The China Food and Drug Administration organized a random inspection of 1,352 batches of food products, of which 16 batches were found to be non-compliant. Snacks that the public often eats, such as cat ears, dried mangoes, and crystal candied dates, were also among the non-compliant products.
Long-term accumulation of excessive lead can lead to poisoning
There is no doubt that a certain standard of blood lead concentration is called lead poisoning. Lead poisoning can cause lifelong damage to the human nervous system, blood system, cardiovascular system, and skeletal system. At the onset of poisoning, symptoms such as fatigue, insomnia, loss of appetite, stomach pain, joint pain, and anemia may appear. As lead poisoning deepens, it can induce serious illnesses such as high blood pressure, heart failure, reproductive disorders, and kidney failure. In severe cases, it can lead to dementia and even cancer. For pregnant women, lead poisoning may lead to serious consequences such as miscarriage, stillbirth, and poor fetal development. Fresh vegetables, fruits, and soy milk can help expel lead from the body.
Main sources of lead pollution in daily life
The lead in the environment mainly comes from two sources. One is natural sources, referring to lead released into the environment by natural phenomena such as volcanic eruption smoke, flying dust particles, forest fire smoke, and sea salt aerosols. However, the largest and most frequent source of environmental pollution is human activities, including the mining and smelting of lead and other heavy metal mines, the "three wastes" (waste gas, wastewater, and solid waste) from the battery industry, glass manufacturing, powder metallurgy, and related enterprises, exhaust gases from the combustion of fuel oil and coal, and the production and use of paint, coatings, pigments, colored glazes, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, chemical reagents, and other lead-containing products. Among these, the main sources of pollution are fuel combustion and industrial pollution from lead smelting and batteries. The former accounts for 56.7% of atmospheric lead pollution, and the latter accounts for 30.24%. For example, these three main sources of lead pollution in daily life:
Food: The skins of fruits and vegetables, metal-canned foods, popcorn, puffed snacks, century eggs, white steamed buns, and some foods with color-printed packaging may contain large amounts of lead.
Drinking water: Lead can enter drinking water through corroded pipes. Lead is more likely to enter drinking water when the water is acidic.
Air: Gases such as car exhaust are emitted into the air, causing air pollution. When people inhale the air, they are also indirectly inhaling lead. In addition, smoking is equivalent to indirectly inhaling a small amount of lead.
Main food sources for lead excretion
Shrimp skin: High in calcium, which helps in the excretion of lead.
Milk: The protein components in milk can bind with lead in the body to form a soluble compound, thereby preventing the human body from absorbing lead.
Soy products: Contain a large amount of high-quality protein, which can play the same role in chelating lead as milk.
Carrot: Contains a large amount of pectin, which can reduce the toxicity of lead in the body and decrease lead absorption.
Garlic: Has the effect of neutralizing lead toxicity and can reduce the harm of lead to the human body.
Wood ear mushroom: Has good anti-cancer effects and the function of clearing lead toxins. Regular consumption can effectively remove lead toxins and other harmful substances from the body.
Beef: The protein and calcium in beef can prevent the human body from absorbing lead.
Animal liver: Contains about 20% protein and rich calcium, which is very helpful in preventing lead poisoning.
Vitamins: Eating more foods rich in vitamin C can play a significant role in inhibiting the human body's absorption of lead. Vitamin C combines with lead to form insoluble and non-toxic salts, which can be excreted from the body with feces. An average person should consume at least 150 mg of vitamin C per day; for those diagnosed with lead poisoning, this can be increased to 200 mg.
Tea: Contains substances such as tannic acid, which can bind with lead in the body to form soluble substances and be excreted from the body with urine.