Preface: The Food and Drug Administration (4/11) announced that ethylene oxide was also tested in the green sauce imported from Korea. Because ethylene oxide is not a legal retention medicine, this batch of erythriller-based beef bone ramen was destined or destroyed. Korean noodles have been recently discovered that ethylene oxide has increased a lot. Why should ethylene oxide be used? In recent years, when the Food and Drug Administration conducted an inspection in the border area, there have been many cases in which imported products contain trace ethylene oxide. Therefore, the food or agricultural products were judged to be in violation of regulations, resulting in incidents of failure, withdrawal, or recycling of food after market launch. These products include capsules, noodles flavour packs, ice cream, etc. Ethylene oxide seems to have become the focus of food safety recently, but most consumers are actually very unfamiliar with Ethylene oxide.
Ethylene oxide is an artificial small molecular gas, the molecular formula C2H4O, with a faint sweetness. There are trace amounts of ethylene oxide in nature. For example, when burning smoke, a small amount of ethylene oxide will be produced. Currently, the use of ethylene oxide comes from chemical synthesis.
Ethylene oxide is mainly used in medicine, food, and agriculture for disinfection and sterilization. Because ethylene oxide can form gases, it is easy to penetrate objects, and is especially suitable for sterilization of some things that are afraid of moisture or high temperature. Therefore, some medical equipment such as rubber tubes, guide tubes, internal lenses or even the smears of the new coronavirus test sets that are now widely used are disinfected using ethylene oxide. Ethylene oxide has also been used in the past to germs and cypresses in dry goods of food and agricultural products. For example, steamed agricultural products (spice, grains, fruits, seeds) to control worm damage, or to control microbial contamination such as Sandella, Cyperus, and bacterial spores to reduce the number of bacteria.
is only based on existing evidence in the scientific community that ethylene oxide is a first-class carcinogen in the IARC classification. Therefore, according to the current laws in Taiwan, it can only be used for medical purposes, but it is not allowed to be used as agricultural medicine, food additives or food disinfection. It is just that some countries such as the United States still allow them to be used in spices, dry vegetables, sesame, walnuts and other products.
What is ethylene oxide? What are its uses?Ethylene oxide is an artificial flammable gas that exudes some sweetness when it is very dense. In nature, a very small amount of ethylene oxide can also be found, such as burning smoke, barbecue, and mowing grass, which can also produce a small amount of ethylene oxide. The industrial application of ethylene oxide is mainly used to make ethylene glycol. Ethylene glycol is an important chemical raw material and can be used for the synthesis of polyester fibers, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET), which can be used for the production of plastic beverage bottles or granule fibers. It can be used as a cooling agent in a car engine anti-ferrometer or a slogan computer, or it can also be used to remove ice from the wind glass.
Ethylene oxide can be used in medical industries. It can be said that it is a very important method of germ for medical equipment. It is mainly used to disinfect hospitals or medical equipment and supplies. Therefore, some internal lenses, plastic tubes, surgical knives, electronic devices, cloths, cotton balls, surgical masks, etc. that are afraid of heat, moisture, and radiation are all left with germ.
During the epidemic, there was an online video saying that ethylene oxide with carcinogenic risks would be left on the masks. Therefore, the masks on the commercially available should be "swayed" to let the ethylene oxide be emitted into the air before wearing them. In fact, this is not correct. Most of the masks in Taiwan are currently unbacterized masks, so there is no need to worry about them without ethylene oxide disinfection. Even if surgical masks are disinfected with ethylene oxide, medical equipment will calculate the development period of ethylene oxide and control the retained amount of ethylene oxide so that it does not cause health hazards.In the past or in some countries, ethylene oxide was also used as bacteria in food or dry goods of some agricultural products (such as dry vegetables, spices and herbs) to prevent and control erosion. Ethylene oxide is used in foods with a long history of bacteria, mainly used in the steaming of agricultural products (spice, grains, fruits, seeds) to control worm damage, or to control microbial contamination of sedum, cystella, cystella, and spores to reduce the number of bacteria.
However, the food laws of different countries have different standards for ethylene oxide. Some countries are allowed to use it, while others are not allowed to use it (including Taiwan).
What are the health problems with ethylene oxide?If ethylene oxide is exposed for a long period of time, it will cause irritation to the mucosa or harm the neural system. In recent years, more and more evidence has been considered carcinogenic. Therefore, the International Cancer Research Association (IARC) has listed ethylene oxide as the first type of carcinogen, that is, it has sufficient evidence for human carcinogens. Therefore, the EU has banned ethylene oxide in food since 2005.
