Aflatoxin B1 is classified as a class 1 carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Its toxicity is 68 times that of arsenic and 10 times that of potassium cyanide. It is extremely destructive to liver tissue. One milligram of aflatoxin is the carcinogenic dose. If a normal person weighing 70 kg only needs to take 20 mg of aflatoxin, he will die. Such a terrible toxic carcinogen exists in our daily life. Where does it exist? How can we kill it? I hope today’s sharing can improve your understanding and attention to aflatoxin.
Where does aflatoxin exist in daily life
Aflatoxin has the highest incidence in damp and hot places, and can induce liver cancer, stomach cancer, bowel cancer and other diseases. Due to the relative humidity of the kitchen environment and the oil contained in the oil, the oil, as an organic matter, provides food for the decomposition of bacteria. Hot oil inside the smoke machine accelerates the growth of bacteria and can produce aflatoxin and other bacteria. Where is it hidden in the kitchen? Let’s have a look!
○ moldy food
Aflatoxin likes to hide in moldy foods, especially foods with high starch content, especially peanuts, corn, beans and other foods with high starch content. In high temperature and humid environment, aflatoxin, which causes liver cancer, will breed. If one peanut is moldy, the whole package of peanuts should be thrown away. Aspergillus flavus is transmitted in the form of spores, and food is easily involved in mildew.
Therefore, I suggest you buy less each time and not “save” to avoid mildew; The corners of the house with food scraps should also be cleaned. It’s best to throw away the food after it’s moldy, and don’t think about re eating it to poultry and livestock to prevent it from entering the human body through the food chain.
If you can’t judge whether the food has gone bad, you may as well use ultraviolet rays to find out the truth. Store the food in a dark room and irradiate it with a banknote detector. If the food emits blue purple and green fluorescence, it can prove that aflatoxin exists. You can soak in 1% baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) for a period of time before eating. Aflatoxin is relatively easy to decompose under alkaline conditions. If you want to eat it, feel free to do so.
○ bitter nuts
If you eat bitter melon seeds, almonds and other nuts, you must spit them out in time and gargle. Because the bitter taste of melon seeds and other nuts comes from aflatoxin produced in the process of mildew. Regular intake will increase the risk of liver cancer.
○ I’ve been soaking in fungus for several days
There was such a news: a consumer in Ruian, Zhejiang Province, suffered food poisoning after eating black fungus soaked for three days, resulting in multiple organ failure and his life was in danger. Doctor’s result: This is a serious consequence caused by microbial toxin.
Auricularia auricula can produce aflatoxin, penicillin and so on in the process of foaming hair. Therefore, it is recommended that you soak as much as you eat in your daily life and not soak for several days.
○ unclean chopsticks
The chopsticks themselves will not grow Aspergillus flavus, but when eating foods with high starch content such as corn and peanuts with chopsticks, it is easy to hide starch in chopsticks. A long time will lead to mildew and aflatoxin. Naked chopsticks and painted chopsticks are easy to crack and hide food residues, which will produce aflatoxin. The best choice is iron chopsticks, which is difficult to crack, and there will be no food residues. And I also want to remind you that when you wash chopsticks at ordinary times, you should remember to soak them first to soften the food residues on them so that they can be easily washed away.
Wooden chopsticks are very popular in many families, which reminds us that if they are not used scientifically and cleaned in a proper way, they will only become standard carcinogens. Therefore, we must pay attention to the hygiene of chopsticks. The chopsticks used must be disinfected regularly. After the trial period reaches one week, vinegar or salt should be sprinkled on the chopsticks, washed and dried before use. In order to be healthy, they should be replaced regularly, preferably every six months.
○ kitchen board
We use the kitchen board every day, but some of the kitchen boards have cracks in the middle. If we don’t clean them after using them, there will be residual bacteria in them. If there are molds parasitic on it, some carcinogenic substances will be produced, especially Aspergillus flavus. After ingestion into the human body, it will be stored in liver cells and evolve into liver cancer for a long time. Experts suggest that it is better to change one dish board a year.
○ small workshop self extracting oil
Generally, the process of small workshop press or domestic oil press is simple, there is no process to remove harmful substances, and raw materials can not be refined. Therefore, it is impossible to pick out peanuts that have been shelled and have aflatoxin inside. Raw materials are moldy, and aflatoxin may be brought into the pressed oil. Therefore, I still suggest you go to big supermarkets to buy famous brands.
how to kill aflatoxin
The general cooking and processing temperature can not destroy aflatoxin, because the cracking temperature of aflatoxin is 280 ℃. Only when it reaches 280 ℃, it can be inactivated. You can’t even disinfect the cupboard. Aflatoxin is resistant to ultraviolet rays. How can aflatoxin be kept away from our lives?
A small action before cooking can help eliminate a certain amount of aflatoxin. If we heat peanut oil and other edible oil in a pot, add a small amount of salt, and stir for 10-20 seconds, most of the aflatoxin in the edible oil can be basically eliminated. Strong alkali can destroy aflatoxin, and the neutralization and degradation of aflatoxin by common salt can eliminate about 95% of aflatoxin.
If you eat moldy food by mistake, don’t worry too much. The accumulation of toxins requires a certain process. Eating more green leafy vegetables can make part of the aflatoxin we eat carelessly lose efficacy, because chlorophyll can prevent the absorption of aflatoxin and prevent liver cancer.
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