Associate Professor Shen Qun from College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering of China Agricultural University pointed out that excessive use or abuse of hydrogen peroxide is harmful to human health. As a food additive, food-grade hydrogen peroxide is directly added to food, which has been used in some foreign countries for decades. At present, there is no relevant national hygiene standard in China, so there is confusion in the food industry. Experts call on relevant departments to formulate hygienic standards for the use of hydrogen peroxide in food production as soon as possible.
Hydrogen peroxide and its application
Hydrogen peroxide, commonly known as hydrogen peroxide, is a strong oxidant. As a processing aid, it has the functions of disinfection, sterilization and bleaching. In the anhydrous state, hydrogen peroxide is a colorless, bitter liquid with a smell similar to ozone. In addition, hydrogen peroxide will decompose into water and oxygen under standing, stirring and sunlight.
In food industry, hydrogen peroxide can be used for disinfection of flexible packaging paper, disinfectant in cannery, sterilization of milk and dairy products, bread fermentation, decoloration of food fiber, etc. The dilute solution of hydrogen peroxide below 3% can also be used as a bactericide in medicine. In many countries, food-grade hydrogen peroxide has been widely used in food industry. Food-grade hydrogen peroxide is widely used in aseptic packaging of dairy products and beverages, and in the production of pure water, mineral water, dairy products, beverages, aquatic products, fruits, vegetables, beer and other foods.
In recent years, with the development of food industry, the demand for food-grade hydrogen peroxide is increasing, especially in dairy industry. Food-grade hydrogen peroxide must be used for disinfection and sterilization of aseptic packaging of pure milk and yogurt. Because the production of food-grade hydrogen peroxide has certain technical difficulties, only a few domestic enterprises have the ability to produce food-grade hydrogen peroxide. Most food enterprises use food-grade hydrogen peroxide in food industry in two ways: one is imported from abroad; The second is to replace it with industrial-grade hydrogen peroxide.
Shen Qun stressed that it is incorrect to replace food-grade hydrogen peroxide with industrial hydrogen peroxide. Food-grade hydrogen peroxide is a high-quality and high-purity oxidant with high purity, less impurities and good stability. Can be widely applied to various fields of the food industry. Food-grade hydrogen peroxide has very good stability and is especially suitable for sterilization of aseptic packaging of dairy products.
A small amount of hydrogen peroxide ingested by human body will not cause poisoning.
Associate Professor Jian Huang from the Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in an interview with this reporter that according to the Hygienic Standard for the Use of Food Additives, food-grade hydrogen peroxide is allowed to be used as a processing aid in food production and should be removed before being made into finished products. Those that cannot be removed should be strictly controlled within the prescribed scope.
Within the limits recognized by international authorities, food-grade hydrogen peroxide is not only allowed to be used, but also relatively safe. According to the conversion ratio between the safe dose of animal population and the safe dose of human population in the world, that is, 100: 1, it is safe for human body to drink drinking drinking water containing 0.26 ~ 0.37mg/kg hydrogen peroxide every day without any toxic or side effects. The average weight of the population is 65 kg, which means that it is safe to drink drinking water containing 16.9 to 24.05 mg of hydrogen peroxide every day.
The expert committee on food additives jointly formed by WHO and FAO evaluated the safety of three versions of hydrogen peroxide: 1965, 1973 and 1980. The Committee believes that catalase in human intestinal cells can quickly decompose hydrogen peroxide, so there is no danger of poisoning if a small amount of hydrogen peroxide is ingested.
Due to the strong oxidation characteristics of hydrogen peroxide, food-grade hydrogen peroxide is used as a bleaching agent in the food industry of the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and used to process certain foods, such as flour, edible oil and protein. Hydrogen peroxide can also be used as an antibacterial agent in foods such as milk. At the same time, hydrogen peroxide can be used as a disinfectant to disinfect food packaging and other materials. The US Food and Drug Administration has determined that food-grade hydrogen peroxide is a general safe substance and can be widely used as a direct or indirect food additive.
