What kind of sulfur is a food additive?
Sulfur is one of the important basic raw materials in the chemical industry and is widely used in many fields: chemical fertilizers (sulfur-containing fertilizers), fine chemicals, detergents, pigments and dyes, rubber, road construction, mining and water treatment, etc.
It is mainly divided into two categories: food grade sulfur and industrial grade sulfur.
Food grade sulfur: For example, in food production, sulfur has bleaching and antiseptic effects. It is an essential material for corn starch processing and also plays an important role in the processing of dried fruits.
Industrial grade sulfur: Such as electronic semiconductors, plastics, latex, papermaking, medicine, fine chemicals, industrial ceramics, building materials, auxiliary materials and other industrial industries.
It can be seen that not all sulfur can be used as food additives. Only food-grade sulfur can be used as food additives, and there is a clear scope. As a bleaching agent and preservative, sulfur can be used in the processing of six types of food: dried fruits, candied fruits, dried vegetables, surface-treated fresh edible fungi and algae, sugar and konjac powder. The maximum usage amount is 0.1 g respectively. /kg, 0.35 g/kg, 0.2 g/kg, 0.4 g/kg, 0.1 g/kg and 0.9 g/kg, but they are only used for fumigation, and the maximum usage is based on the residual amount of sulfur dioxide.
Industrial sulfur cannot be used in food processing!
①Food grade sulfur (food additive sulfur) is produced from industrial sulfur through processing, treatment and purification. The main difference between food-grade sulfur and industrial sulfur lies in the content of toxic substances.
② Industrial sulfur contains a lot of heavy metals, such as arsenic, which is particularly harmful to the human body. Arsenic will accumulate in osteoporotic areas, liver, kidneys, spleen, muscles, hair, nails and other parts, acting on the nervous system, stimulating hematopoietic organs, and may induce malignant tumors. If you eat food that has been smoked by industrial sulfur, it will cause damage to the human nervous system. In mild cases, you may experience symptoms such as dizziness, dizziness, and general weakness. These heavy metal substances can seriously affect people’s liver and kidney functions. Therefore, national standards clearly stipulate that industrial sulfur must not be used in food processing.