Precautions for the use of food preservatives

Firstly, when using sodium nitrite as a food additive, food processors must strictly follow international and Chinese health authorities' standards for the use of sodium nitrite. China's health standards for the use of food additives have strict regulations on the use of sodium nitrite, the residual amount of canned meat does not exceed 0.05 g / kg, meat products do not exceed 0.03 g / kg, so the majority of consumers in the purchase of canned meat and meat products, must pay attention to the purchase of formal enterprises products, in the purchase of individual retail products should be careful.

Secondly, food manufacturers should use sodium nitrite in strict accordance with China's food additive hygiene standards, according to the "Food Safety Law" and its implementing regulations and the division of responsibilities, the Ministry of Health is responsible for the safety evaluation of food additives and the development of national food safety standards; the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine is responsible for the production of food additives and food production enterprises using food additives supervision; industry and commerce departments are responsible for strengthening the circulation of    For exported meat products, the inspection and quarantine departments should conduct tests in accordance with national standards and foreign contracts to strictly check the quality.

Thirdly, the majority of consumers should be aware of the symptoms of excessive consumption of sodium nitrite to facilitate emergency response. Generally speaking, when an excess of sodium nitrite enters the bloodstream, it can turn normal haemoglobin into ortho-haemoglobin, causing the blood to lose its function of carrying oxygen, resulting in the loss of vitality of the body's cells and tissues due to lack of oxygen. The main features of sodium nitrite poisoning are: cyanosis caused by lack of oxygen in the tissues, such as blue lips, tongue and fingertips, or in severe cases, blue conjunctiva, face and skin of the whole body, accompanied by dizziness, headache, weakness, rapid heartbeat, drowsiness or irritability, breathing difficulties, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, and in severe cases, coma, convulsions, incontinence, and death due to death due to respiratory failure.

Fourthly, the State Food and Drug Administration requires that sodium nitrite should be procured, stored, received and registered by a dedicated person. When purchasing, ask for certificates and tickets, and do not buy sodium nitrite without certificates or unclear packaging markings. At the same time, the amount of sodium nitrite used should be strictly controlled and should not be used in excess of the amount or range as stipulated in the Hygienic Standard for the Use of Food Additives. Avoid mixing sodium nitrite with salt, soda and other raw materials, and packaging or storage containers should be clearly marked or labelled to avoid misuse.

Fifthly, food additives or sodium nitrite should not pose any health hazards to humans during use; should not cover up food spoilage; should not cover up quality defects in the food itself or during processing or for the purpose of adulteration, forgery or falsification; should not reduce the nutritional value of the food itself; and should reduce the amount used in the food as much as possible for the intended purpose. In fact, all food additives approved by the Ministry of Health have undergone safety evaluation and risk assessment. 

As long as the additives are used in accordance with the corresponding quality specifications and added to the food in accordance with the scope and quantity of use specified in the standards, they have no impact on the health of consumers and are absolutely safe for consumption. In short, the use of food additives must be strictly in accordance with the national standards, the right amount is beneficial, too much is harmful. With the continuous development of science and technology, scientific workers in China to protect people's health from various harmful factors and chemical substances in the environment, is engaged in a variety of environmental pollution, pesticide pollution and food residues of harmful substances in the research, is stepping up the research and development of natural food additives, you can be sure that in the near future, more scientific and safer food must be displayed in front of the people.