The US Food and Drug Administration clearly stipulates that the maximum dosage of hydrogen peroxide is 0.05% in milk and cheese, 0.04% in whey, 0. 15% in the process of reducing sulfur dioxide in starch and corn syrup, and 1.25% in the process of bleaching fatty acid ester emulsifier. In wine, smoked herring and preserved eggs, the maximum dosage of hydrogen peroxide is "to achieve oxidation and antibacterial effect", and in the processing of cattle viscera and limbs such as teabags and tripe, it is "to achieve bleaching effect", and the maximum dosage of hydrogen peroxide that can be added in beer vinegar is "to achieve the purpose of removing sulfur dioxide". In addition, in apple juice, orange juice, grape juice and other juices, the amount of hydrogen peroxide can be 0.025% to 3% to achieve the purpose of antibacterial.
In assessing the safety of hydrogen peroxide, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department of the Hong Kong SAR Government believes that taking 3% hydrogen peroxide at home will not cause serious poisoning, but may cause vomiting, slight discomfort of mucous membrane and burns of mouth, throat, esophagus and stomach. High concentration of hydrogen peroxide (such as 10% or more) will cause more serious consequences and burn mucous membranes and intestinal mucosa. Because hydrogen peroxide is an unstable chemical substance, it will decompose after contact with food or cooking. As for whether hydrogen peroxide can cause cancer, the International Agency for Research on Cancer believes that there is not enough evidence to prove that hydrogen peroxide can cause cancer to humans.
Peroxides such as hydrogen peroxide can be degraded in human body.
"Hydrogen peroxide uses the strong oxidizing ability of active oxygen to destroy the protoplasm in microorganisms, thus achieving the purpose of killing microorganisms and disinfection." Shen Qun explained that food-grade hydrogen peroxide has broad spectrum, high efficiency and long-lasting bactericidal characteristics. After the sterilization process is completed, it is decomposed into oxygen and water, which does not produce toxic residues, does not need washing, and has no pollution to the environment. It is an environment-friendly disinfectant. For example, some countries add a few milligrams of hydrogen peroxide per kilogram of tap water instead of chlorine as a disinfectant.
From June 8 to 17, 2004, the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations jointly held the 63rd expert seminar on food additives in Geneva, which involved the residue of hydrogen peroxide. Experts pointed out that peroxide, including hydrogen peroxide, can be degraded in human body, and the residue of its degradation products during food consumption is not enough to cause safety concerns, so there is no specific regulation on the residue of hydrogen peroxide.
Approved by national sanitation foundation, hydrogen peroxide can be used as disinfectant for drinking water. According to the toxicity test of drinking water containing hydrogen peroxide 13 weeks, when the daily dosage of hydrogen peroxide in male mice reaches 239 mg/kg, 328 mg/kg to 547 mg/kg, and that in female mice reaches 785 mg/kg, 70% to 80% of mice will have mild burns on their gastric mucosa or duodenal mucosa, but all symptoms can be cured within 6 weeks. When the daily dose of hydrogen peroxide reached 76 mg/kg in male mice and 65438±0.03mg/kg/kg in female mice, the proportion of mild burning pain in gastric mucosa or duodenal mucosa in male mice was 65 438 00%, while that in female mice was 0, and no other pathological conditions occurred. When the daily dose of hydrogen peroxide was 26 mg/kg for male mice and 37 mg/kg for female mice, no side effects were observed in both male and female mice.
Traditional "chlorine bleaching" has been used as a bleaching agent for disinfection of urban drinking water. According to the World Health Organization, the traditional "chlorine bleaching" is used in waterworks, and chlorine reacts with humic acid and other organic substances in water to generate new and stronger organic pollutants such as trihalomethane and carbon tetrachloride, thus making tap water more carcinogenic and mutagenic than natural water. The more chlorine added in water, the greater the harm to human body. As a clean bleaching agent and disinfectant, hydrogen peroxide bleaching disinfection has many incomparable advantages, and its application in urban drinking water will be greatly promoted.
Generally speaking, food-grade hydrogen peroxide is a non-toxic substance, but it can stimulate human skin, eyes and mucous membranes. After hydrogen peroxide vapor enters the human respiratory system, it can stimulate the lungs and even seriously damage organs. When hydrogen peroxide splashes on the surface of human body or eyes, it should be washed with plenty of water immediately.
Liu Cheng, a senior engineer of Beijing Food Research Institute, stressed in an interview with this reporter that when processing food, the amount of hydrogen peroxide should not exceed the amount that can achieve relevant effects. In addition, consumers must thoroughly soak and clean shark fins and other products before cooking them with hydrogen peroxide. For example, the soaking time can be overnight, and water must be changed during the soaking process.