Review of 12 instant noodles to answer everyone's misunderstandings about instant noodles

Speaking of instant noodles, it is hard to describe them in one sentence. They are definitely "junk food":

Unhygienic use of oil

Repeated frying is unhealthy

Lots of preservatives

Many additives

Waxing the inner wall of instant noodle barrel

......

To sum up, in one sentence:

It takes 28 days to metabolize the poison in a packet of instant noodles.

In fact, these are all misunderstandings about instant noodles.

In order to give instant noodles a good name, we bought 12 common types of instant noodles on the market and tested them all based on the above-mentioned points of concern.

The brands of the 12 instant noodles tested this time are as follows:

We have verified each of the points that everyone is concerned about.

1. Is the oil used in noodles unhygienic? Many people suspect that since instant noodles are so cheap, the oil used must be unhygienic.

Some even suspect that it is made from gutter oil.

We looked at the ingredient list and found that most of these 12 instant noodles use refined palm oil.

This type of oil has high saturation and good thermal stability. It produces relatively less fumes and carcinogens during frying and is not easy to turn black even after repeated frying.

Therefore, it is more suitable for frying than ordinary cooking oil.

More importantly, palm oil is very cheap, which can greatly reduce costs. Including seasoning, a bucket of instant noodles requires about 13g of oil.

We consulted industry insiders and learned that in previous years the price of palm oil was approximately 5 yuan per kg. This means that the oil cost for each barrel of instant noodles is only 6 cents.

With such suitable and cheap oil in front of us, there is no need for regular manufacturers to use gutter oil, so you can rest assured.

Real shot of instant noodle ingredients

Second, is it unhealthy to reuse oil? Many people are also worried about the quality of the oil they use, fearing that manufacturers will reuse the same pot of oil without restraint.

To verify this question, we tested the acid value of fried dough cakes.

Acid value is an indicator of the degree of oil deterioration. The lower the acid value, the fresher and more refined the oil is.

There are many reasons for the high acid value. The most common one is that the manufacturer uses lower quality oil to save costs, or the oil is recycled too many times.

Generally speaking, a slightly higher acid value will not harm your health.

But if the acid value is too high, it can cause gastrointestinal discomfort, diarrhea or liver damage.

The national standard requires that the acid value of instant fried noodles shall not exceed 1.8 mg/g.

The results are as follows:

Except for No. 5 and No. 12 which are non-fried noodles and whose acid value cannot be tested, the acid value tests of the other 10 noodles all passed.

Friends who are worried about the quality of the oil can rest assured.

However, we would also like to remind everyone that the acid value of fried dough sticks will gradually increase over time.

So everyone should try to buy instant noodles with fresh dates. It is not recommended to eat expired instant noodles.

If you smell a rancid or other strange odor in the bread within the shelf life, do not eat it.

3. High levels of preservatives? Many people believe that instant noodles can be stored for a long time without spoiling because of the high dose of preservatives.

Instant noodles mainly consist of two parts: noodle cake and seasoning packet.

The dough is fried or dried, and has a very low moisture content, which is not suitable for the survival of microorganisms, so there is no need to add preservatives.

The seasoning packets mainly include sauce packets, powder packets, dehydrated vegetable/meat packets, wet vegetable packets, and some also have seasoning oil packets.

The moisture content of dehydrated vegetable/meat buns and powder buns is also very low, and they are generally processed using irradiation sterilization technology, so there is no need to add preservatives.

The products most likely to contain preservatives are sauce packets and wet vegetable packets.

Real shot of instant noodle ingredients

We took the sauce packets and wet vegetable packets of these instant noodles and sent them for testing for three common preservatives (potassium sorbate, sodium benzoate, and sodium dehydroacetate).

The results of the sauce pack are as follows:

Except for seasoning No. 8 and No. 10 mixed with the noodles, there are no separate sauce packets.

None of the three preservatives were detected in the ingredient packets of the other 10 instant noodles.

The wet vegetable packets are only found in No. 2 and No. 5 instant noodles.

These three preservatives were not detected in wet vegetable package No. 2.

