70% of substandard food is snacks

　　In recent years, substandard snacks have harmed children healthy Examples of this have repeatedly appeared in the newspapers: In 2007, four primary school students at Lehongcun Primary School in Zhaotong City, Yunnan Province died of poisoning due to fried and dried instant noodles.； In March 2009, a sixth-grade student at Hope Primary School in Wuwei County, Chaohu City, Anhui Province died of poisoning after eating the snack "Big Knife Meat". ； In September 2009, three students at Shuangcheng No. 7 Primary School in Harbin suffered from vomiting and convulsions after eating the snack "Lanzhou Spicy Rolls." Shanghai media It has also been reported that some local children suffered kidney failure from eating snacks with excessive amounts of additives.

　　Among the substandard foods, 70% are snacks

　　28-year-old Zhang Man (pseudonym) works near the International Trade Center in Chaoyang District, Beijing. Her desk drawer is filled with various snacks, and she also stuffs a few small bags into her backpack. Zhang Man told reporters that some of these snacks were bought from supermarkets, and some were ordered from the website with colleagues and friends. “Almost everyone in our office has snacks prepared. Spicy jerky, salty dried tofu, potato chips, and sweet preserved fruits are all very popular. Some people buy a lot at one time and take them home to feed their children. ”

　　Most of the "snack people" in life are children and young and middle-aged people female , when buying snacks, the first consideration is usually whether they are delicious, but little attention is paid to quality and hygiene issues. In this regard, Jiang Weibo, a professor at the School of Food at China Agricultural University, said that the research team he led conducted an analysis and statistics on the food randomly inspected by the Beijing Food Safety Office from January to July 2008. The results found that among more than 150 batches with unqualified safety indicators, nearly 70% were snacks.

　　Statistics from the food spot inspection results of the Beijing Municipal Administration for Industry and Commerce from October 2009 to January 2010 found that snacks were included in the "black list" of unqualified foods published almost every week, mainly including: various plums, apricot meat, dried sweet potatoes, dried pineapples, melon seeds, beef jerky, shredded squid, seaweed, flavored sausages, etc.

　　Five hidden dangers of snacks

　　Why do snacks account for such a large proportion of substandard food? Jiang Weibo believes that there are three main reasons. First, there are many types of snack foods on the market. In order to pursue the taste and highlight the appearance, problems such as excessive additives or illegal additions are prone to occur. Second, the snack industry covers a very wide range, including factory processing and small street workshop production, which makes some snack industries lack production standards. When relevant departments formulate regulatory standards, it is impossible to include all harmful factors in routine testing indicators, resulting in more harmful snacks on the market. Third, consumers are too focused on the taste of snacks and are not very vigilant about safety, which also provides market demand for substandard snacks.

　　The harmful ingredients and excessive additives contained in substandard snacks will cause certain harm to the human body. Through the statistics of spot check data, we came up with the five most common snack hazards. Ask experts to analyze its hazards.

　　excess pigment

　　In order to pursue the good-looking appearance of snacks, some food production units often use excessive amounts of artificial pigments, such as puffed foods, candies, etc. However, the risk of artificial pigments to the human body is higher than that of natural pigments. If consumers consume a large amount of food containing excessive pigments for a long time or at one time, they may cause diarrhea and other symptoms, which are particularly harmful to the healthy development of children. Natural pigments are safe but costly, and many companies are reluctant to use them.

　　Excessive preservatives

　　Food preservatives are natural or chemically synthesized substances added to food to ensure the preservation of food during transportation and storage. For example, excessive intake of benzoic acid, potassium sorbate, and nitrite will inhibit bone growth to a certain extent and harm the health of the kidneys and liver.

　　Too much saccharin

　　In order to increase the sweetness, excessive saccharin may be added to foods such as preserves, ice cream, pastries, and biscuits, which may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and liver metabolism problems. After hydrolysis of saccharin sodium, cycloethylamine, a carcinogenic threat, may be formed.

　　High salt and sugar

　　Snacks such as prunes and dried tofu contain a large amount of salt or sugar, which will increase the burden on the kidneys and pose a threat to the cardiovascular system. In European and American markets, foods marked “sugar-free” and “salt-free” will be more popular.

　　High amounts of trans fatty acids

　　Most pastries, ice cream, and biscuits on the market contain "vegetable cream" and "vegetable butter" in their ingredient lists, which contain a large amount of trans fatty acids. Excessive intake can damage the intelligence of children and children, harm the heart, and can also lead to infertility.

　　Smart snacking

　　Although snacks have hidden dangers, they are not unavoidable. Chairman of the Nutrition and Health Food Branch of the Chinese Nutrition Society, China disease Yang Yuexin, director of the Food Chemistry Office of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Safety of the Center for Prevention and Control, gave suggestions for healthy snacks.

　　Yang Yuexin said that foods that can be used as snacks can be divided into 10 categories, namely candies, meat, seafood and eggs, cereals, beans and bean products, vegetables and fruits, milk and dairy products, nuts, potatoes, beverages and cold drinks. Each type of snacks can be divided into 3 recommended levels, and people can choose what to eat and how much to eat based on their levels.

　　Can be eaten regularly

　　It refers to foods or beverages that are rich in nutrients and mostly contain low fat, low salt and low sugar. Such as fresh fruits, including cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. that can be eaten raw ； Some nuts that have not been treated with salt, such as peanuts, pine nuts, pistachios, etc.

　　Eat properly

　　Foods or drinks that are relatively rich in nutrients but contain or add moderate amounts of fat, sugar, salt, etc., such as beef slices, dark chocolate, etc.

　　Not recommended for consumption

　　Foods or drinks that contain or add large amounts of fat, sugar, and salt provide more energy. Frequent consumption of such snacks can increase overweight and obesity, high blood pressure and other chronic diseases. sexually transmitted diseases risks, such as high-sugar candied fruits, fried foods, etc.