Too dark to be investigated! Milk tea shops use additives illegally!

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In the catering industry, there are many "black" inspired creative products, some brands will add coloring materials to create a variety of dark drinks, so as to give people a strong visual impact, and become sought after by curiosity customers. Recently, however, it has been mentioned in the news that there may be hidden food safety risks that can not be ignored in such dark products.

Recently, when the Market Supervision Bureau of Xuhui District of Shanghai inspected a milk tea shop in its jurisdiction, it found that one of its products, Black Coconut Strawberry Milk, was dark black and further investigated its raw materials and production process. After inspection, it was found that the shop assistant added food additive "plant carbon black" in the production process to make the appearance and color of the beverage unique, thus serving as the highlight of product sales.

The Shanghai Municipal Bureau of Supervision said that the "black coconut strawberry milk" drink made and sold by the head of the store exceeded the "plant carbon black" allowed in the National Food Safety Standard Food Additives use Standard (GB 2760-2014). Therefore, the act violates the provisions of Article 34 (4) of the Food Safety Law of the people's Republic of China. According to law, the Xuhui District Market Regulatory Bureau ordered the parties concerned to correct their illegal acts, confiscated the illegal income and imposed a fine.

It is understood that plant carbon black is an insoluble colorant, so it is usually used in the form of suspension, mostly used in candy, generally as a shielding agent, with the characteristics of natural source, good stability and strong adsorption properties.

It is different from what we often call "activated carbon", but a food additive made from some kind of dried plant, shell (usually coconut shell), carbonized and refined. Plant carbon black is safe for human body under compliance, but excessive intake or improper use may bring certain health risks. Plant carbon black has adsorption function, can absorb other substances in the human body, in addition, it may also cause indigestion, constipation and other problems.

China's "Standard for the use of Food Additives" (GB2760-2011) stipulates that the application of plant carbon black includes frozen drinks (except 03.04 edible ice), candy, rice products, wheat products, cakes, biscuits and so on, and the maximum usage is 5.0g/KG.

It is worth noting that for the stores involved, the Shanghai market regulator also released the food additive "plant carbon black" found at the scene, as well as the sales details page of related drinks. By taking a screenshot, we can clearly see that the logo on the cup is printed with the word "Bonjour". This is the milk tea brand that went viral on Weibo last year because of its booming business, also known as "tea already".

According to public information, the brand, founded in Suzhou in 2020, has become popular at home with star labels such as "Dili Reba with the same style" and "Dili Reba strict selection", and has been praised by fans as "the light of Suzhou".

According to several media reports, when the brand opened its first store in Hangzhou in August last year, there was an exaggerated scene of exploding orders every day, with as many as 1,000 people waiting in line at the peak, the waiting time was expected to be about 10 hours, and the purchasing price was up to 300 cups. Nearly 30 products are on sale, and the "black coconut strawberry milk" involved is one of the products that the brand launched earlier to highlight its black appearance.

Picture from: network screenshot

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