroso compounds, which have been proven to be strong carcinogens. Whether certain food additives can produce harmful substances when used together needs further study.
The toxicity of food additives is related to the intake. When in excess, any food additive is toxic. On the contrary, it is safe below a certain dose. Therefore, it is unrealistic to oppose the use of any food additives. Only by determining the safe intake of food additives and regulating the use of food additives based on a large number of experiments can the food industry develop.
(II) Food additives that have been banned
While strengthening the legislation and management of food additives, countries around the world have even re-evaluated various food additives that have been used. In recent years, many food additives that were previously approved for use have been deleted from the list of food additives and banned. Clarifying the types of banned food additives is of great significance to the safe production of food. After long-term clinical observation and animal experiments, it has been proven that the food additives that are highly toxic to the human body and are banned are: 1. Formaldehyde (formaldehyde)
Formaldehyde is a protoplasmic poison. Formaldehyde has a strong antiseptic power and can combine with the amino and hydroxyl groups of nucleic acids to make them inactive, affecting metabolic functions. One in 50,000 can prevent bacterial development. European countries have used it to preserve wine, meat, milk and their products, but there are side effects such as stomach pain and vomiting after eating. The World Health Organization's Bulletin No. 153 "Formaldehyde Causes Cancer" issued on June 15, 2004, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Public Health Service's Carcinogen Report, listed formaldehyde as a Class I carcinogen. Japan reported that adding one ten-thousandth of formaldehyde to milk caused death in children who took it for 20 consecutive days. Some illegal vendors in China use formaldehyde in water-based hair products, and the oral lethal dose for adults is 60~90mL. All countries in the world have banned formaldehyde as a food additive.
2. Boric acid and borax
Boric acid and borax can accumulate in the body and are excreted very slowly, affecting the action of digestive enzymes. 0.5g per day can cause loss of appetite, hinder the absorption of nutrients, and lead to weight loss. 1~3g can cause poisoning in adults, and 20g can be fatal. The lethal dose for young children is about 5g. In the early years, countries used it as a preservative for meat, margarine, etc. and a leavening agent for biscuits.
3.8-Naphthol (B-naphthol) B-naphthol is a highly toxic food additive, which can cause mucosal irritation, kidney and bladder damage. It has been reported that B-naphthol can cause bladder cancer in experimental animals. It has an inhibitory effect on filamentous fungi and yeasts and was once used as