Is the emulsifier in bread safe?

In order to produce foods with intact taste, flexibility and longer shelf life, food scientists face a big problem is how to adapt the variety of ingredients to processing conditions, so that different food ingredients can be well integrated in Together, eventually a good combination is formed. People have found an additive that can make the components of the ingredients miscible after they are added to the food. It is an emulsifier. Emulsifiers are defined as "a substance that emulsifies foods and mixes" and it is a functional food ingredient. In its molecules, there are both groups that are close to water molecules and groups that are close to fat molecules. In a mixture of oil and moisture, the emulsifier can bind the oil through an internal lipophilic group and bind the water through an external hydrophilic group. The emulsifier is like a coordinator between the food ingredients, allowing the various components to better integrate, maintain unity, and not easily split.

The emulsifier not only emulsifies, disperses, lubricates, and stabilizes in a series of processes such as mixing and blending of various raw materials, but also improves and enhances the quality and stability of the food. For example, emulsifiers have been used in the production of ice cream. Ice cream is a kind of frozen food with high fat content. Adding emulsifier during the production process can form oil-in-water stable emulsion, prevent phase separation, improve the structure of ice cream, prevent frost from forming, and form fine and uniform bubbles. Ice crystals can produce a lubricious mouthfeel. In addition, emulsifiers are also used as foaming agents for cakes, defoamers for tofu, and the like.

At present, there are about 70 commonly used emulsifiers in the world, which can be divided into four major categories, namely fatty acid esters, modified starches, salts, and others. The joint evaluation of food emulsifiers used by WHO and FAO's Food Additives Expert Committee showed that most of these emulsifiers are safe and most of them do not even allow daily intakes. The restriction may be that the use of food emulsifiers is relatively safe and reasonable use does not pose a health risk. The so-called emulsifier eating too much into the blood to raise blood lipids, it is not reliable. However, bakery products such as breads and cakes often have high fat content. If you eat more, you will increase fat intake. Pay attention to reduce the fat intake of other foods.

The use of emulsifiers in bread is not a strange thing, but it is a very common application. It has a very important role in improving the taste of bread and preventing the aging of bread. Consumers do not need to panic. Of course, if you have no special requirements for the taste of bread, it doesn't matter if it is the same as steamed bread. Then, you can make bread without emulsifiers at home.