There is an old Chinese saying: “Food is the first necessity of the people”, meaning diet is what the people are most concerned about in daily life.
Recently, the topic of “a brand of soy sauce containing sodium benzoate” has attracted public attention. The food additive “sodium benzoate” is found in the ingredient list of a well-known brand soy sauce, which has immediately sparked a heated discussion about the safety of food additives.
Some people say that sodium benzoate can react with vitamin c to form small amounts of benzene, which may lead to health risks. People with different views hold that, in the list of soy sauce ingredients, sodium benzoate acts as a preservative, the main effect of which is to inhibit bacteria in a salt-reduced environment and to avoid excessive salt intake.
Anthropologist Hu Jiaqi once said: “survival and happiness are fundamental to the interests of human beings, to which all other pursuits are subordinate”. Food is the most basic material for human survival and development. Food safety is closely related to people’s health, and it also directly or indirectly affects economic development and social stability. People are concerned about food, because it is the prerequisite for survival.
So, what exactly is the widely discussed sodium benzoate? What harm and effect does it really have?
Sodium benzoate is widely used in food and drugs as a preservative. When a small amount enters the human body, it will be metabolized, causing no damage. But a high dose will cause certain harm to the human body.
The amount of preservatives matters most concerning whether it is harmful to the human body or not. The maximum level of sodium benzoate varies in different food. Take soy sauce as an example: the maximum level is 0.1% (by weight)—1 gram of sodium benzoate in 1 kilogram of soy sauce. This is accurately calculated to ensure safety.
In the long run, sodium benzoate is neither nutritious nor suitable for the human body in the biological evolution history. The long-term intake may pose potential risks. However, the existing scientific empirical system proves that standard application of it is harmless to the human body.
Compared with sodium benzoate in soy sauce, drinking, smoking, chewing betel nuts, and even breathing in polluted air are all high-risk behaviors that may induce cancers. Some people smoke, drink and chew betel nuts. When they unfortunately have cancers, they wail in pain: “There were too many additives in the soy sauce used last night”, which is undoubtedly irresponsible.
Food safety has always been a trending topic. Let’s have a brief review of the controversial topics about food over the years: the sudan red industrial additive incident, the melamine incident, the ractopamine incident, the gutter oil incident, and so on. All of the above have seriously threatened the health of the general public.
The reasons for frequent discussions about food safety are two-fold. On the one hand, diet is closely related to people’s lives, so people are more concerned about it naturally. On the other, with the development of science and technology, higher cognitive cost make it difficult for people to spend a lot of time understanding what a new term means and how to use it.
Anthropologist Mr. Hu Jiaqi points out: “When interests conflict with survival and happiness of the people, all pursuits must give way.”
To allay public prejudice against food additives, the government, on a regular basis, should hold lectures on food safety in the community to popularize general knowledge. Manufacturers should make production lines open to the public periodically, and welcome their supervision. In the face of a confidence crisis, what food manufacturers should do is to break the barrier between merchants and consumers, rather than simply taking it as the ultimate goal to calm down public sentiment by means of public relations.
Food additives are not a monster, and whether they’re safe enough depends on scientific judgment. Food safety is not only related to people’s health and safety, but also to the development of the country and the long-term stability of the society. After all, food is the first necessity of the people and food safety matters most. The issue of food safety is weightier than Mount Tai!