The ingredient list of wet vegetable package No. 5 clearly indicated that these three preservatives were added, so we did not conduct further testing.

In fact, it doesn’t matter even if preservatives are added.

The national standard allows the addition of these three preservatives to pickled vegetables, and there is no problem as long as they are added as required.

If you really mind, just don't eat the wet vegetable packs.

4. Waxing the inner wall of barrel instant noodles? Others say:

There is a layer of wax on the inner wall of the instant noodle bucket, which will enter the instant noodles during soaking. Eating too much can cause cancer.

We tested the materials of the inner wall of the instant noodle bucket and the inside of the lid.

The results show:

The material of the inner wall of the barrel is basically polyethylene (PE) or polypropylene (PP);
The material on the inside of the lid is polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP) or ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA).

In other words, these 12 instant noodle buckets are not waxed.

Click to view the report

These detected materials can actually be found everywhere in our daily life, such as plastic wrap, plastic bags, food storage boxes and cups.

They are all materials that can come into contact with food, so you can rest assured.

Some friends raised questions with a rigorous attitude:

Although the material is fine, will harmful substances dissolve under high temperatures?

Therefore, we also tested the total migration of instant noodle buckets:

According to national standards, 95% ethanol is used to replace oily food simulants, and the total migration amount is determined by testing the content of non-volatile substances in ethanol.

The results showed that the total migration amounts were all qualified.

There is no problem in soaking it in 95% alcohol for two hours, and there is no need to worry about soaking it in boiling water.

5. Too many additives? Even if there are no problems with the noodles, ingredient packets, or instant noodle buckets, the dense list of additives on the ingredient list can still make people uneasy.

In fact, these additives are legal and there is no need to worry about safety.

Without these additives, it would be difficult for instant noodles to have the current color, aroma, taste and texture.

Here are a few examples:

These additives are added in very low amounts.

For example, the anti-caking agents and humectants mentioned in the table, the national standard stipulates that the maximum usage in instant noodles is 0.5%, which will not cause any impact on the human body.

5. Eating too much will make you fat? NONONO.

Although instant noodles are fried, the calories are not high.

The daily calorie requirement for an adult is approximately 1800-2250 Kcal.

The calorie content of a bucket of instant noodles is 530 Kcal.

Even if you eat instant noodles for three meals a day, it is only 1590 Kcal, which does not exceed the daily calorie requirement.

But we still do not recommend that you eat instant noodles often.

Although instant noodles are not high in calories, they are not nutritionally balanced and cannot meet the protein needs of adults.

In addition, its sodium and fat content exceeds the needs of adults.

Long-term consumption may cause hair loss, anemia, fatty liver and high blood pressure.

To sum up, instant noodles are not as harmful as everyone imagines.

It is even a kind of food that is cleaner than the fly restaurants on the roadside and more convenient than homemade.

Because it is easy to store and transport, it is also a common material in some special occasions, such as disaster relief.

But this does not mean that it is suitable for eating every meal or every day.

After all, its sodium and fat content is still quite high.

If you have no choice but to eat instant noodles frequently, you can refer to the principle of "more refund, less supplement":

1. Reduce oil

Choose noodles with relatively low fat content. Generally, non-fried instant noodles have lower fat content.

2. Reduce salt intake

Choose ones that are relatively low in sodium.

You can refer to the last column of the nutrition information table, "Nutrient Reference Value %", and try to choose the smaller number.

3. Use less seasoning/drink less soup

If you find it troublesome to choose, you can choose the lazy way: use less seasoning and drink less soup.

In addition, avoid foods with high sodium content, such as ham.

4. Control the total amount of intake

Try to choose instant noodles in small packages. Many brands now have mini cup noodles. You can have a small cup when you are hungry or craving for them.

If you eat less, the impact on your health will naturally be smaller.

5. Add some toppings

If conditions permit, you can eat instant noodles with boiled eggs, tofu, beef, prawns, etc. to supplement high-quality protein.

Have a handful of vegetables to supplement vitamins and minerals.

Let me ask you again, do you know why instant noodles are wavy?