Toona sinensis contains nitrite

Nitrite is a toxic substance, which is contained in toon sprouts. However, as long as the method is correct, the nitrite content can be reduced. It is best not to keep the toon for too long, otherwise more harmful substances will be produced. Try not to eat overnight food, especially vegetables, as they will produce toxic substances. Don't eat too much Chinese toon. Everything should be eaten in moderation. Eating less is beneficial.

Toona sinensis sprouts contain nitrite. Because the nitrate content in the early stage of toon germination is low, as the toon buds continue to grow, the nitrate content also increases. After mid-April, the nitrate content in toon sprouts in most areas exceeded the standards of the World Health Organization and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. In fact, blanching the toon sprouts in boiling water for about 1 minute can remove more than two-thirds of the nitrite and nitrate, while also better preserving the green color of the toon.

Therefore, whether it is for cold dishes, stir-frying or pickling, you may as well blanch it first, which can greatly improve the safety of eating toon.

Some people like to pickle Chinese toon with salt for two or three days before eating it, which is a very unsafe practice. After the Chinese toon is pickled, the nitrite content will rise rapidly, reaching a peak in three or four days, and the content is far higher than the permitted standard.

Blanching before pickling can greatly reduce the nitrate content, which also reduces the risk of pickling Chinese toon. At the same time, it is best to pickle the Chinese toon after blanching for a week before eating it after the nitrite content is reduced.

In fact, nitrate is not that scary. Its acute median lethal dose (the dose that can cause half of the poisoned people or animals to die) is 3.2g/kg based on body weight, which is not as good as 3g/kg of sodium chloride. The median lethal dose of nitrite is 0.022g/kg based on body weight. This means that if a 60kg person eats 1.32g of nitrite at once, the chance of death is 50%. The nitrite content in Chinese toon is indeed higher than in other vegetables, but Nanjing Forestry University's testing of Chinese toon in six regions found that the nitrite content did not exceed the national standards for fruits and vegetables, so it can still be eaten with confidence.

Of course, the amount still needs to be controlled. The World Health Organization believes that a 60kg person can withstand a maximum of 7.8mg of nitrite at one time, which is approximately the amount contained in 4 kilograms of toon.