Chocolate, bread is afraid to hide carcinogen “glycidyl” how to avoid?

What did you have for breakfast this morning? Toast with chocolate sauce or cream? Cookies, bread pastries, ice cream, instant noodles, etc., are some of your favorite foods? Be careful! In recent years, a possible carcinogen known as glycidyl has been found in such plant-based foods, and the FOOD and Drug Administration is scheduled to introduce regulations next year.

What is glycidyl?

Glycidyl is a new pollutant discovered in recent years. The main reason is that oil products are produced by high temperature, deodorization, deacidification and decolorization in the manufacturing process, among which refined oil is found more frequently.

Hire experts with poison wei said that some raw materials in the oil containing glycidyl precursors, such as single glyceride, double acid glyceride, chloride ion, etc., and raw material oil for taste, through high temperature for deodorization treatment, in the process of temperature can reach 200 ℃ above, usually sometimes even to 250 ~ 260 ℃, then will lead to “glycidyl ester formation.

In addition, there is decolorization treatment, Fu Ren University food science professor Chen Binghui said, some decolorization agents will contain chlorine, acid and other substances (such as hydrochloric acid), the process may also promote the formation of glycidyl ester.

Chocolate and baby milk powder are all possible

Recruit name wei said that toxicity of glycidyl ester in fact itself is not high, but after being eaten, small intestinal secretion of hydrolase glycidyl ester, will be converted to glycidyl, and glycidyl has been the world health organization (WHO) the international agency for research on cancer classified as level 2 a carcinogen, which is determined by way of experiments on animals can make animal carcinogen, but will make human body the cancer has not yet been determined, the treatments of food and drug administration has also pointed out that the consumption of glycidyl not cause immediate harm, but for a long time or may increase the risk of cancer. (Recommended reading: Do these 5 Things to Avoid dirty oil!)

Glycidyl actually very common in our daily life, the European food safety authority announcement in May 2018, points out that all kinds of high-temperature processing of vegetable oil processing and food, after it was found that may contain glycidyl, which was found in palm oil containing glycidyl higher, recruit name wei speculates that may be because of palm oil in the process of deodorization and decolorization, required for a long time, resulting in the formation of glycidyl more. In addition, According to Chen, poor quality of palm fruit raw materials and high temperature of the extraction process may also lead to the hydrolysis of triglyceride into monoglyceride and diglyceride (and the higher the temperature, the faster the hydrolysis), and further reaction to form glycidyl.

Common vegetable oil processed foods, including chocolate, various spreads, instant noodles, snack cookies, ice cream, and even baby milk powder, that is to say, foods containing glycidyl, have become widely available around daily life.

Only the European Union has regulations for Taiwan scheduled to hit the road next year

Perhaps because of the late discovery, the number of countries that have set international standards is still small, and only the European Union has set a limit of 1,000 micrograms per kilogram for general food raw oil, including vegetable and animal oils. The raw oil of infant milk powder and non-staple food shall not exceed 500 micrograms per kilogram; Powder food shall not exceed 50 micrograms per kilogram; Liquid foods are not more than 6 micrograms per kilogram. The EU also assessed the tolerance level of glycidyl for adults at 0.8 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day.

At home, the FOOD and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that it will study and follow up the plan, which is expected to hit the roads in the first half of 2020. Due to the lack of relevant regulations in Japan, the United States and other countries, Taiwan will become the first country in Asia to set the glycidyl limit standard.

(Taiwan would become the first country in Asia to set a standard for glycidyl limits.)

3 tips to avoid glycidine injury

What should we do in the face of the risk of glycidyl before it is regulated by law? Experts have the following advice:

  1. Classification of oil, not a bottle of oil

Zhaomingwei said, want to avoid eating too much glycidylglycerin, reduce the choice of refined oil, use virgin, unrefined oil is a method, but this kind of oil is usually not suitable for high temperature cooking, can only cold mix or low temperature stir fry, so he suggested, for different cooking, eating ways, or to mix with different properties of oil.

For example, a small amount of frying can be used after the general refined canola oil, sunflower oil; Pure unrefined oil such as olive oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, etc., is used for low temperature stir fry or cold.

(The risk of glycidyl can be reduced by cooking and eating it in different ways with different oils of different properties.)

  1. Eat less palm oil food and do not reuse oil

As mentioned above, palm oil is high in glycidyl, so to reduce the risk of eating glycidyl, one way to avoid food containing palm oil, such as chocolate, is to choose products with cocoa butter rather than palm oil as the main ingredient.

In addition, temperature is also one of the factors that affect the generation of glycidyl. According to Wang Ning, an oil expert, the temperature of frying in a typical family will not exceed 180 ° C. However, if the oil is used repeatedly (especially if it is more difficult for us to detect), the temperature may exceed 200℃, increasing the risk of glycine generation. Therefore, “more self-cooking, less external food” is also a way to reduce glycine consumption. (Recommended reading: Stir-fry, Deep-fry cooking Tips to make Oil your best friend)

Eat more fresh fruits and vegetables to increase your fiber intake

In addition to reducing the chances of eating them, Zhao suggests that fresh fruits and vegetables are rich in fiber, which also helps reduce the absorption of fat in the small intestine, so eating more high-fiber foods can reduce the health risks of glycidyl.

Finally, bing-huei Chen said, in view of the problem of glycidyl, people actually don’t panic, also called for administrative units should set rules as soon as possible, can let the food industry in accordance with the manufacture, labeling, palm fruit raw material quality control, or further refinement process, etc. (for example, the lower the temperature at which the deodorization), let people eat more at ease.