A petition launched by food blogger Vani Hari in February urged Subway restaurants to stop using azodicarbonamide, or ADA, in its sandwich bread and baked goods. The controversial chemical is also causing safety concerns here in China as it is found in Starbucks bread and multiple flour products, reported the Beijing News.
ADA is also used in the production of foamed plastics such as yoga mats and shoe soles to add elasticity.
Guchuan, COFCO and Zhongyu, whose flour was caught containing ADA, all responded that their usage of ADA is in accordance with national standards.
According to the latest amendment to China's Standards for Use of Food Additives, ADA can be used as a dough improver, but the amount cannot exceed 0.0045% by weight.
That amount is also recognized as safe by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JFECFA), yet food researchers continue to argue over the potential risks.
Fan Zhihong, associate professor at China Agricultural University's College of Food Science, said ADA might affect children's absorption of microelements.
ADA is not allowed as a flour conditioner in the European Union. It's also banned in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Singapore, while considered safe by the US Food and Drug Administration in quantities below 0.0045%.
So the question is, why is ADA allowed in some countries and barred in others?
Science writer Yun Wuxin said whether to use ADA is a decision based on ingredient quality and customer preference.
For example, wheat produced in Australia and New Zealand contains high levels of gluten that doesn't require the addition of ADA. In China, wheat generally has low amounts of gluten, and bakeries either use cheap ADA or buy imported high-gluten wheat at a high cost.
In addition, people in Europe and China usually have different preferences for bread. Chinese consumers tend to like soft bread more, spurring bakeries to use ADA.
It's not known yet whether Starbucks and flour companies would remove ADA from their products, but a golden rule for consumers is to buy food with as few ingredients as possible.
