Concerned about food safety refused to exceed aluminum

In May of this year, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region Bureau of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine received food production licenses for children, such as jellies, juice drinks, carbonated drinks, puffed foods, etc. Food and confectionery manufacturers launched product quality supervision and spot checks. Recently, the bureau formally announced the results of spot checks. The overall average pass rate of sample inspections was 80%, of which the pass rate of cakes was the lowest, 78.8%; 62 enterprises had failed to pass the random checks; Among the unqualified products, aluminum exceeded the standard.

In this inspection and inspection, a total of 305 companies were inspected and 309 batches of children's foods and cakes such as jelly, juice drinks, carbonated drinks, and puffed foods were sampled. After inspection, there were 247 batches of qualified products, among which all the carbonated drinks were qualified, the pass rate of expanded food was 86.7%, the pass rate of juice drinks was 80%, the pass rate of jelly was 80%, the pass rate of cakes was 78.8%, and the overall average was qualified The rate is 80%.

According to the announcement, the unqualified items in the spot checks were: the total number of bacterial colonies in fruit juice drinks exceeded the standard; the saccharin and coliform bacteria in the expanded food products exceeded the standard; the jelly products used benzoic acid and sodium saccharin in addition to the additives and the heavy metal in the pastry products (including aluminum). : 29 batches exceeding the limit), total number of colonies, excessive mold, over-range and over-limit amount of sweeteners, colorants, preservatives, etc. According to the analysis, the main reasons for product non-compliance are: companies fail to use food additives in strict accordance with national standards, use sweeteners, colorants, and preservatives in excess of and beyond the limit; second, companies use leavening agents and foams. When powdered and other compound additives are not known, they do not control the purchase verification of raw and auxiliary materials. In addition, the company’s sense of quality is weak, the cleanliness of the production environment and critical control points do not meet the requirements, and the quality and safety assurance capabilities are lacking.

The reporter found in the sample check that 57 of the 277 cake factories inspected were unqualified; among them, among the unqualified items, aluminum was the most prominent and accounted for unqualified items. half.

Where did the aluminum in food come from, how could they exceed the standard? The reporter then interviewed Lu Chunqiu, deputy director of the Technical Center of Guangxi Inspection and Quarantine Bureau. He told reporters that the excessive aluminum content in food was mainly caused by excessive use of baking powder by the producers. He explained that baking powder is made by adding different acidic materials or acid salts and some fillers to the baking powder. Once it reacts with water, it will release carbon dioxide. Among them, the baking powder contains alum, which is also known as sulfuric acid. Aluminum potassium. Alum is a traditional food improver and leavening agent. It is commonly used as an additive for the production of fritters, vermicelli, and rice flour. Among them, it is used most commonly in fritters.

Lv Chunqiu said that because the chemical composition of alum is aluminum potassium sulfate, containing aluminum ions, aluminum is a low-toxic metal element, it is not a trace element needed by the human body, will not lead to acute poisoning, but the aluminum contained in food exceeds national standards It will cause harm to the human body. Long-term excessive intake can damage the brain, leading to dementia, and may also have anemia, osteoporosis and other diseases, especially for the elderly, children and pregnant women with weaker body resistance.

In response to the problems found in this supervision and spot checks, the Bureau of Quality Supervision of the autonomous region has required various geological supervision departments to order companies with unqualified product quality to rectify and review within a limited time. If it is found that the product quality does not meet the national mandatory standards during the random inspection, it shall be ordered to stop the production from failing. Products, and supervise the destruction or do the necessary technical processing in accordance with relevant regulations. A person in charge of the District Quality Supervision Bureau said that in view of outstanding quality problems such as excessive use of additives or excessive use of foods, it will increase the tracking and supervision of various food production enterprises.