Well-known soy sauce ＂double standard at home and abroad＂, is the additive really the first of all evils？

Wang Bin, an original child nutritionist from Wang Bin, is included in the collection # 50 parenting experiences.

Wang bin

National second-class public dietitian

National Senior Nutrition Lecturer

Good at combining medicine with modern nutrition knowledge, focusing on the field of maternal and child nutrition and health. Teach you how to raise children scientifically!

Some time ago, the topic of a well-known soy sauce at home and abroad rushed to the hot search:

At the end of September, many netizens exposed pictures of Haitian soy sauce purchased abroad. The ingredients list of the product only contained natural raw materials such as water, soybean, wheat and salt, and there were no additives. Later, some netizens exposed the ingredients list of Haitian soy sauce in China. In addition to natural raw materials, there were various additives such as sodium glutamate, disodium 5′- flavored nucleotide, disodium 5′- inosinate, sodium benzoate, sucralose, etc.

Here, Sister Bin would like to say that both the domestic market and the international market, the company sells products containing food additives and products without food additives. In fact, any product has different quality products. As long as it meets the standards, consumers can choose the corresponding products according to their own needs.

Are additives really the worst of all evils? What’s the difference between two kinds of soy sauce? Should children choose soy sauce? ….. Let’s have a good talk today.

Are additives really the worst of all evils?

Sister Bin found that many people’s mantra is: Don’t eat XX, which is full of additives!

Are additives really not good things? Actually, it’s not. Food additives are artificial or natural substances added to food in order to improve the quality, color, aroma and taste of food, and to meet the needs of preservation, preservation and processing technology.

There are roughly the following types of additives:

one

Preservatives/preservatives

Preservatives/preservatives can be said to be the most evil additives in many people! Common names: benzoic acid/sodium benzoate, sorbic acid/potassium sorbate, edible alcohol and so on.

Preservatives can prevent spoilage caused by microorganisms and prolong the shelf life of food. Generally, foods with high sugar and salt have natural antiseptic and antibacterial ability, so the amount of preservatives added in soy sauce is usually very small, and the position is behind the ingredient list.

2

flavoring agent

During the fermentation of soy sauce, umami substances will be produced, but if the brewing time is not enough to achieve a certain umami taste, then adding "umami substances" is the most economical, direct and effective way.

Common names are: sodium glutamate, disodium 5 ′ flavored nucleotide, disodium 5 ′ inosinate, yeast extract, etc.

(Of course, it won’t write the word "flavor enhancer" directly on the ingredient list! )

three

Sweetener

Sweetener, as its name implies, refers to food additives that can give sweetness. Common additive names: white sugar, glucose, fructose syrup, monopotassium glycyrrhizinate, tripotassium glycyrrhizinate, sucralose (sucralose), stevioside, etc.

four

coloring agent

Its function is to change the original color of food to a certain extent. Dark soy sauce will make people feel thicker, for example, caramel color will be added to soy sauce. Common additives are caramel color.

five

other

In addition, there are other additives such as lactic acid, edible spices and so on.

Seeing this, are you still a little confused?

Are additives harmful after all?

Will eating it have serious consequences?

What effect will children eat additives?

This has to mention the next knowledge point:

About the dosage of additives

The legal food additives in China have undergone strict safety assessment, and the legal form stipulates which foods can be added and what is the maximum dosage. Modern food industry can’t leave food additives, otherwise our food system will collapse.

Therefore, we should treat legal additives rationally, as long as the use of food additives in accordance with the scope and dosage prescribed by the state is safe, there is no need to worry at all. Again:

It’s hooliganism to talk about toxicity regardless of dosage.

We should oppose illegal additives and excessive dosage and abuse. Do not exclude foods with food additives, but stay away from those foods with low nutritional value but with a lot of food additives that are not good for health.

The difference between two kinds of soy sauce

We know that when the salt reaches a certain proportion, it will have a natural antiseptic effect. If the soy sauce reaches the standard of low sodium, it may lead to the addition of some preservatives. So the difference between soy sauce without preservatives (or other foods) and soy sauce with preservatives is here.

Studies have shown that the dietary factor that contributes the most to the risk of cardiovascular death in China is excessive sodium intake. Therefore, daily salt reduction is more important.

How to choose soy sauce?

On how to choose soy sauce, Sister Bin gave you a detailed introduction in the previous article, mainly depending on the product standard number, amino acid nitrogen content and sodium content.

In short, whether it is high-quality soy sauce or not depends on the ingredient list and data. "Zero addition" does not mean that the product is the safest, and it does not mean that the product is the highest quality.

(For details, see:)

About "Children’s Soy Sauce"

First, the first question, can the baby eat soy sauce?

It is the same principle as adding salt:

Don’t eat at all until you are 1 year old.

1-2 years old, eat as little as possible.

Over 2 years old, you can eat in moderation.

Finally, remember, salt and soy sauce, just put one.

If the baby can really eat soy sauce, how to choose? Choose for children only? Or the more expensive the better?

Don’t be superstitious about "children’s soy sauce". At present, there is no relevant national standard. Parents should learn to read the product label (just refer to the above standards).

Many manufacturers will advertise that children’s soy sauce is low in salt and more suitable for children. In fact, the sodium content of some children’s soy sauce is almost the same as that of adult soy sauce, and some of them are even higher than that of adult soy sauce, but the price is not almost the same. From the perspective of cost performance, it is really not high.

Moreover, some children’s soy sauces are added with edible alcohol for preservation, and everyone should pay attention to this ~

summary

Although food additives are safe and legal. But in our daily diet, even food production enterprises should have a higher health standard, that is: unnecessary, do not add.

To sum up, buy fresh and natural foods as much as possible. If you need to buy foods containing additives, choose those with little harm and few additives.

Read the original text