1, curcumin: a perennial herb, called gold or turmeric, with yellow pigment as the main component in its rhizome. Pure curcumin is yellow crystalline powder. Strong coloring ability, especially suitable for protein coloring.
2. Shellac pigment: Shellac pigment is the pigment component in the original gum secreted by shellac on its parasitic plants. Shellac pigments can be divided into two categories: water soluble and water insoluble. Water soluble is shellac red acid. When acidic, it is stable to light and heat. The hue changes with the degree of acid reduction.
3. Safflower Yellow Pigment: It is the yellow pigment in safflower pigment. Soluble in water and ethanol, insoluble in oil.
4. Sodium copper chlorophyllin: It is a blue-black powder with golden luster and an amine-like taste. It is easily soluble in water, and its aqueous solution is blue-green, with stronger light resistance than chlorophyll.
5. Monascus rice is one of the natural red pigments traditionally used in China. The production method is to inoculate monascus on rice and cultivate it. Mainly used for dyeing barbecued pork, red enema, red fermented bean curd and some mixed wines.
6. Sauce color: caramel is one of the traditional natural pigments used in China, and it is brown or dark brown liquid. Liquid caramel is made by heating sucrose or malt syrup at 160 ~ 180℃ for 3 hours to make it caramelization, and then neutralizing it with alkali. In order to accelerate the reaction, ammonium salts are sometimes added as catalysts.
Caramel itself is non-toxic, but the caramel produced by adding ammonium salt contains a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic compound 4- methylimidazole, which has convulsion effect and is harmful to people in high content.
7. Carotene: As a normal ingredient in human food, it is one of the nutrients people need and can be used as a cream colorant.
8. Capsaicin and beet red: red pigments extracted from pepper and beet root respectively. The former is a carotenoid, but carrot A is primitive. Non-toxic to people, used in canned food.
Synthetic pigments are made from coal tar. Because of its low cost, bright color and wide application. However, many synthetic pigments are not only toxic by themselves or their metabolites, but also may be mixed with arsenic, lead or other toxic intermediates during their survival. Some artificial pigments act on nerve media, affecting nerve conduction, leading to ADHD, poor self-control, emotional impulsiveness, inattention, not listening to adults, poor academic performance, but most of them are normal. Children should try not to eat food containing synthetic pigments. Essence is mainly extracted from petrochemical products and coal tar. Flavors can be divided into acids, alcohols, phenols, ethers and fats. Because of the different formulas and raw materials, their smells are different, some are toxic and some are not. But most of them are harmless to human health. However, bezoar, basic rose yellow, rose red -B, orange yellow -SS and capsicum oil pigment are all possible carcinogens. In most cases, improper use of essence and pigment and excessive consumption will bring great harm to health.
How to avoid synthetic pigments as much as possible
First of all, read the ingredient list on the food label clearly and try to eat less food containing synthetic pigments. Secondly, consumers can choose brand-name products that can tell whether there are too many bad ingredients or not. Furthermore, food intake should be diversified, which is not only the guarantee of balanced nutrition, but also the guarantee of food safety. Because the pigments in food can only do harm to human body in a certain amount, we can reduce the intake of these foods containing pigments.
Personally, I think that although synthetic pigment looks more eye-catching than natural pigment, the harm it brings to our human body is obvious. If you take a certain amount of artificial pigment through your diet every day, the consequences will be unimaginable. I hope every friend who sees this post will cherish and care for his body and pay attention to his diet.