There is no harm. A research report points out that during the high-temperature refining process above 200 degrees Celsius, palm oil produces more chloropropanol esters and glycidyl esters than other vegetable oils. Subsequently, reports further stated that these two substances are toxic, and remarks about palm oil and other foods containing these "poisons" were widely circulated on the Internet.
Wang Xingguo, director of the Oil and Vegetable Protein Research Center of the School of Food, Jiangnan University, said that chloropropanol ester is an esterification product of chloropropanol compounds and fatty acids. There are many types and the amount detected in food is relatively high. is 3-chloropropanol ester. In recent years, studies have found that 3-chloropropanol ester has been detected in cereals, coffee, fish, meat products, potatoes, nuts and thermally processed oil foods made from vegetable oils.
Among them, reports of 3-chloropropanol ester being detected in refined vegetable oils and other foods are gradually increasing. During the oil refining process, glycidyl ester is usually formed together with 3-chloropropanol ester. The content of 3-chloropropanol ester is high and the content of glycidyl ester is also high. "The content level is related to the type of raw material. Compared with corn oil, rapeseed oil, and soybean oil, vegetable oils based on pulp, such as palm oil, are more likely to produce 3-chloropropanol ester."
" At present, the toxicological research on them is not systematic.” Wang Xingguo said that the Hong Kong Food Safety Center has conducted a risk assessment on the content of 3-chloropropanol esters in biscuits, vegetable oils, pastries and other foods, and believes that 3-chloropropanol esters are ingested through the above foods. The health risks associated with chloropropanol esters do not require special concern.
A German study pointed out that glycidyl esters ingested through vegetable oil by the general population do not pose a safety risk to health. The current published research data in my country also believes that glycidyl esters ingested through vegetable oil and other foods have a low risk of harming human health.
However, 3-chloropropanol ester may be hydrolyzed into 3-chloropropanol in the body, which may cause certain harm if it exceeds the standard. The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization established a tentative maximum daily tolerance of 3-chloropropanol at 2 micrograms per kilogram of body weight in 2012, but 3-chloropropanol esters and glycidol have not yet been established. The corresponding limit standards for esters.
Extended information
Soybean oil, peanut oil, rapeseed oil, corn oil, sesame oil, olive oil, etc. have different nutritional characteristics due to different fatty acid compositions. For example, olive oil and tea seed oil have high monounsaturated fatty acid content, while corn oil and sunflower seed oil are rich in linoleic acid. Soybean oil is rich in two essential fatty acids - linoleic acid and alpha-linolenic acid.
These two essential fatty acids can reduce blood lipids and cholesterol and promote the growth and development of the fetal brain during pregnancy. In addition, rapeseed oil, especially low erucic acid rapeseed oil, is also rich in monounsaturated fatty acids and Linoleic acid also contains a certain amount of alpha-linolenic acid.
However, soybean oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, etc., which are rich in polyunsaturated fatty acids, are not suitable for high-temperature frying. They will oxidize when they reach the temperature of oil smoke (nearly 200°C or even higher). Aggregate and decompose into toxic substances. Animal oils such as lard and butter that are suitable for high-temperature frying are not suitable for people who already suffer from hyperlipidemia and fatty liver because they contain more saturated fatty acids and cholesterol.
Palm oil, which is rich in saturated fatty acids, is used in many food processing because it is resistant to high temperatures and has good stability. It has been considered to produce less harmful substances at high temperatures. However, this European research report shows that it is also There may be certain risks.
People's Daily Online - Is palm oil toxic?