Snack seeds could cause dementia, says watchdog
By Zhao Wen |
February 25, 2013, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
SEVEN kinds of snack seeds sold in Suzhou have been found to contain aluminum - said to come from an additive to keep the seeds dry - that can cause brain and nerve damage, according to a report in yesterday's Suzhou Daily.
The city's quality watchdog didn't say whether the aluminum content was excessive but pointed to a potential risk of dementia from an accumulated amount of the metal.
Its inspection, carried out last Friday, randomly selected seven kinds of fried seeds, including melon and sunflower seeds sold in bulk in supermarkets and food stores. All were found to contain aluminum, the newspaper said.
It said some vendors would add alums containing aluminum when making fried seeds to maintain their crisp texture. Some were also said to use talcum powder to smooth the surface of the seeds to make them more attractive. But the powder contained cancer-causing substances, the newspaper said.
Ding Hongliu, an official with the Suzhou City Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau, said people should strip the husks first before eating the seeds rather than putting them in their mouths and spitting out the husks.
Ding also advised customers to choose packaged seeds from well-known brands of guaranteed quality rather than seeds sold in bulk.
The city's quality watchdog didn't say whether the aluminum content was excessive but pointed to a potential risk of dementia from an accumulated amount of the metal.
Its inspection, carried out last Friday, randomly selected seven kinds of fried seeds, including melon and sunflower seeds sold in bulk in supermarkets and food stores. All were found to contain aluminum, the newspaper said.
It said some vendors would add alums containing aluminum when making fried seeds to maintain their crisp texture. Some were also said to use talcum powder to smooth the surface of the seeds to make them more attractive. But the powder contained cancer-causing substances, the newspaper said.
Ding Hongliu, an official with the Suzhou City Quality and Technical Supervision Bureau, said people should strip the husks first before eating the seeds rather than putting them in their mouths and spitting out the husks.
Ding also advised customers to choose packaged seeds from well-known brands of guaranteed quality rather than seeds sold in bulk.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
