The public is deeply worried about functional beverage additives.

Recently, the uproar of Red Bull drink "illegally added door", the food safety issue once again to the forefront of the wave. A few days ago, the State Food and Drug Administration issued a notice saying that "Red Bull drinks have not found any quality and safety problems", the storm is a temporary end.

In recent years, people have never stopped questioning the energy drink, which mainly stems from the confusion about its safety-it is not a medicine, but it does work after drinking it. Where does its energy come from? What has been added? Do these additives have side effects while providing energy?

A Yi (a pseudonym) is the technical director of an Internet company and often works overtime at night. Every time he works overtime, he prepares several cans of Red Bull drinks. When you work overtime until you are dizzy and exhausted, drink two cans. Oddly enough, after drinking, the fatigue soon dissipated and the spirit was full.

Why do drinks have such refreshing and refreshing magical functions? Yi is a little confused and a little worried-I don't know what "energy" is added to this drink?

Energy of energy drinks comes from additives.

"the energy of energy drinks mainly comes from the various ingredients they add, such as synthetic amino acids, vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to health." Dong Jinshi, food safety expert, executive vice president and secretary general of the International Food Packaging Association, said.

This is also explained in the introduction of Red Bull Beverage China. According to it, Red Bull drink can be "refreshing" because it adds functional factors such as taurine, lysine and caffeine, and accelerates the body's metabolism with the help of B vitamins, inositol and nicotinamide. "taurine and caffeine can activate the central nervous system, of which caffeine is a central nervous stimulant that temporarily repels drowsiness and restores energy. Taurine can promote nutrient metabolism, participate in neuroendocrine regulation, and enhance myocardial contractility. "

Dong Jinshi said that in fact, according to the classification of China's "General principles for Beverages" (GB10789-2007), there is no such thing as "functional drinks." the so-called "functional drinks" actually belong to the category of special-purpose beverages, that is, by adjusting the composition and content of nutrients in beverages, or by adding drinks with specific functional ingredients to meet the needs of certain special people.

Special purpose drinks are divided into three categories.

According to reports, special-purpose drinks can be divided into three categories:

A class of sports drinks represented by Gatorade, running, screaming, etc. This kind of beverage mainly adds electrolytes such as potassium and sodium or nutrients such as sugar and vitamins. "exercise makes the human body sweat a lot, resulting in the loss of electrolytes such as potassium and sodium, and the beverage with electrolytes is conducive to the supplement of sodium and potassium. It also helps to keep water in blood vessels, so that the body can get more water." Dong Jinshi said.

One is nutrient drinks, that is, adding an appropriate amount of food nutrition fortifier to supplement the special nutritional needs of some people. This kind of drinks are represented by Pulse, Coca-Cola's Kuloshi Vitasine Water and probiotic drinks. The function of this kind of beverage mainly comes from synthetic amino acids, vitamins and minerals which are beneficial to health.

There is also a kind of special-purpose drinks, which are prepared to meet the needs of special people, such as Red Bull, filling up, health care and so on.

"if there is a health food label on the outer package of special purpose drinks, it is certified by the state and has one or more of the 18 health care items, including anti-fatigue functions." Jiang Zhuoqin, a professor in the Department of Nutrition at the School of Public Health, Sun Yat-sen University, stressed that the anti-fatigue effect of special-purpose drinks represented by Red Bull mainly comes from the added caffeine, taurine and other ingredients, but it can only relieve fatigue in the short term. "Health food can only play a role in health care, not treat diseases."

Worry 1:

Drinks containing caffeine can be addictive to drinking for a long time?

In recent years, consumers have been constantly questioning energy drinks, and the main reason Red Bull has been questioned is caffeine, which is the main ingredient of its "refreshing" effect. It is reported that in Canada, the formula of Red Bull drink has removed caffeine and taurine. In Denmark, Norway and France, Red Bull can only be sold in pharmacies because it contains high doses of coffee. In China, Red Bull is a formula specially approved by the Ministry of Health, and its caffeine content is as high as 200PPM, which is higher than the national standard for caffeine in beverages not exceeding 150PPM.

"many energy drinks make people feel more refreshed and claim to relieve fatigue, but they actually rely on caffeine." Yuan Yue, editor-in-chief of Guoshou Health Channel, said caffeine can provide short-term brain excitement, stimulate the body's potential and produce anti-fatigue effects. But in the long run, the best way to get tired is to rest and relax. "blindly borrowing energy drinks will only cause dependence on energy drinks, and even cause nausea, diarrhea, mental anxiety and insomnia."

It is reported that caffeine is a food additive allowed in China's national food safety standards, which not only has a certain refreshing effect, but also widely exists in natural foods, such as daily coffee, tea and other foods contain a certain amount of caffeine, usually a cup of green tea contains about 30mg caffeine. "caffeine is found in many drinks, such as tea and cola, but addiction depends on the dose consumed by the human body," Yuan said. "

"caffeine consumption can lead to dependence, and long-term and high-dose use can lead to addiction." Jiang Zhuoqin points out that caffeine and other ingredients added to ordinary drinks are trace, and they are also the weakest pick-me-ups. "there is also caffeine in the tea we drink, so it is not addictive."

Source: Nanfang Daily

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