However, this "panic" is necessary? Is this a correct understanding? What measures should we take to avoid "toxic" food?
Food safety:
Guiding expert: Professor Chen Junshi, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering and chief scientist of the major scientific and technological project on key technologies for food safety
-June 2006, Beijing was infected with the Guangzhou tubular nematode by consuming the Fusilieria fusilieri, and 131 people were sickened by the disease.
-In September 2006, more than 300 people were hospitalized in Shanghai after being poisoned by lean meat extract.
-Beginning November 12, 2006, a large number of "red heart duck eggs" were found to contain Sudan Red IV, the carcinogen Sudan Red once again into people's field of vision.
-On November 17, 2006, hairy crabs, turbot and guppy were found to contain malachite green, a carcinogen, as well as banned antibiotics.
Food safety
Food safety - an exaggerated crisis
As the saying goes, "Food is the God of the people". The importance of food safety is self-evident as it is related to everyone's personal health. However, the repeated occurrence of food safety accidents, frequent exposure of counterfeit and shoddy products, one after another food poisoning incidents ...... so that "what else can we eat?" has become one of the most common interrogations in the media today. The implication is that there is no longer any absolutely safe food.
But is this realization really correct?
"This is an irrational mindset of the public under the media hype!" In the face of "what else can we eat" this problem, academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, food safety key technology major scientific and technological special chief scientist, the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention of Nutrition and Food Safety researcher Chen Junshi in the acceptance of the "family medicine" reporter in an interview, said this.
In fact, in the view of many food safety experts, including academician Chen Junshi, China's food safety problems are not as terrible as some media reports -
First of all, we are too sensitive in the face of food additives. Food additives are an indispensable part of the modern food processing industry, which plays an important role in the color, variety, quality, taste, nutrition and preservation of various types of food. The food industry is unthinkable without food additives. Take the preservative sorbic acid and potassium sorbate as an example, both are internationally recognized as safe preservatives, harmless to the human body. It is because of them that the sweet and tangy raisins from Xinjiang can remain as fresh as ever when they reach the mouths of the people of Beijing.
Second, in today's society, the pursuit of food "zero risk" is unrealistic and impossible. Around us, every moment there is a food safety threat: grilled lamb kebabs contain carcinogenic benzopyrene, kimchi contains nitrites, cigarettes are no less toxic than Sudan Red ...... Unless we live in a vacuum, our bodies will always be attacked by undesirable substances. This is true in all times. At present, no country in the world dares to say that its food is absolutely safe either, and there is absolutely no need for us to be in a state of panic about it.
It's safer today than it was yesterday
In fact, looking at it from another angle, the fact that so many food safety incidents have come to light shows that our regulatory system is better and our testing methods are more advanced.
Academician Chen Junshi said: "As a matter of fact, from the results of the large-scale national market sampling conducted annually by the Ministry of Health for more than 20 years, our food pass rate has increased from about 50 percent in the past to 90 percent, and even the pass rate of soya sauce is more than 80 percent, which is not a small progress. But the people have higher demands for food safety, and such demands are reasonable."
From 2002, led by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of Agriculture, the State Administration of Quality Supervision and Inspection and other departments to cooperate in the "food safety key technologies" major scientific and technological research, from detection, monitoring, control and demonstration of the four aspects of the beginning, for the government regulatory departments to strengthen supervision, reduce and control food pollution. It provides key technical means for government regulators to strengthen supervision and reduce and control food contamination. Chen Junshi is the chief scientist of the project.
In the past, industrial and commercial law enforcement officers relied on visual inspection, nose and smell and other sensory identification and empirical judgment to check for "problem food," which is very limited. On the basis of the establishment and improvement of safety standards, scientists and technicians have invented rapid detection kits, food testing vehicles and other equipment, so that law enforcement officers have doubled their confidence. At present, in many large and medium-sized cities across the country are equipped with food testing vehicles, 20 minutes to measure pesticide residues in vegetables, 30 minutes to detect formaldehyde, but also monitor the hanging white block, hydrogen peroxide, sodium nitrite and other prohibited additives, *** involves more than 10 types of more than 210 products, can be sampling several supermarkets in the morning.
"Improving the level of detection is a major focus of our work." Chen Junshi said, through research, now they developed technology can effectively detect pesticide and veterinary drug residues, mold, natural toxins and pathogenic microorganisms, a sample can check more than 150 kinds of pesticide residues. The rapid detection kit for avian flu and Newcastle disease has shortened the work that used to take 21 days to complete to four hours, and the results are very firm. In the process of preventing and controlling avian influenza, these technologies have been widely used nationwide. Rapid food safety test kits even boarded the Shenzhou spacecraft for testing space food.
So, in the face of frequent food safety problems, we should be concerned about and pay attention to, but the media and the public should "have a say", do not see the wind is the rain, exaggerated, the people should be more in a calm state of mind, sensible face.
