Three departments jointly call for a ban on this type of food! Do “gold-plated” foods have any nutritional value?

Gold foil chocolate, gold foil cake, even gold foil steak and gold foil sushi. In recent years, some businesses have begun to "gild" the food they sell in order to make it look more high-end and upscale, and the food immediately becomes a hundred times more valuable.

In response to this situation, the State Administration for Market Regulation, the National Health Commission, and the General Administration of Customs recently jointly issued a notice, clearly stating that according to my country's food safety laws and regulations and food safety standards, gold foil, silver foil, gold powder and silver powder are not food additives and cannot be used in food production and operation.

The State Administration for Market Regulation and other three departments jointly issued a document

It is clear that gold foil cannot be used in food production and operation

Beijing resident: I know it is in facial masks, but this is the first time I have heard of it in food. It should be acceptable for skin use, but food safety is more important.

Beijing resident: It should be ok to eat it, as metals can be excreted from the body and it shouldn't cause much harm.

Gold foil foods are expensive, so some people believe that eating gold foil must be good for the body. But is this really the case?

Professor of Nutrition at China Agricultural University Fan Zhihong: In fact, gold foil cannot be absorbed by us. If we add aqua regia (a mixture of hydrochloric acid and nitric acid in a certain proportion), it can be dissolved. The key is that the gastric acid in the stomach cannot play such a big role, so it cannot be said that eating gold foil can absorb gold.

Is eating gold leaf harmful to your health?

Experts have made it clear that gold foil has no nutritional value to the human body and will be excreted in the same state once ingested. So will consuming gold foil cause harm to health?

Professor of Nutrition at China Agricultural University Fan Zhihong: Because gold is a relatively stable chemical element, it will not react with hydrogen ions in gastric acid to release some ions. So in a sense, it is relatively inert. Therefore, eating a little gold foil will not cause poisoning. Of course, eating too much is definitely not good. Hu Xiangpeng, deputy director of the Department of Gastroenterology at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University: If the dosage is large, it may cause indigestion and other conditions. Unless the dosage is very large, it will accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, which may affect the gastrointestinal tract.

Gold foil is not a food additive

In our country, gold foil does not fall into the category of food additives. So how are food additives defined in our country?

In my country, according to the relevant national standards on food safety and the use of food additives, food additives are defined as: artificial or natural substances added to food to improve food quality and color, aroma and taste, as well as for the needs of preservation, freshness and processing.

Fan Zhihong, professor of nutrition at China Agricultural University: One situation is to improve the nutritional value of food, such as adding some vitamins, minerals, calcium, and vitamin C, which are all permitted. Another situation is to improve the sensory quality of food, such as chocolate, if you don't add emulsifiers, its taste will not be so smooth.

Edible gold leaf is common gold

Edible gold leaf is the gold we usually see. Experts say that gold leaf is divided into edible gold leaf and decorative gold leaf. The gold content of decorative gold leaf is usually 98%, while the gold content of edible gold leaf is as high as 99.99% or more, and it cannot contain other heavy metals that may cause human poisoning, such as copper and lead.

Gold foil has no nutritional value and its high price poses hidden dangers

The glittering gold foil can indeed make food look better, but it has no nutritional value to the human body. Why are some businesses so keen to add gold and silver to their products? It's simple, so they can sell them at a higher price. A 5-yuan ice cream can be sold for 58 yuan with a piece of gold foil. There was even a chocolate bar that was covered with gold foil and sold for a sky-high price of 120,000 yuan. It sounds outrageous, but there are still people who pay for it. The three departments jointly called for a ban on gold foil foods, on the one hand to avoid potential food safety risks, and on the other hand to curb this extravagant trend.

(Source: "CCTV Finance" WeChat official account)

Produced by: Science Central Kitchen

Produced by: Beijing Science and Technology News | Beijing Science and Technology Media

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