Aluminum additive ban in crunchy savory snacks
Print Edition
CRUNCHY savory snacks, steamed buns and sponge cakes can no longer contain additives containing aluminum, under a new ban introduced yesterday.
However, fried flour products — such as Chinese breakfast favorite the deep-fried dough stick — are not covered by the ban, introduced by five public bodies, including the department of health and family planning.
No reason for this exemption was given by the authorities.
Additives containing aluminum are widely used in crunchy savory snacks, buns, sponge cakes and deep-fried dough sticks in China, as these make the texture more fluffy.
But experts say the aluminum is unnecessary and banning it can protect people’s health.
High intakes of aluminum can affect the nervous and reproduction system, especially in the physical and mental development of children.
The World Health Organization says an adult weighing 60 kilograms can safety ingest 120 milligrams of aluminum every week.
“However the average intake of Chinese is much higher,” said Liu Shaowei, a food safety expert from the East China University of Science and Technology.
Figures from the nation’s food safety risk evaluation center last month showed that levels in food sold in parts of China are alarmingly high.
An average content of aluminum in bread is 126 milligrams per kilogram and 149 milligrams per kilogram in steamed flour products, figures showed.
Aluminum content of 300 milligrams per kilogram in the crunchy snacks was found, while for deep-fried dough sticks the figure was 495.6 milligrams.
Inspections by the China Agricultural University food college found that one third of puffed foodstuffs have excessive aluminum.
The food risk center also found that over 30 percent of Chinese intake more aluminum than the weekly safety quantity set by WHO. Children aged between 4 and 6 were found to be taking 2.6 times the safe amount.
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