Dyed chili powder causes cancer! A small tissue paper reveals its true form

In the era of food integrity crisis, unscrupulous food is everywhere and it is easy to fall into its trap if you are not careful. Many people love spicy food. If they don’t eat chili peppers during a meal, they will feel that the food is tasteless. Those bags of bright red chili powder in the vegetable market are an indispensable seasoning in some people's kitchens. However, these beautiful-looking chili powders are not necessarily good things, and some of them are dyed and are counterfeits. So how do we tell the difference?

Black-hearted food: Dyed chili powder

Hazard index: ★★★★★

Harmful consequences: damage to the heart, cancer

Shopping rhyme: Dyed chili powder is so bright red, it reveals its true shape when it comes into contact with water and changes color when rubbed.

Taking advantage of the weekend, a few friends made an appointment to have a barbecue in the suburbs. That day, my friends rushed to the market early to buy various ingredients for the picnic and barbecue. After buying the meat and vegetables, Mr. Li, who usually loves spicy food, said, "We must buy some chili powder. When the mutton skewers are cooked, they will taste better if we sprinkle them with chili powder!" So he went straight to the stall selling chili powder.

Old Li picked up a big bag of bright red chili powder in front of the stall and asked the boss, how much is this chili powder per pound? Before the boss could say anything, Xiao Xu, who majored in food, came over and said, wait a moment, let me take a look.

He picked up a little chili powder and rubbed it with his hands, but no red color was left on his hands. He smiled and said, "Mr. Li, you are too anxious. You didn't even check whether the chili powder is genuine. If you buy the wrong one, you won't be able to eat the chili, but only the corn husk. Barbecue is unhealthy to begin with, and eating fake and inferior seasonings is like adding insult to injury!" The boss heard their conversation and smiled and said, "Hey, you are right. However, we dare not sell that kind of dyed chili powder. Eating too much of it can kill people. Isn't it unethical to sell that kind of thing?"

So, why does chili powder need to be dyed? What harm does eating dyed chili powder have to the human body?

10 jin of chili powder, 7 jin of corn husk

For those who love spicy food, a meal without chili will feel tasteless. Those bags of bright red chili powder in the vegetable market are an indispensable seasoning in some people's kitchens. However, these beautiful-looking chili powders are not necessarily good things, and some of them are dyed and are counterfeits.

As early as 10 years ago, the media reported the problem of dyed chili powder. In order to save costs, unscrupulous vendors grind cheap corn husks into powder and mix it into chili powder. As for how much corn husks to add to a pound of chili powder and how to add it, it all depends on the courage of the unscrupulous vendors. If you are brave enough, you can mix more than seven ounces of corn husks into one pound of chili powder. It's really a complete rip-off.

If it's just some corn husks mixed in, it's fine, corn husks won't harm you. The key is that the corn husk is not red. To make it look like chili powder, it has to be dyed red. The dye most used by unscrupulous vendors is Rhodamine B.

Rhodamine, bright red, is a potent carcinogen

Rhodamine B is an artificially synthesized dye, also known as "pollen red" and "rose red B", and was once used as a food coloring agent. But later, people found that it was highly carcinogenic. Someone fed mice with Rhodamine B, and after a period of time, the mice developed sarcoma. Later, someone proved that what happened to mice could also happen to humans.

Since the dangers of Rhodamine B became known, the country has banned its use in food. Regular consumption of foods containing rhodamine B will not only damage the heart, but also make you more susceptible to cancer.

Tear a piece of paper towel and dip it in water to reveal the original shape of the dyed chili powder

No matter how good-looking corn husk chili powder looks, it is dyed with dye and is different from high-quality chili powder. Good chili powder is red with yellow, loose and dry, without impurities. Because it is very spicy, your nose and eyes will feel uncomfortable if you get too close to it.

Dyed chili powder is just the opposite, it is bright red but less spicy. Here is a little trick I would like to introduce to you. You just need to prepare a wet wipe in advance. When buying chili powder, you can pinch a little chili powder onto a wet paper towel, wait for a while, then wipe off the chili powder on the wet paper towel and see if the paper towel turns red. If the paper towel is dyed red, it means that artificial dyes have been added to the chili powder.

Because normal chili powder contains natural pigments that are only soluble in oil but not in water, and will not fade when it comes into contact with water. Rhodamine B, however, is soluble in water and will leave traces on wet tissues. In addition, some unscrupulous vendors use Sudan Red to dye corn husks. Sudan Red, like Rhodamine B, will reveal its true form on wet paper towels.