Investigation On Current Situation Of Food Thickeners In Tianjin’s Some Food

Objective In recent years,China’s food safety incidents have occurred frequently,the public also pays much attention to food safety issues.Food thickener is not only an inevitable product of the modern food industry but also an indispensable food additive.The food thickener is widely added in food,Some of these thickeners are extremely harmful to health,but the basic research information and data on domestic food thickener are still blank,which also is the original intention of this investigation.So,through the basic investigation,we can obtain a preliminary understanding of the basic use situation of food thickeners,analyze its objective laws,put forward targeted recommendations and programs,develop food thickener safety supervision for the government,as well as provide an elementary data reference for the setting of China’s food safety and its standard.It can correctly guide the public to understand the food thickener in a scientific way,provide favorable protection for the public’s food safety,and provide reliable basic information.Methods1.Respondents: The investigation lasted 18 months,divided into two stages of the similar size of the city,the number of sales of products and food categories are also the same in 9 large supermarkets.Classify the food according to fermented milk class,milk powder class,jelly class,meat-packing cooked food class,soy products class,cereal derivatives class,frozen rice and flour product class,dried fruit class,puffing class,cereal cooked dessert class,cereal cooked biscuits class,beverages class,spices(non-solid)class,fine dried noodles class and instant noodles class.It surveyed fifteen categories of food one by one,and conducted classified inventory survey of food thickeners used in food samples,which totally included 549 brands and 1636 varieties.2.Investigation methods: It used field investigation and recorded one by one.First of all,made a general food situation questionnaire,including food category,food name,brand,ingredients table,etc.(see the appendix).And archived and recorded each food thickener added in each product one by one.Statistical analysis of the samples took descriptive and analytical research methods.In addition,it used SPSS13.0 software package to make statistical analysis,adopted rate and composition ratio and other indicators to describe the sample characteristics,verified the results by X2 test and obtained P<0.05,hinting the difference was statistically significant.Through the pre-market research and data collection,it conducted inventory survey and further follow-up analysis on addition situation of used food thickeners.Results1.The survey results showed that in 1636 samples,there were 1188(72.62%)samples had added food thickeners,and 448 samples(27.38%)hadn’t added food thickeners.Among 40 food thickeners of the survey,only 28 can be found in the national food additive standards,and only 4food thickeners mark the maximum amount of use in some food categories,namely: xanthan gum,artemisia seed gum,propylene glycol alginate,diacetyl tartaric acid monoglyceride.The rest 24 food thickeners can be found are marked as “appropriate use forproduction needs".2.Among the 15 categories of food investigated,the proportions of food thickeners added in 12 categories of food included starch and its derivatives were higher,which respectively were acidified milk dairy class,puffing class,spices(non-solid)class,soy products class,dried fruit class,fine dried noodles class,instant noodles class,cereal cooked biscuits class,cereal cooked dessert class,frozen rice and flour product class,milk powder class and cereal derivatives class.In the category of starch and its derivatives,the food had higher proportion of maltodextrin were(five categories): milk powder class,cereal derivatives class,cereal cooked biscuits class,instant noodles class and fine dried noodles class.3.In fermented milk samples,adding pectin most,add 86 times,accounting for 53.09%;cooked meat processing class add up add carrageenan,80 times,accounting for 60.15%;seasoning(non solid foods),xanthan gum,add up,add 78 times,accounting for 64.46%;and expanded the kind of food starch add up 98,add up to 85.96% times.4.Among the food samples surveyed,the number of food thickeners added was higher :starch(449times),maltodextrin(309 times),xanthan gum(214 times),carrageenan(158 times),hydroxy propyl distarch phosphate(134 times),pectin(119 times),sodium carboxymethylcellulose(98 times),acetylated distarch phosphate(89 times),agar(66times)and gelatin(48 times).Moreover,the results of the two research phases showed that the first four food thickeners in the order of the number of additions were consistent with the final results.5.In the study,the main raw material for the production of food categories(except milk powder)with high proportion of maltodextrin and starchwas grain.Maltodextrin was added in the milk powder.But China’s food additives standard has not yet been indicated,especially the use standardin infant formula milk powder.6.At last,(A list of food categories except for food additives that are appropriate for use in production)of China’s "Food Safety National Standard Food Additive Use Standard"(GB2760-2014),it specifically contains acidified milk.In this investigation,13 kinds of food thickeners added to fermented milk were found:Guar gum,pectin,carrageenan,agar,edible gelatin,xanthan gum,gellan gum,acid treated starch,microcrystalline cellulose,hydroxypropyl distarch phosphate,oxidized hydroxypropyl starch,acetylated distarch phosphate,carboxymethylcellulose sodium.However,in(A list of food additives that can be used in a variety of foods according to production needs)of(GB2760-2014),the 13 kinds of food thickeners can be found.Therefore,some of the national standards need to be further improved.Conclusion1.The results of this study indicate that food thickeners are widely used in large amounts of food,but some additives such as starch and maltodextrin lack the appropriate national standards and methods of testing,resulting in a blind zone in China’s food hygiene supervision.2.For food additives,such as gelatin,which have been reported to be hazardous to health,the use of safe dose is not sufficient,at present the national standard is only marked as “appropriate use for production needs" instead of specific amount of edible gelatin.3.For modified starch food thickeners,such as Acetylated distarch adipate and aluminum starch octenylbutanedioate,they have some harmful substances,including arsenic,lead,heavy metals,sulfur dioxide,as well as the unique acetyl material in acetylated distarch phosphate.These substances will be absorbed through the digestion of the human body,the body will cause more serious harm to the organization and organs.At present,China’s food thickener lacks the necessary residue limit standard and its inspection method.In summary,the results of this study indicate that the standard of Chinese food thickener has lagged behind the development of modern food industry.For the potential hazards and the use of a wide range of food thickeners,China’s food additives standards in the absence of detailed and rigorous data as a reference.The physical and chemical testing of these food thickeners standards should be as soon as possible the formulation and implementation of food safety should be made further in-depth study,and revision of the national standard,to perfect the construction of standard system of food thickener and management laws and regulations.By strengthening the supervision and control of food thickeners and additives,the potential safety risks of food thickeners can be controlled.In order to protect food safety and safeguard public health,so strengthening the popularization of food thickeners related knowledge and improving public awareness.