After the Sudan Red incident, fried French fries may cause cancer, and whether benzene exists in soft drinks is always pushed to the front desk by government officials and experts, either explaining or checking. However, such an answer will no longer satisfy the people, and extremists will even question the credibility of government supervision.

Can we wait?

Facing the present situation, Professor Fang Youzong of the Municipal Food Production Supervision Institute admitted frankly yesterday: "The supervision mode of food safety has failed to keep up with the progress of monitoring technology and the development of the food industry." He believes that although there are translation errors and media misreading in the "soft drink incident", in the final analysis, it is the absence of early warning information release and prior investigation by government departments and food production enterprises.

In soft drinks, can sodium benzoate interact with vitamin C at room temperature to produce benzene? This question is the core of the incident, but so far it seems that all experts are waiting for the results of the British Food Standards Agency. An expert who did not want to be named said that in fact, just put sodium benzoate and Vc in the same test tube, leave it at room temperature for a period of time, and then test whether it contains benzene. So, why doesn't anyone do this simple-sounding process? The expert replied: "Which department should do it to be credible? Who should publish and implement the results? " No one answered these questions, so let's wait.

Mixing additives is taboo.

In the existing food additive safety management system, at present, there are only regulations on the variety, application scope and maximum dosage of a single additive in China, but there are no regulations on the compatibility of composite additives. There are both sodium cyclamate and saccharin sodium in the plum ingredient list on the market; There are also potassium sorbate and citric acid on the ingredient list of hawthorn slices ... almost every food has at least two food additives. "The mixing of additives can resist each other and work together." Fang Youzong said that the wonderful reaction between chemical elements may bring hidden dangers to food safety.

Article 18 of the Measures for Hygienic Management of Food Additives stipulates that food additives should be marked with warning signs if they have applicable taboos and safety precautions, but this article is often ignored. For example, benzoyl peroxide, a whitening agent commonly used in flour, may be reduced to formaldehyde in the case of strong oxidant; Strong oxidants are common, and vitamin C is one of them. Article 13 The Provisions on the Production of Compound Food Additives also limits the scope and dosage. Scientists have found some incompatibility between additives, but these have not been written into laws and regulations yet.

The government and enterprises should perform their respective duties.

The existing management of food additives is relatively backward. There is no shortage of professionals in universities, regulatory authorities, testing institutions and enterprise laboratories, but there are no laws and regulations and no departments to integrate them.

The appeal of experts seems to have received considerable attention. It is understood that the new Food Hygiene Law, which is still in the drafting stage, mentions the establishment of a food standardization technical committee, whose structure and functions will be in line with international standards and be responsible for formulating or revising food safety and quality standards.

Experts also believe that enterprises, as the first person responsible for food safety, also have the obligation to study and evaluate the safety and effectiveness of mixed additives.