EIGHT out of 10 vinegar products sold in the local markets contain “fake ingredients” and thus could be harmful to consumers, scientists of the Department of Science and Technology reported.
Researchers from the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), a DOST line agency, use isotope-based analytical techniques to 1000 dollar loan distinguish vinegar and other condiments from natural or plant-based sources from those, which are derived from petroleum-based sources.
“Condiments usually undergo the process of fermentation, and the raw materials must come from fruits and other natural products,” explained Raymond Sucgang, head of the PNRI Nuclear Analytical Techniques Applications Section.
His research team was totally surprised by their findings. “One can only imagine all the impurities and residues from the petroleum by-products, which can be the source of various degenerative diseases,” pointed out Sucgang.
In producing these “fake” and adulterated vinegars, synthetic acetic acid is reportedly used. Produced chemically by the reaction of methanol with carbon monoxide, it is used as a solvent for paints and resins.
As acetic acid comes from fossil fuels and by-product in the production of diesel and oil, it is very dirty. As such, products containing this inorganic type of acid are dangerous to human health.
“Synthetic acetic acid should not be used in food production or as condiment,” Sucgang said, adding that products containing synthetic materials have impurities “and these impurities, according to medical journals, can cause cancer and degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s.”
Vinegar, defined as a liquid fit for human consumption and contains specified amount of acetic acid and water, has long been used around the world as a basic seasoning in the preparation of cooking of certain foods because its sharp taste makes it so useful and versatile.
“Vinegar adds flavor to vegetable and meat products,” M. Plessi wrote in Encyclopedia of Food Sciences and Nutrition. “It is one of the ingredients of salad dressings, sauces, such as tabasco and tomato products, such as ketchups, mustard and aspics. Mixed with oil and salt, it makes the classic vinaigrette, and it can be used as a condiment for salad and as a sauce for cold, cooked vegetables, meat and fish.”
Vinegar is one of the oldest fermentation products known to man as its history dates back to around 2000 BC, having been considered for a long time as the poor relative among fermented food products. It was used by ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.
It was French microbiologist and chemist Louis Pasteur who first noted the formation of acetic acid from ethanol by acetic acid bacteria. The reaction has been termed “acetic acid fermentation” and requires the presence of oxygen.
“[Vinegar] is produced from raw materials of different agricultural origin containing starch and sugars, that are subjected to a process of double fermentation, alcoholic, and acetous,” said the book, Fermented Foods in Health and Disease Prevention.
Among the raw materials that can be used in producing vinegar are cider, grapes or wine, coconut wine or tuba, molasses, sorghum syrup, honey, fruits, maple syrup, sugarcane, palm, potatoes, malt, grain and whey.
Vinegar is made through the fermentation of ethanol alcohol. “Bacteria are used to ferment [or break down] the ethanol into by-products including acetic acid,” wrote Bethany Moncel in an article. “This acetic acid is what makes vinegar unique, although it contains other substances including vitamins, minerals and flavor compounds.”
According to naturalfoodseries.com, 100 grams of vinegar contains the following nutrients: acetic acid, 5 grams; calcium, 7 milligrams; carbohydrates, 1 gram; energy, 21 kilo calories; iron, 0.2 milligrams; magnesium, 5 milligrams; phosphorus, 8 milligrams; sodium, 5 milligrams; and sugar, 0.4 grams.
Vinegar is one of the most useful products that can treat various health problems. “Vinegar amazing benefits includes treating allergies, balancing alkali, fighting microbial, treating hypertension, fighting cancer, fighting oral bacteria, promoting hair growth, maintaining skin elasticity, lowering high blood sugar, helps burn fat, helps reduce cholesterol level, relieves acid reflux and improves gut health,” wrote Michael Jessimy, author of Amazing Health Benefits of Vinegar.
As long as you are using real vinegar and not those “fake” and unadulterated ones, which until now are still unnamed by PNRI researchers.
Science journalist Edd K. Usman, the man behind the web site, Science and Digital News, explained that the names of the vinegar brands cannot be mentioned as “it is against the law.” In addition, when the PNRI conducted its nuclear-based tests, only a code on each brand were written (“to avoid being biased”).
Usman tried to ask Sugcang in an exclusive interview. “I asked what are the names, he declined for the reasons [mentioned above],” the award-winning journalist wrote. “He added he did not know the names of the brands either because only a code was written one each samples’ container.”
Meanwhile, Nela Charade Puno, director general of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a news report that the “agency is now waiting for the final report of the PNRI, which studied samples of some 360 vinegar brands.”
According to Puno, the PNRI study will be the basis of new, higher and stricter standards.
“The implementation of the new standards will be complimented by an intensive consumer awareness and education program,” she said.
“However, at this point, let me already tell the peddlers who will continue to sell vinegar products, which will not pass the new FDA standards, there will be a major crackdown on these products followed by sustained regulatory enforcement action,” Puno said, adding that she anticipates that the new, higher standards and law-enforcement action “will be met with resistance from the market vendor sector.”
With the prices skyrocketing these days, the FDA recognizes that many buyers prefer buying cheaper brands. “However, we cannot allow public health to be exposed to health hazards just to save a few pesos,” Puno stressed.
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