Not long ago, a man from Jiangxi came to the Nanchuan District of Chongqing, rented a room in a hotel, and produced fake honey, which was later apprehended by police. Inspection revealed that the fake honey contained harmful substances such as aluminum. Recently, the man was sentenced by the Nanchuan District Court of Chongqing for the crime of producing and selling food that does not meet safety standards.
So, what are the health hazards of aluminum in fake honey? In our daily lives, how can we distinguish between real and fake honey? Today, let's find out.
▲Are you aware of the health hazards of aluminum?
Studies have shown that excessive aluminum intake is harmful to human health, affecting children's intellectual development and causing a decline in memory ability in the elderly. Are you aware of these hazards?
1. Impact on reproductive ability
The main health hazards of aluminum are neurotoxicity and reproductive and developmental toxicity, but it is not carcinogenic. It affects male reproductive ability and inhibits fetal growth and development.
2. Memory decline
If you consume excessive amounts of aluminum over a long period (i.e., >2mg/kg body weight per week), it may accumulate in the body, leading to a decline in motor skills and learning and memory abilities. It can also cause damage and deformation of the skeletal system through interaction with calcium and phosphorus, leading to rickets and osteoporosis.
3. Impact on intellectual development
As the main consumers of puffed foods, children are more vulnerable to the harm of foods with excessive aluminum. The excessive use of aluminum-containing food additives affects intellectual development.
▲Learn how to distinguish real from fake honey
Although some fake honey can be very convincing, it can still be identified by looking, smelling, and tasting.
1. Use a chopstick to lift it
The simplest way to tell real from fake honey is to use a chopstick to lift it. If the honey can be pulled into a long, thin thread that retracts into a ball when broken, it is of high quality.
2. Use white paper to test
You can drip the purchased honey on a piece of white paper. If the honey gradually seeps and spreads, it means it has been mixed with sucrose and water.
3. Boil it with water
Boil a small amount of honey with an appropriate amount of water. After cooling, add a few drops of yellow wine and shake well. If it turns blue, red, or purple, it indicates the presence of starch.
4. Examine the crystals
Whether the purchased honey has crystals is also an important method for distinguishing real from fake honey. Taking advantage of this characteristic, you can take a small amount of the crystal, rub it between your fingers. The crystals of real honey are very soft, crush easily, and melt on your hands like oil, while the crystals of fake honey feel gritty and do not melt easily.
5. Be observant
Honey mixed with sugar has poor transparency and appears cloudy. Honey mixed with flour, starch, or cornmeal is more turbid in color and not sweet enough. Honey mixed with brown sugar is darker in color, while honey mixed with white sugar is pale.
6. Smelling is also an important method
Fake honey has a chemical smell, which can be pungent or smell like fruit candy. Real honey has a pure and natural fragrance with a faint floral scent.
7. Taste it to check the texture
In terms of taste, fake honey has a simple, sweet flavor, and some may have a bitter or strange aftertaste. Real honey has a rich and mellow taste, with a slight spicy or numbing sensation, or a very faint sour taste.