Do you love the smoky flavor of barbecue in sauces, cheeses or traditional smoked Dutch sausages? So this is a quiet day for you. The European Food Safety Committee decided today to ban smoke flavorings that give the distinctive taste. Spices are said to be unhealthy. But what makes it dangerous to your health? Why not take it off the shelf immediately?
Where there is fire, there is smoke
In the past, all smoking products were smoked over a fire, and this is still the case for some products. But with this type of smoking, small amounts of it stick Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) To salmon or sausage. These substances result from incomplete combustion of wood, and in larger quantities can cause cancer. You can also find it in blackened cuts of meat from a barbecue. So, always follow these tips to get perfectly grilled meat.
Remove smoke from the jar
Artificial smoke flavors appear to be a good alternative to real smoking, because they are free of cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Unfortunately, it appears from a recent publication European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) report The smoke flavor coming from the jar is also potentially toxic.
Six of the eight smoke flavors examined contained genotoxic substances. These can damage your DNA and thus cause cancer or infertility.
How dangerous are smoke flavors?
Whether you actually face an increased risk from these substances is a very personal matter. It depends on the amount of smoked products you consume, how heavy you are, and your genetic predisposition. For most people, riding in a car is more dangerous than eating a smoked hot dog. But it's not healthy.
Banned, but not yet
Reason enough for the European Commission to err on the side of caution and ban the spice in the long term. But before you run to your local supermarket to stock up on carts full of smoked sausage and barbecue sauce: Smoked flavors will still be available for years to come.
This can be done safely, because it carries a very small risk over a very long period of time in a large group of people. And since we've been enjoying things for the past 10 years without any problems, there's not much of a rush.
This gives smoke product manufacturers the opportunity to come up with a smart alternative. And maybe in a few years all our products will be smoked over the fire again.
Smoked sausages are a Dutch custom, but do you know what the national Dutch dish is? And how do you score on this typical Dutch stuff test?