Learn 3 strokes seriously prevent
Of course, food and nutrition experts also pointed out that the sensible face is by no means when the defense is not prevented, in the enjoyment of delicious food, convenient life at the same time, but also should learn to crack the problem of food safety, to maximize the protection of their own health, from the "toxic" food violations.
Food and nutrition experts summarized for us to prevent toxic food damage to the health of the 3 major tricks.
The first move Dietary diversity
If we calmly look at all kinds of food safety incidents, we can find: the vast majority of toxic and harmful substances to harm the human body, are to a certain amount of intake as a prerequisite.
Taking Sudan red as an example, in the Ministry of Health issued the "Sudan red risk assessment report", it is pointed out that the dose of Sudan red induced by animal tumors is 100,000 to 1 million times the dose of a person's possible intake, a person has to eat 1,200 "red heart duck eggs" before it may lead to harm. That is to say, occasional intake of food containing a small amount of Sudan red, the risk of cancer is not great. Of course, Sudan red can be accumulated in the body, if the regular intake of food containing higher doses of Sudan red, will increase the risk of cancer.
Academician Chen Junshi pointed out that the presence of toxic ingredients in food does not mean that the food is toxic. Whether a food component is harmful to the human body, the key to look at the amount of intake and the length of time, and then good salt once eaten more than the same will be poisoned; even uncontrolled to drink a lot of water, will cause "water poisoning". On the contrary, a variety of "toxic" additives or residues, especially a variety of flavors, colors, preservatives, in addition to a few varieties have been eliminated, the vast majority of the regular dose is safe. Even the infamous leptin, malachite green, unless a large number of long-term intake, are not enough to cause harm to the human body.
Experts also point out that the behavior of not eating everything that looks "dangerous" is equally dangerous. Because of this fear of food safety, may bring about a decline in dietary nutritional quality. Some people are afraid of pesticides do not dare to eat green leafy vegetables, because of the fear of Sudan red do not dare to eat eggs, because of the fear of antibiotics do not dare to drink milk ...... and these foods are the most important source of nutrients in the human body. Long-term nutritional imbalance to the human body to bring the risk, more than occasionally eat a duck egg containing Sudan red.
See, for the people, the most important and simplest to crack the food safety problem is to establish the principle of dietary diversity. Enriching the variety of food will naturally reduce the intake of a single food, and the body's safety defenses will not be breached under a safe dose.
All in all, eating everything and not eating too much of anything not only achieves nutritional balance, but also effectively avoids the infringement of "dangerous" food.
The second trick shopping to see the logo
For food safety, the country has long been working to build a regulatory system, for inspection, certification, food packaging will be printed on the relevant logo. As the people, we only need to recognize them and pay attention to see the shelf life of the food on it.
1. QS mark
QS is the abbreviation of Quality Safety (food safety). With this mark, it means that the food production and processing enterprises have been examined by the state, and the food indicators are in line with the requirements of the relevant national standards. All QS number is composed of 12 digits, consumers can go to the AQSIQ website to query, the QS code will be entered to see whether the product and the enterprise corresponds to, you can immediately identify the real and fake.
2. Pollution-free agricultural products
Having this kind of labeling means that the production process of such products is allowed to use synthetic safe chemical pesticides, veterinary drugs, fishery drugs, fertilizers, feed additives and so on in a limited number of varieties and for a limited period of time. It can guarantee people the most basic needs of food quality and safety.
3. Green food
Green food does not simply mean "green color" of the food, but specifically refers to non-polluting safe, high-quality, nutritious food. Selection should be noted that only the packaging with both the right icon and the "LB" beginning of the number to call the real green food, otherwise it is fake.
4. Organic food
The term organic food is a direct translation from the English Organic Food, refers to the organic agricultural production system, without the use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, growth regulators, feed additives and other substances, according to the international norms of organic agricultural production and processing, and through the independent certification body of organic food certification of agricultural by-products.
Of course.
Of course, products with these logos are usually products with their own brands. Now, in all walks of food processing have formed a number of well-known brands. In the face of hard-won brands that have gained the trust of the people, companies naturally treasure them and thus strictly control the quality of their products. At the same time, these large enterprises are also subject to the supervision of the state and consumers at any time. Therefore, believe, buy brand-name food, food safety is more secure.
Food from the hands of producers to enter the thousands of households, but also through a link, that is, retailers. Relative to the traditional food market, large supermarket chains will put food quality and safety into a more important position, focusing on self-regulation. At the same time, the supermarket's unified operation is also for the unified management, the relevant state departments of the unified supervision provides the possibility of the news media at any time to focus on the behavior of the supermarket at any time are "spread in the sun", to accept the supervision of the community, which also adds a layer of protection for food safety.
The third move to learn 9 memo