Flour banned addition of brighteners at the end of next year

On December 15, the website of the Ministry of Health Supervision Bureau publicly solicited opinions from the public on the prohibition of the addition of benzoyl peroxide and calcium peroxide (commonly known as flour brightener) to food, and proposed that it will start on December 1, 2011. The use of brighteners in flour production is prohibited.

Although they are still soliciting opinions, this move in Qingyuan has attracted many citizens to applaud. In the interview, many people have said that they are too white, too smooth, and have special flavors. For the ban to be implemented until the end of next year, the public feels "a bit late".

Efficacy brighteners can shorten wheat (2567,4.00,0.16%) ripening time as early as 1986, flour whiteners were introduced into China. Its main raw materials are benzoyl peroxide and calcium peroxide, which is a food additive commonly used in many countries. The mechanism of action is to react under the action of water and enzymes in the flour, release active oxygen and oxidize a small amount of colored substances contained in the flour, so as to achieve the effect of flour whitening. Flour whitening agent as a food additive added to the flour, not only can make the original color dark, rough flour becomes white, delicate, but also can extend the shelf life of flour, and can speed up the process of flour ripening.

Cheng Nan Market, a long-term owner of the flour and other grocery business, explained that since freshly ground wheat flour has a relatively large stickiness and lacks flexibility and toughness, it should not be used as a pasta spot. In particular, when it is used to produce foods such as steamed buns and bread, there are disadvantages such as dark skin, easy collapse, and nonuniform pore organization. However, after the wheat flour is stored for a period of time, these disadvantages can be greatly improved, and this phenomenon is called “after-ripening” of wheat flour. Flour brighteners can shorten the post-ripening time that would have taken three to four weeks to complete, and are therefore sought after by flour producers.

The status quo added brightener flour still occupies the protagonist Reporter visited several major supermarkets in the urban area found that a wide variety of bags of flour, flour containing brighteners still occupy "half the country." In the flour area of ​​Xincheng Supermarket, there are only a few small packages of stone flour and small dumplings of 10kg or less in size. The words “no brightener” and “without any additives” are printed on the package. Almost all of the bulk flour was noted to contain diluted benzoyl peroxide at the corner of the bag. “In fact, the quality of flour ultimately depends on the quality of wheat, and there is no great relationship with whether or not it contains brighteners.” A supermarket salesman told reporters.

Asked whether it knows that the addition of whitening agents in flour will be banned at the end of next year, the salesman said he did not know it, and the company’s headquarters did not notify them, so it is estimated that supermarkets will not make adjustments in the short term.

A grocery store owner at the Triangular Market said that sales of whitening flour are relatively good because of its low price, relatively clean pastas, and limited sales of stone flour without brighteners.

In fact, the taste of the two kinds of flour tastes little different, but the yellow hair made from natural flour is yellow, and the cooked food made from whitening flour is whiter. “Everyday I eat myself, I usually buy natural powder, I use a lot more to buy white powder in the canteens and restaurants, I have to increase the price of white powder, and the second thing I do is to look good and sell.” The owner said, “Wholesale” is purchased daily from the store. The main sources of whitening flour are business canteens, bread boxes, restaurants, and noodle shops. Some good-packaged shops can absorb five or six bags of 50 pounds of flour a day. If using whitening powder, they can save a lot of costs.

Responding to Health Instead of Selling to the Public The ban on consumers seems to be critical of flour not because of its whiteness but its taste, which is one of the reasons why manufacturers add benzoyl peroxide to flour. However, many consumers also questioned.

Miss Wang, a citizen, said that he rarely buys ready-made flour in the market and knows little about “flour brighteners”. However, she has heard that some manufacturers use unqualified food additives and cause illnesses caused by people's discomfort after eating. Therefore, she does not agree to add other ingredients other than food to food.

