59.18% of the samples analyzed contained sodium borate (also known as borax). ¾ of the meatloaf samples contained borax...
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| Test kit. |
59.18% of the samples analyzed contained sodium borate (also known as borax). ¾ of the meatloaf samples contained borax. That is the result of the test by the inter-department inspection group on the food quality and hygiene and safety of Nha Trang City.
Borax – a toxic product
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| Alternative product to borax. |
Borax is found a lot in noodles, meatloaves... Borax is sometimes added to the food to improve its color, texture and flavor. Borax is toxic and poses an unacceptable risk to consumers’ health. In fact, the consumption of Borax has been documented as causing death of infants and adults. Ingestion of a large amount of it can cause children shock and death. Ingesting smaller quantities can lead to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain
Some of the symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting….If large amounts of Borax are consumed, and acute kidney failure can result, which can lead to death if not properly treated.
To say “no” to borax
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| Check the food carefully before buying. |
Consumption of borax-contaminated food is health hazard, so it’s very essential to find out other food additives to replace borax. Mrs. Phan Thi Tuyet Mai, Manager of tam Hung Company (45, 2-4 St., Nha Trang City), which is specialized in industrial chemicals and food spices in Khanh Hoa province said: “there are many alternative food additives imported or made in Vietnam. Tari K7 is made in Australia was approved by the department of food safety and hygiene, the Ministry of health. The product is currently on sale at the company at 150,000 VND/ kg. Only 3-5kg of Tari 7 is used for 1kg of the food. The test kit for borax in food developed by the Institute of chemical technology in cooperation with the biological technology center can also be found at the company. The kit can help consumers to test borax in food, with fast and reliable result. The test kit (35,000 VND/ kit) includes 100 sheets of curcumin paper, a bottle of borax test reagent liquid (about 20cc) and a bar. Chop the sample to small pieces and then press the curcumin paper on the sample to wet half of the paper. Pour some drops of the reagent on the wet paper. If the curcumin paper turns red, the sample contains borax. For dry food, we can pour some drops on the food, pound it and wet the curcumin paper.
With both alternative food additives and borax test kit, we hope that everybody will boycott borax from daily menus.
Nhu Thao
