Are spices harmful to humans?

We usually don’t put many spices when cooking. Because the spices used in cooking are relatively small, it generally does not affect the health of the body. In recent years, it has been discovered that some natural spices contain safrole, a toxic substance that can easily cause liver disease. Some artificial spices are mostly extracted from chemical products, so they should be used less in daily life.

Are spices harmful to humans?

Edible spices usually do not cause harm to human health because they are used in small amounts. However, in recent years, it has been discovered that some natural spices contain safrole, a liquid with a strong aromatic smell. Animal experiments have found that it can cause liver disease. Therefore, the potential harm of natural spices to the human body should not be ignored.

Artificial flavors mostly come from raw materials such as petrochemical products and coal tar, and are divided into acids, esters, alcohols, phenols, ketones, ethers and lactones. Artificial flavors have different smells due to different raw materials and formulas. There are many types of flavor monomers, some are toxic and some are non-toxic. To ensure the safe use of artificial edible flavors, we must start with the flavor monomers. The national standard divides flavor monomers into ① flavor monomers allowed for use, ② flavor monomers temporarily allowed for use, and ③ flavor monomers prohibited for use.

Tips for buying spices

Although chemical flavors have similar or even stronger scents than natural flavors, they are incomparable in terms of fragrance quality and their functions of calming the mind, maintaining health, and enlightening the soul. Many natural spices are listed as top-grade medicinal materials, while synthetic spices, which are chemical products, may also smell fragrant at first, but excessive use is harmful to health. Moreover, even in terms of smell alone, chemical flavors are only close to but far from comparable to natural flavors.

The reason why chemical flavor incense products are so popular is that most pilgrims only regard burning incense as a sacrificial ritual. Since people do not smell or taste the incense, but only burn and look at it, they naturally ignore the ingredients, formula and quality of the incense, and only focus on the beautiful appearance or the richness of its fragrance.

The widespread use of chemical flavors and chemical processing technologies has also substantially changed the contemporary perfume making process. Although some traditional methods and techniques are still used, they are only peripheral and formal retentions, while the core contents such as spice selection, preparation, compatibility, and heating temperature have been discarded. One of the consequences is the interruption of the incense-making process and the loss of incense recipes, resulting in very few people who are truly proficient in traditional incense-making techniques.