Azodicarbonamide found in flour sold in China
Staff Reporter
2014-03-30
An ad for the China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation. (Photo/COFCO)
Flour sold by several Chinese food suppliers has been found to contain azodicarbonamide, a plastic-based additive, even though the dough conditioner has been banned in many countries, including the member states of the European Union, reports the Chinese-language Beijing News.
In February, azodicarbonamide was found in bread sold by sandwich chain Subway in North America. The industrial chemical is commonly found in yoga mats, shoe soles and other rubber-like objects to add elasticity.
Following the news, Subway China stated that the bread sold in the Chinese market did not contain azodicarbonamide. However, Starbucks China admitted that its breads contained the dough conditioner, adding that the amount met the standards set by Chinese authorities.
Xie Huaming, an engineer at the State Administration of Grain, told the paper that azodicarbonamide may be linked to cancer, and although the government regulates the amount of chemical use, the actual amount can not be examined for the use of azodicarbonamide.
China has restricted the use of the chemical in wheat flour, with the maximum limit being 0.045 gram for every kilogram of flour. But Xie suggested that it be banned because of its toxicity. "Countries, such as France do not even allow the use of the dangerous chemical to produce children's play mats, but we put it in the food that we consume every day," said Xie.
As per the ingredient list for 20 types of bread flour sold by China National Cereals, Oils and Foodstuffs Corporation, five contained azodicarbonamide, the paper said, adding that at a large supermarket in Beijing, three of the more than ten different packs of flour indicated that they included the plastic-based additive.
A Chinese vendor said that some Chinese food suppliers also withhold that they use the chemical, while a vendor of azodicarbonamide on Taobao, China's leading e-commerce site, explained that the addition of the chemical was done to strengthen the texture of the dough.
In general, dough has to be put aside for a long time in order to create the required texture, or salt or eggs have to be added to achieve the same, the vendor said, adding that some food makers consider this procedure cumbersome and prefer instead to add azodicarbonamide to speed up the process.
