How to Choose Safe Cold Drinks in the Summer
After several days of "high-temperature" weather, people have started swapping out their winter coats for summer clothes, and sales of cold drinks on the streets have begun to boom. Recently, there has been a significant increase in patients with intestinal diseases, especially among teenagers and children. It has been learned that most of these intestinal diseases are related to eating cold drinks. Doctors are reminding consumers that while cold drinks are delicious, they should not be overindulged in, and one should be more careful when purchasing them.
Three Factors Affecting the Quality of Cold Drinks
Relevant experts have introduced that the quality inspection department conducts random checks on cold drinks on the market from time to time each year. For various reasons, the results of each inspection have never reached 100% compliance. The problems are mainly concentrated in the production, transportation, and sales stages. According to the sampling results in recent years, the quality problems of cold drinks are mainly concentrated in the following aspects.
Firstly, microbial counts such as total bacterial count, mold, and yeast exceed the standard. Last year, the quality inspection bureau conducted random inspections on the microbial indicators of 164 products, and the pass rate was only 86.3%. These products involved many large enterprises and major brands, and some products had an uncountable number of total bacterial colonies. Secondly, the electrical conductivity exceeds the standard. In past inspections, non-compliant electrical conductivity accounted for 26.8% of the total non-compliant products. The main reason for the excess is that the process parameters are out of control during the company's production process, especially that the ion exchange treatment equipment does not meet the production process requirements. Third, the free chlorine index exceeds the standard. In the products published over the years, many products have excessive free chlorine. The main reason for the excessive free chlorine is that the company did not thoroughly clean the disinfectant.
Five Major Problems in Cold Drink Consumption
Relevant personnel have introduced that in addition to the three officially announced factors affecting the quality of cold drinks, there are also five major problems in cold drink consumption that seriously affect product quality.
First, some frozen drinks have been stored for too long, making their quality difficult to guarantee. Every summer, consumers report that the ice cream they bought has exceeded its shelf life and has become deformed. Perhaps due to many factors such as the weather, buyers decrease, leading to a backlog of cold drinks. Once these factors are eliminated, merchants start selling cold drinks that have been stored for many days. If consumers do not pay attention to check the production date, they are very likely to buy expired cold drinks.
Second, some stores offer "buy one, get one free" promotions, bundling cold drinks that are about to expire. Some shopping malls, in order to sell poorly selling cold drink foods that are about to expire, often adopt a "buy one, get one free" promotional method.
Third, "a bewildering array of choices". The packaging of cold drink foods is colorful and bright, not only making adults drool but also a huge temptation for children. However, the high-quality appearance of the packaging does not necessarily mean a first-class product quality; it could very well become an advertising sign for some unscrupulous manufacturers.
Fourth, the quality of cold drinks sold in some rural towns is not up to standard. Some cold drink processing factories in rural towns, due to substandard equipment and raw materials, produce cold drinks of poor quality. Especially some low-priced, simply packaged frozen drinks have incomplete labeling and poor quality. Some use saccharin instead of sucrose, starch instead of ice cream powder, and cheap milk powder to concoct "cream", counterfeiting the real thing.
Fifth, the hygiene and quality of self-made cold drinks by street vendors are difficult to meet standards. For example, street-made fruit juice cold drinks are nothing more than colorings plus flavorings, and are very cheap. Especially brightly colored cold drinks like "fruit juice" become the "best" sign for unscrupulous small vendors. They often sell at public places like school gates, parks, and squares, and they do not have health permits or health certificates, making the hygiene and quality of the cold drinks difficult to guarantee.
Which Patients Should Not Eat Cold Drinks
Different groups of people have different requirements for cold drinks, especially those suffering from certain diseases, who should be more cautious when eating them. For example, diabetic patients: cold drinks generally contain a lot of sugar, which can raise blood sugar and worsen the condition of patients. Patients with duodenal ulcer, chronic gastritis, chronic colitis, cholecystitis, and indigestion: The digestive system function of these patients is poor, and eating cold drinks can easily irritate the gastrointestinal mucosa and worsen the condition. Patients with dental caries and dentin hypersensitivity: Such patients will experience tooth pain when eating cold drinks. Patients with hypertension, coronary heart disease, and arteriosclerosis: If these patients eat a large amount of cold drinks, it will suddenly stimulate the gastrointestinal tract, cause blood vessels to constrict, and blood pressure to rise, worsening the condition and easily inducing cerebral hemorrhage.
Also, patients with pharyngitis, bronchitis, bronchial asthma, and arthritis: These patients should best avoid cold drinks because the cold stimulation can worsen throat inflammation and induce coughing, or cause a relapse of old illnesses. Patients with kidney disease: Such patients should not consume cold drinks containing ingredients such as flavors, colorings, and fragrances, as these ingredients will increase the burden on the glomerular filtration and detoxification of the kidneys, and at the same time can make the edema symptoms more severe. Obese patients: Cold drinks contain a lot of sugar, which will increase liver glycogen, convert it into fat, make the body more obese, and easily induce fatty liver and hyperlipoproteinemia. Patients with calcium deficiency: The flavors, fragrances, and citric acid in cold drinks can combine with calcium ions in the body, reducing the free calcium in the blood, which can affect the development of children's bones and teeth. For the elderly, it can induce calcium deficiency convulsions, fractures, muscle pain, and fatigue.
In addition, infants and young children should not eat cold drinks, otherwise it may affect the secretion and peristalsis of the digestive glands, causing diarrhea, abdominal pain, and loss of appetite. Pregnant women should also not eat too many cold drinks, because the fetus is extremely sensitive to cold stimulation. When a pregnant woman eats cold drinks, the fetus will become restless in the uterus and the fetal movements will become more frequent.