The citizen Mr. Zhang told reporters that in his rural hometown, many households eat flour made from their own wheat in the processing room. They do not need to add any chemical components, and flour can achieve ideal whiteness. The key lies in The number of "overboard" wheat.

“In fact, flour brighteners are not helpful to the health of consumers. If they are just for the sake of selling products, they strongly oppose this kind of behavior.” He said that he can understand certain difficulties of the manufacturer and the flour will be degenerated, discolored, etc. Problems, if you do not add brightener color will be difficult to see, not easy to sell, and may even lead to loss of manufacturers. However, the prerequisite for the addition of brighteners is to ensure quality and ensure the health of consumers. "If you can not add these optional items, try not to add them."

People who are shopping in supermarkets think that although there is now permission to add brighteners in flour, there is no reliable basis for whether such additives affect the body, but they still want to buy natural foods. . Ms. Gao said that when she was a child, the flour she ate at home was grinded by herself, and the taro tasted a scent, but now the gimmick looks white, but it doesn't taste any better, and even tastes like wax.

Although most consumers agree that the use of whitening agents in flour is prohibited, Zhang Bo, who has done business in Shengping Street, told reporters that most consumers still care about the color of pasta, and if the steamed buns are dark, Or the color is not uniform, consumers are generally skeptical about the health conditions of the food produced in the store. "But if the color is too white, some people will suspect that the purity of flour is not high, so it is difficult to do business." The boss complained.

According to industry experts, although the state allows the addition of whitening agents to wheat flour, whitening agents will affect the taste and gluten level of flour. With the improvement of wheat quality and processing technology, no increase in flour will be achieved with current technology. The white agent can completely produce wheat flour with whiteness and accuracy, and even the flour production rate has exceeded the level used before, and there is no need to add brighteners at all.

â–  How to buy flour?

Flour is made by grinding and drying wheat. It is usually divided into three types: standard powder, strong powder and strong powder. High-quality flour has a scent of wheat, white in color, dry, free from lumps and clusters. Inferior flour has heavy water, mildew, clumps, and rancidity and cannot be eaten. Therefore, the purchase of flour is mainly measured in terms of moisture content, color, gluten quality, and freshness.

1. Moisture: The flour with normal moisture content has a smooth feeling in the hand, and it has a small resistance to reach into the hand. The pat is flourishing; the flour with moisture contains more flour, which is pinched and tangible, and is not easy to disperse. Hand resistance is large, and there is a sense of heat inside, easy to mold and agglomeration.

2. Color: The whiter the flour, the higher the precision of processing, but the lower the vitamin content. If the storage time is long or wet, the color of the flour will be deepened, which means that the quality is also reduced.

3. Gluten: After water, the higher the gluten content, the better the general quality. However, if the gluten quality is too high, the other ingredients will be reduced accordingly, and the quality is not necessarily good.

4. Freshness: Fresh flour has a normal odor and is pale and clear. If there is a corrupt or musty smell, the color is dark, black or agglomerate, indicating that the flour has been stored for too long and has deteriorated.

The "evolution of the legal status of the link whiteners"

● In 1986, the Ministry of Commerce allowed the addition of benzoyl peroxide in the newly issued wheat flour standard. The Ministry of Health has included benzoyl peroxide in “Hygienic Standards for the Use of Food Additives”, allowing the addition of 60 mg of benzoyl peroxide per kilogram of flour.

●In October 2001, 65 large flour processing enterprises of the China Grain Industry Association and the China National Cereal and Oil Association jointly submitted a proposal to the National Standardization Administration for the proposal to revise the Hygiene Standard for the Use of Food Additives, which prohibits the use of flour whiteners.

● In September 2010, “Flour Brightener” was still included in the “Flour Treatment Agent” in the “Food Safety National Standard for the Use of Food Additives” (Draft for Comment).

● In December 2010, the website of the Supervision Bureau of the Ministry of Health issued a public notice for comments, and it is proposed that the flour whitening agent be banned from December next year.