Hydrogen peroxide is an aqueous solution of hydrogen peroxide. It is usually said that the concentration of hydrogen peroxide is 3%. It has a wide range of uses, but the most common use is as a disinfectant and bleach. Why is hydrogen peroxide used in food? Is it poisonous? Will it cause cancer?
Sanitizer
Hydrogen peroxide mainly relies on its powerful oxidation to kill microorganisms, so it will not produce drug resistance, and it is equally effective against bacteria, fungi and viruses.
The most common concentration of 3% hydrogen peroxide can easily kill pathogenic microorganisms such as Staphylococcus aureus, E. coli, and hepatitis C virus.
Even the extremely tenacious bacterial spores can be killed with 10-30% hydrogen peroxide.
In the medical field, it is mainly used for surface disinfection of medical devices, but also for oral disinfection or cleaning wounds.
Because it is colorless, odorless, and has almost no residue after sterilization, it has many applications in the food industry. For example, disinfection of packaging, containers and production lines for dairy products, fruit juice, beer, drinking water, and surface disinfection of aquatic products, meat, fruits and vegetables. It can also be used for washing, smearing and disinfecting milk and milk heads. Low-concentration hydrogen peroxide spray can disinfect the air and ground of the plant.
Bleacher
The oxidation performance of hydrogen peroxide destroys natural pigments, so it can bleach paper, fabrics and food. At present, more than half of the hydrogen peroxide in the world is used for bleaching pulp and paper.
In China, hydrogen peroxide is often used in water and hair products, such as squid, tendon, tripe, etc. It is also used in foods such as pistachios, yuba, chicken feet with pickled peppers, and trotters.
Hydrogen peroxide can make food whiter and has a certain effect of removing odors.
Although there is no problem with safety, this feature is often used by criminals to make shoddy good. In foreign countries, the use of hydrogen peroxide is also controversial. For example, the Italian government approved processors to use hydrogen peroxide for bleaching seafood, so that fish and shellfish would be whiter and consumers would prefer it. However, the European Union considered this behavior a "commercial fraud" and issued a warning letter to the Italian government.
Is it safe?
Hydrogen peroxide is unstable and easily decomposes into oxygen and water, so it is quite safe.
For example, studies have confirmed that the residual hydrogen peroxide in hair products will gradually disappear during the soaking process, and subsequent processing will quickly destroy it. In 2004, the evaluation opinion of the Expert Committee of the World Health Organization (JECFA) concluded that the residual level of hydrogen peroxide in food is very low, and it has already been degraded almost by the time consumers eat it in the mouth. It is not a concern at all. There is also no need to establish a "safe intake".
The US FDA also lists hydrogen peroxide as a GRAS substance (that is, quite safe), and it is usually used in the amount required for production (that is, there is no restriction on the amount).
For example, the maximum use amount in smoked herring and pickled eggs is "to achieve oxidation and antibacterial effect", and the maximum use amount in the processing of tripe is "to achieve bleaching effect".
In addition, hydrogen peroxide can also be used to clean and disinfect fruits and vegetables. Medical hydrogen peroxide with a concentration of 3% is generally not a problem even if it is swallowed by mistake. However, drinking hydrogen peroxide with a concentration of 30% directly will burn the digestive tract. However, this kind of situation is extremely rare, because most people do not have access to such a high concentration of hydrogen peroxide. In addition, hydrogen peroxide can quickly decompose in heavy metal salt, alkaline environment and violent impact, and even cause an explosion. However, this generally occurs during the production, storage and transportation of hydrogen peroxide, and consumers are unlikely to encounter it.
Is it carcinogenic?
The application of hydrogen peroxide in food has at least 50 years of history and has always been considered safe and reliable. In the early 1980s, scientists discovered that it may damage the gastrointestinal tract of mice and may even be carcinogenic. In 1988, the evaluation committee of the US FDA concluded after careful research that hydrogen peroxide had insufficient evidence of carcinogenesis. The 1999 evaluation opinion of the International Agency for Research on Cancer also believes that hydrogen peroxide has insufficient evidence to cause cancer in humans and animals. It is classified into three types of substances (substances that are unlikely to cause cancer). Tea and vitamins are also in this category. K, rust and so on. A few in vitro cell experiments have found that hydrogen peroxide has a certain genetic toxicity, but it has not been found in animal experiments. This is because the animal body has a sufficient defense system, it is difficult for it to enter the body cells through the digestive tract and damage DNA, and there is insufficient evidence that it affects the reproductive ability of animals.