What is the standard of ethylene oxide in Taiwan’s food laws?According to the current laws in Taiwan, ethylene oxide is not listed on the front list of food additives, nor on the front list of agricultural medicines. Therefore, it is not allowed to be used in food chemical substances and should not be detected in any food.
What are the ethylene oxide detection incidents in recent years?Since 2020, the European Union has monitored more and more ethylene oxide detections in imported foods, so it has begun to intensify monitoring. From 2020 to 2021, there will be more than 500 pieces of ethylene oxide-related food recalls in the European Union, which is quite frequent.
Some people suggest that the use of ethylene oxide may be related to the large-scale food pollution cases of Sandalia in 2017, so the standard adjustment of Sandalia is strictly related to the European Union.. In the raw material production areas in India and other places, because they are worried that the product's bacterial standards cannot be correlated, they use ethylene oxide more in large quantities.
Due to the EU's intensified monitoring, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration also issued a special document to various food operators in September 2021, reminding "food manufacturing and processing operators and exporters that have been exported to the EU should not use ethylene oxide as exported to the EU's products." Since then, Taiwan's border inspection seems to be a routine monitoring of ethylene oxide, so that many products have been tested for ethylene oxide. The main events include:
GODIVA ice cream in December 2021 actively announced the retention of ethylene oxide, and announced the recycling of ethylene oxide, the advanced chocolate brand GODIVA, released product recycling information, saying that because it was reported by the EU Food and Feed Rapid Warning System (RASFF), there are 6 GODIVA ice cream products, and the locust bean gel used to detect ethylene oxide (Ethylene). oxide, ETO) exceeds the EU standard, and ethylene oxide is a substance that cannot be detected in Taiwan's food regulations, so it is announced that the product will be recycled independently. These ice creams have been inputted from a total of 89.8 tons, with a total of 6 products and 193 batches.
Hagendas contaminated ethylene oxide. 450,000 cups and 60,000 kilograms of products were immediately suspended.
The well-known ice cream brand "Hagendas (Hä agen-Dazs)" was separately detected in June and August 2022 and recycling. The Food and Drug Administration ordered international alarms to register and then entered the record. It was found that 5 of the products imported from Taiwan were affected. The operators will prevent the sale of 450,000 cups and 60,000 kilograms of ice cream from now on.
Korean Sanqing Noodles have ethylene oxide
News reports that in May 2022, traders imported Korean "Three-Hard Hot Chicken Style Iron Board Stir-Fried Noodles (Curry Style)" and ethylene oxide was found in the border inspection of the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Fufu, and was judged to be unqualified. The total number of 1,400 kg was withdrawn and sold.
Korean Sinra noodles have been experiencing ethylene oxide
In January 2023, the Korean noodles "NONGSHIM Agricultural Super Evolution Sour Bowl (Tofu and Kimchi Flavor)" was found to be banned from domestic banned agricultural ethylene oxide, with a total of 1,000 boxes, and the 1,128 kg of sour noodles were returned or sold.
Electronic oxyethane was detected by imported capsules from mainland China
In December 2022, Huichang Real Estate Co., Ltd. purchased the capsule "HPMC capacitor" from Mainland China, and tested 571.466 mg/kg of oxyethane (standard: not allowed to be detected), and some capsules have been used to make "levovitamin C capsules" and delivered to "Fine Life Enterprise Co., Ltd." for sale. According to the "Food and its Related Products Recycling and Sales Treatment Measures", the Taipei Health Bureau has ordered operators to recycle products.
Ethylene oxide was detected by Indian curry powder
In February 2023, the Epidemic Foundation announced that one of the 19 food samples sold on the market had been inspected.
How to avoid the intake of ethylene oxide?Ethylene oxide may remain in food in small amounts, and ethylene oxide is a proactive gas that will be discharged within several months in the product, so there is no need to panic too much. But we can still consume clearly and avoid ethylene oxide as much as possible.
Select domestic agricultural products as much as possible.
Domestic dry agricultural products do not require long-term storage or transportation, and do not require the use of ethylene oxide to make products, so the risk will be small. Compared with the current ethylene oxide extraction experience, almost all those who fail are imported products.
When choosing to buy products with labels and traceable products
When choosing to buy food, you can pay more attention to whether the food has a complete label, especially the manufacturer name and contact information, origin, validity date and nutritional marks, etc. It is better if there is a certification such as performance. Avoid buying dry vegetables, spices, seeds, and fruits that are packed with unknown sources.
Original source: Wei'en's food and farming lifeEditor: Gu Zihuan