“Gold-plated” food was fined 100,000 yuan. Will accidentally eating gold foil harm your body?

Key Points

★ Currently in our country, adding gold foil to food is prohibited.

★ Edible gold foil itself is non-toxic and has no effect on health.

★ In ancient times, people said that death from swallowing gold was most likely caused by physical damage or gold of insufficient purity mixed with toxic substances.

As people's taste for food improves, some foods have begun to be "gilded" in order to look more high-end and eye-catching, such as gold foil wine, gold foil cake, gold foil chocolate, gold foil ice cream, etc.

However, although the "gilded" food looks good, you have to be cautious and be careful not to get fined!

In August 2021, a restaurant in Shanghai used gold foil as a food ingredient, added it to the production of the dish "Grilled Wagyu Sushi", and sold it to the public at RMB 48 per serving, and was punished by the Shanghai Market Supervision Bureau.

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Coincidentally, on December 23, 2021, a restaurant in Hangzhou also received a fine of 100,000 yuan for using gold foil as a selling point on dishes such as beef rolls, foie gras, and chocolate brownies.

This kind of gold foil is very thin. Once it is placed on food, it is difficult to pick it up. It will break at the touch and is difficult to pick out. You can only eat it. If you count carefully, there are quite a few foods that use gold foil, but is it safe to eat gold foil? In this article, we will talk about "gold foil".

01

Is it harmful to eat gold leaf?

Some people think: Gold is a heavy metal. Will it be harmful to the body if consumed?

The answer is: No.

Edible gold foil decorated cake | Tuchong Creative

Gold itself is non-toxic and stable in nature. It cannot be digested by stomach acid. Gold that is eaten will be excreted from the body through the digestive tract. It will not remain in the body and will not cause poisoning.

Moreover, in terms of quantity, edible gold foil is made of pure gold processed into thin sheets, which is extremely thin, only one ten-thousandth of a millimeter. The gold foil is so thin that even if you eat a little bit, the amount is generally very small. The gold foil added to food will not harm your health.

02

“Death by swallowing gold”, is it true?

We often see scenes of people committing suicide by swallowing gold in film and television dramas, such as You Erjie in "Dream of Red Mansions", Qinglian in "Story of Yanxi Palace", Mo Xueyuan in "Beauty's Rival in Palace"... Since gold is non-toxic and will not poison people, why are there scenes of people "dying by swallowing gold"?

This is mainly because eating gold causes physical damage rather than chemical damage. If the gold swallowed is large, it may cause "choking to death", or because the swallowed gold is angular, it may cut the gastrointestinal tract during the process of excreting the gold from the body, causing heavy bleeding or infection and leading to death.

Melted Gold | Tuchong Creative

In addition, the gold refining process mainly includes two categories: the combined pyrometallurgical and hydrometallurgical process and the fully hydrometallurgical process [1]. If the refined purity is not high enough, it may contain impurities such as lead, silver, iron, and copper. If you eat gold of low purity, there is a risk of heavy metal poisoning.

Gold being cast in a factory | TuChong Creative

03

Does our country really not allow adding "gold foil" to food?

In foreign countries, edible gold foil is allowed to be used as a food additive, and it is quite common. In 1983, the World Health Organization's Codex Committee on Food Additives officially included gold in the category of food additives, allowing it to be used as a pigment. [2] When the leaders of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait held a historic meeting in Singapore in 2015, there was a cold dish on the menu called "Gold Foil Crispy Pork".

However, although edible gold foil is safe and can be used abroad, it cannot currently be added to food in my country.

Even if you eat edible gold foil, your body can't digest it and will just excrete it | Tuchong Creative

In 2015, the official website of the National Health and Family Planning Commission of my country published a letter from the General Office of the National Health and Family Planning Commission seeking opinions on the proposed approval of gold foil as a new food additive. The content proposed to approve gold foil as a new food additive and allow it to be added to liquor, but there has been no official approval document to date.

▲Picture: Screenshot of the document on the official website of the National Health and Family Planning Commission

Why is it that my country still does not allow the use of gold foil in food? In fact, there is still a lot of controversy, probably because of the following 6 reasons:

① According to my country's "Food Additives Usage Standards", gold foil is not a food additive.

② Gold foil is not a raw material for food production.

③ "Gold" is not an essential nutrient for the human body and there is no need to add it.

④ Adding "gold" to food may encourage corruption.

⑤ Adding 0.02g/kg of gold to liquor does not cost much, but the selling price will skyrocket, which is really a bit "extravagant".

⑥ Drinking alcohol is harmful to health. Adding "gold" to liquor may prompt some people to drink for the "gold", bringing greater health risks.

04

What other food decorations are there?

People are familiar with the decorations on food, which can be seen everywhere. In addition to the "gold foil" mentioned in the news, there are four other common decorations:

① Rose petals: Rose petals are often used as decoration on birthday cakes. They are usually ornamental and not edible. Edible roses are limited to a few species that are specially cultivated for eating. Roses have an attractive aroma. After preliminary characterization, there are 57 kinds of aroma components in roses, mainly some alcohols and aldehydes. [3] When we open the lid of the birthday cake, we exclaim: Wow! What a nice smell!

Delicious cake decorated with rose petals | Tuchong Creative

② Chocolate: Chocolate is also a common decoration on cakes. However, in order to save costs, businesses generally use chocolate with cocoa butter substitutes, which contain trans fatty acids. This ingredient increases the risk of obesity and cardiovascular disease, but it is not a big problem to eat it occasionally.

If you particularly like eating chocolate, it is recommended to choose pure dark chocolate. Make sure that the first thing in the ingredient list is cocoa butter and the cocoa content is 65~75%. It has a rich taste but not too bitter, which is acceptable.

③ Syrup: Syrup decoration is often used on desserts to create cute little shapes and add interest to the food. However, syrup is added sugar. According to the "Dietary Guidelines for Chinese Residents", it is recommended that each person should not exceed 25 grams per day. The less you eat, the better.

Syrup decoration, so cute | Tuchong Creative

④ Carrots: Carrots are harder than other soft vegetables and can be used to carve out different words and graphics. For example, when making birthday noodles, you can make the words "Happy Birthday" and the orange "carrot petals" on the dish. The most prominent nutrient in carrots is beta-carotene, which can be converted into vitamin A in the body and is good for eye health.

Food is the most important thing for people, and food safety comes first. Adding "edible gold foil" to food as a decoration does add "points" to the appearance, and it is harmless to eat. However, it is still not allowed in my country at present. Merchants should not take risks, and consumers should also be rational!

Author | Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered nutrition technician, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

Editor | Jiang Fan

Editor | Ding Zong

References:

[1] Dong Dexi, Hu Chunrong, Qin Xiaopeng, et al. A brief discussion on the current status and development direction of gold refining technology in my country [C]. // Proceedings of the First National Gold Refining Academic Conference. 2004: 5-9.

[2]GOLD (METALLIC).Evaluations of the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA)

[3] Chen Yurong, Li Jixin, Hang Jie, et al. Correlation analysis between carotenoids and aroma composition of “Damask” rose[J]. Food Science, 2016, 37(10): 170-175. DOI: 10.7506/spkx1002-6630-201610029.

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