Friends who love to go to supermarkets to buy food may notice some changes. For example, when buying cheese, it is more difficult to find yogurt labeled "no additives". It’s not a matter of running out of goods, but that they may not be available at all.
In addition to prepackaged foods and prepared vegetables, the bananas and even banana peels you buy in the supermarkets you visit also contain nystatin. In the fruit stall, from January to March every year, it is also the golden season for strawberries (strawberries). Anyone who has sold strawberries may know that strawberries cannot be left at room temperature for 6 hours or more, especially in the hot months of March and April. The sponge originally placed in the strawberry box will It has been soaked in food-grade preservatives. However, there are no relevant food labeling laws. Manufacturers and retailers do not need to declare food additives, let alone indicate it on the label.
Recently, China has stipulated that the words “no additives”, “zero additives” or similar words cannot be used in food labels.
In the past, many food packages were marked with words such as "zero additives, no artificial colour, and no flavour enhancers", which has won the favour of many consumers. But it has to be said that "no additives" actually means a lot. Contains "fooling" ingredients.
"Zero Additive" means, as the name suggests, no additives. But think about it carefully, is it possible to do it in reality? In the past, alkali was added to bread, and yeast was used in bread, right? The same goes for making bread. Not to mention that in today's industrialized food production, there are many traces of pre-packaged food from food processors and producers in our daily lives. It may be difficult to find food that does not contain any food additives.
One of the frequently occurring food additives is calcium carbonate, a permitted food additive with various technical uses such as acidity regulator, anti-caking agent, solidifying agent, flour treatment agent, stabilizer and coloring agent. Calcium carbonate is also an approved food coloring in the European Union, the United States, and Canada. Calcium carbonate occurs naturally in some green leafy vegetables.
It is worth noting that Hong Kong attaches great importance to sales promotion and commercial promotion. Foods with "zero additives" prominently marked on the packaging actually contain additives. The so-called "zero additives" are sometimes just a means of business promotion. , not only harms consumers' right to know, but also disrupts the order of competition in the food market.
In fact, food additives are not monsters. The more developed countries and regions use more varieties of food additives. There are currently more than 4,000 food additives allowed for use in foreign countries, and there are more than 2,000 in China, including more than 1,000 spices. In fact, the legal and appropriate use of food additives does not necessarily hinder health, but can also keep food fresh and increase its taste. According to Section 54 of the Food Safety Ordinance, the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Chapter 132), it is an offence to sell food that is unfit for human consumption.
On the contrary, even if there is really "zero additive", it does not mean that it is necessarily safe. Without preservatives, we would still be stuck in the age of eating rotten and spoiled food, because it may not be able to inhibit the reproduction of microorganisms in the food, making the food easy to spoil. Although yes, food safety is still the biggest hidden danger in the world, but we would rather businessmen put safe additives into food than see food additives not marked in the ingredient list.
Food preservatives are a major category of food additives used to prevent or delay food spoilage and extend the shelf life and storage period of food. Some foods with relatively high protein content must add preservatives to ensure product quality and safety, otherwise they will be more likely to spoil. Therefore, adding preservatives within a suitable range actually guarantees food safety for consumers.
Due to excessive publicity by the media and law enforcement agencies, citizens' awareness and understanding of food additives is relatively lagging behind, which has provided opportunities for relevant rumors and businesses to publicly deceive. Regarding food additives, it’s time to recognize the truth. In China, in the book "Inescapable Food Additives" edited by Professor Sun Bao Guo (孫寶國教授), an academician of the Academy of Food Science, he often says: The tofu we eat daily has a history of more than 3,000 years, and the brine in brine tofu is the most Typical food additives.
In addition, we sincerely hope that in the future, relevant departments and institutions can do more to help people understand additives correctly. In addition to preparing leaflets, brochures and other teaching materials, they will also educate the public through websites, periodicals, lectures, exhibitions and other channels. and industry introduction to food additives and related laws, reminding the industry to ensure that all foods sold in Hong Kong are suitable for human consumption. As the public’s right to know, the government and law enforcement agencies should provide a more comprehensive introduction to the different types of preservatives, coloring matter, sweeteners, etc. Safety issues of food additives are available to the industry and the public. More importantly, the government needs to provide clear provisions and cooperate with relevant systems to strengthen the regulation of business practices and ensure that consumers can buy and eat with confidence.
In October 2023, the law enforcement department of the Center for Food Safety randomly inspected an organic white pepper from India at our premises and found 17 parts per million (0.17 PPM) of ETO Ethylene oxide. Relevant prosecution procedures were initiated, and that time the law enforcement agency cited the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation (Chapter 132CM) and believed that the food was suspected of violating the "prescribed standards" of the regulation. To put it simply, according to the regulatory framework of the Regulation and the standards for pesticide residues in food formulated based on the standards of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the standards for pesticide residues in food do not "prescribe the relevant standards", and there are no clear provisions including The pesticide. (The EU standard is 0.1 ppm; the US and Canadian standard is 7 ppm) Therefore, our industry cannot know those pesticides or pesticides that belong to high-risk categories, and the industry cannot search in the "Hong Kong Pesticide Maximum Residue Limits Database" to the relevant safety standards and the maximum residue limits defined for the pesticide residues.
As for the detection of specified substances in food that did not specify the relevant maximum concentration, law enforcement officials conducted prosecutions based on Section 54 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance, which states that all food "must be fit for human consumption", which is a somewhat loose and vague regulation. and law enforcement, thus leaving the industry in the dark and without clearly defined legal provisions. In the sacred task of food safety, ensuring food safety is not only a heavy task, but also a long way to go. Regarding the responsibilities of law-abiding and gatekeepers, they are at a loss as to what to do, leading to a situation where they have no legal basis to rely on. This is directly related to the imperfect provisions of the Food Safety Law. Chinese expert Xu Xunlei once pointed out that imperfect legal provisions cannot maintain the bottom line of food safety. Prevention beforehand is far more important than punishment afterward.
As a responsible retailer, we stopped selling and removed the affected batch of products in accordance with the instructions of the Center. We will also take the initiative to recall the involved products that have been purchased, and will also provide a hotline for consumers to inquire about product recall matters.
At the same time, as a platform that we mainly sells healthy food and food without additives, we recommend that relevant law enforcement departments continue to improve the standards for the use of food additives and severely crack down on illegal food additions, so that consumers can have more confidence in food safety.
Reference
- Hong Kong Pesticide MRL Database
- Manual of fumigation for insect control - Food And Agriculture Organization Of The United Nations
- About Ethylene oxide * In the United Nations residue guide, Scudamore and Heuser (1971) concluded that ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol residues in food after fumigation are unlikely to pose a hazard, as large amounts of ethylene oxide and ethylene glycol are formed during storage and cooking. Vinyl chlorohydrin may partially disappear. If carbon dioxide can poison people, then carbon dioxide is classified as a "hazard and damage to health". Does this mean that the presence of carbon dioxide in food = "hazard and damage to health"? - Part V (Food and Drugs) of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) - Preservatives in Food Regulations
