How to view food additives? Is zero additive food necessarily healthier?

CCTV News: Wang Xufeng, President of the Capital Health and Nutrition Food Association, said, "We do not oppose food additives, but we firmly oppose illegal additives. We support the appropriate use of food additives, but we firmly oppose abuse. We do not reject food additives, but we should stay away from food additives that have extremely low nutritional value and no health benefits." Melamine and Sudan red, which have caused people's anxiety, Actually, it was originally an illegal addition.

How to view food additives?

Wang Xufeng: Regarding food additives, I have three core viewpoints to share with everyone.

Firstly, it is necessary to distinguish between additives and illegal additives and not confuse them. We do not oppose food additives, we firmly oppose illegal additives.

Everyone is very worried, and when it comes to food additives, they become anxious because of food safety incidents caused by substances such as melamine, formaldehyde, malachite green, and Sudan red. In fact, these substances are not included in the list of food additives at all. They are originally not allowed to appear in food and are illegal additives. Some illegal elements illegally add them to food in order to seek profits, and food additives carry the blame for illegal additives. Once these two substances are distinguished, you will find that among many food safety incidents, very few are truly caused by food additives.

Secondly, we support the appropriate use of food additives, but we firmly oppose abuse.

Food additives are artificially synthesized or natural chemicals added to food to improve its color, aroma, taste, processing technology, and preservation needs.

Why are food additives used? Because consumers pursue food with better color, aroma, and taste.

If only zero additives are accepted without preservatives at all, many foods will expire and spoil, resulting in a large amount of food waste. You may find that you cannot buy soy sauce, and the supply of firewood, rice, oil, and salt is not as abundant as it is now, and the price will also rise.

Can everyone accept this situation? The more important food safety is the safety of quantity. So food additives are not useless, they are a great tool.

Third, we do not have to reject food containing food additives. It is difficult for modern people to draw a clear line with food additives, but we should stay away from food additives that have extremely low nutritional value and are not conducive to health by adding pigment, essence and preservative.

Of course, there are also beneficial substances in food additives for the body, such as thickeners such as gelatin, which is collagen, and pectin, xanthan gum, and carrageenan, which are dietary fibers. Although other ingredients are not good for the body, they also have no harm.

The impact of food additives on health is not as frightening as people think. The management of food additives is very cautious and strict, but factors other than food additives have a greater impact on health, such as lack of exercise and excessive intake of salt, sugar, and oil.

Is zero additive food necessarily healthier?

Wang Xufeng: For example, the deep-fried dough sticks fried with oil and flour are really zero added, but it is not healthy to eat too much. It can only be said that among the same type of food, the ingredients of this food are relatively simple and the ingredients are relatively healthy. However, we cannot generalize that zero additives are healthier.

——CCTV Network