Sun Baoguo: When will the illegal addition of food additives stop?

Professor Sun Baoguo

Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering

Chairman of the Chinese Society of Food Science and Technology

President of Beijing Technology and Business University

Expert opinion 1: Sunset yellow is a food colorant approved for use in my country

Food colorants are substances that give food color and improve the color of food, and belong to the category of food additives. At present, there are 69 kinds of food colorants allowed for use in my country, which are divided into two categories according to their sources and properties: natural food colorants and synthetic food colorants. Natural food colorants mainly come from natural pigments, such as beet red, cochineal red and monascus red; synthetic food colorants are produced by chemical synthesis, such as sunset yellow, brilliant blue, lemon yellow, etc. It should be emphasized here that safety is not necessarily related to whether it is natural or synthetic.

Expert opinion 2: Using food colorants beyond the scope and limit is illegal

my country has strict approval requirements for the use of food additives. Animal experiments and population dietary surveys are required to determine which types of food a food additive can be used for and its maximum usage. Therefore, as long as food colorants are used reasonably within the scope permitted by regulations and standards, they are safe and reliable. The "National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives" (GB 2760-2014) stipulates that sunset yellow can be used as a food colorant in a variety of foods such as reconstituted milk, candied candies, and compound seasonings, but does not include tea (type) beverages. If it is not allowed in the regulations and standards, it cannot be used. Any use beyond the scope and limit is an illegal act.

Expert opinion 3: There would be no modern food industry without food additives

Without food additives, there would be no modern food industry. Without food additives, there would be no food safety. The second question we just interpreted was the rancid smell of oils and fats that Professor Wang Xingguo talked about. If antioxidants are added, they are also food additives, which can effectively alleviate this problem. The first question is the problem of sugar alcohols in mooncakes and maltose, which are sweeteners. Without food additives, a wide range of foods may not exist, including oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea. Oil and vinegar all have food additives, and even flour and rice may have them. The starting point or original intention of food additives is to make food more delicious, safer, and have a longer shelf life. We also hope that the food has a color that everyone is satisfied with. Our food pays attention to color, aroma and taste. To a certain extent, the level of food additives also represents one of the signs of a country's refined social development level.

Source: Tuchong Creative

Expert suggestion 1: Enterprises must consciously fulfill their primary responsibility for food safety and use food additives legally and in compliance with regulations

Enterprises must strengthen self-discipline, fulfill their primary responsibility for food safety, and use food additives in compliance with the law. This includes three aspects: 1. Use food additives permitted by GB 2760; 2. Do not exceed the scope; 3. Do not exceed the amount. Food producers and operators (including catering service providers) should consciously and proactively implement their primary responsibility for food safety. Catering service units should record the name of the food additives used, production date or batch number, food variety added, amount added, time of addition, operator and other information.

It is recommended that catering units operating homemade beverages proactively publicize the ingredient lists of the beverages they sell, indicate the types of food additives used, and protect consumers’ right to know.

Expert suggestion 2: Severely crack down on illegal use of food additives beyond the scope and limit

It is recommended to further strengthen supervision and inspection and sampling inspection, focusing on product standards or product formulas, procurement management and use of raw materials and food additives, product inspection and labeling, etc. Illegal use of food additives beyond the scope and limit should be severely investigated and punished according to law, especially for some Internet celebrity foods that are made and sold on the spot.

Expert suggestion three: Consumers should consume food rationally and not excessively pursue "Internet celebrity" food

When consumers buy freshly made and sold food, they should choose regular stores with complete licenses and good hygiene conditions, and carefully observe whether there are abnormal sensory characteristics, unknown precipitation, or obvious flavor inconsistency with the main processed raw materials before eating. Be cautious when buying "Internet celebrity" foods that are too bright in color or too strong in taste.

The "Scientific Interpretation of Food Safety and Health Hot Topics Media Communication Conference" has been held for 10 consecutive years since 2012. Every year, authoritative experts are invited to provide scientific interpretations of the annual food safety and health hot topics. In the form of "consensus in the scientific and technological community", it is widely disseminated through mainstream media and new media, such as television, newspapers, the Internet, Weibo, WeChat, etc. With scientific truth and fair suggestions, we will guide the public opinion on food safety in my country to gradually change in a scientific, objective and rigorous direction, and convey the positive energy of China's food safety.