Mee Kuning: Kandungan Dan Kesan

Bahan Kandungan Dalam Mee Kuning Dan Kesannya Pada Manusia

Terdapat pelbagai jenis masakan boleh dibuat dengan mee kuning ini. Ada yang digoreng, yang berkuah terutama mee kari, mee rebus, mee sup, mee hailam, mee bandung dan banyak lagi. Mee goreng mamak juga antara yang popular menjadi kegemaran dewasa ini.

Tapi tahukah anda bahan-bahan yang terkandung di dalam mee kuning?

Bahan-bahannya tidaklah rumit, malah ia terlalu ringkas dan sesiapa saja boleh menghasilkannya di rumah jika mengetahui resepinya dan memiliki mesin pembuat mee. Bahan asasnya ialah tepung gandum, garam, air dan minyak masak. Di samping itu, ia tetap tidak terlepas dari campuran bahan kimia.

Salah satu bahan kimia yang digunakan ialah cecair jernih sodium karbonat atau natrium karbonat. Ia boleh dibeli di kedai-kedai runcit dalam botol dan lebih dikenali sebagai air abu atau air soda. Sodium karbonat (Na2CO3) boleh diekstrak dari tumbuhan atau dihasilkan dari garam biasa melalui proses tertentu. Sodium karbonat paling banyak digunakan dalam penghasilan kaca. Apabila digabungkan dengan pasir dan kalsium karbonat lalu dipanaskan pada suhu tinggi akan menghasilkan kaca. Di dalam pembuatan makanan, ia diberi kod aditif E500 dan digunakan sebagai pengawal asid (acidity regulator), anti-pengerakan(anti-caking), agen penaik dan penstabil. Setakat ini, tiada laporan yang serius tentang kesan negatif terhadap penggunaannya sebagai bahan aditif di dalam makanan.

Bahan kimia kedua yang digunakan untuk menghasilkan mee kuning ialah pewarna kuning. Biasanya pewarna kuning yang popular ialah Tartrazin(E102). Tartrazin boleh memberi kesan alergik kepada manusia. Sebahagian orang akan mengalami migrain, kesan gatal-gatal, gangguan tidur dan banyak lagi kesan negatif jika dimakan dalam kuantiti yang banyak. Banyak negara di Eropah telah mengharamkan penggunaannya seperti Jerman, Norway, Austria dan Britain.

Satu lagi pewarna kuning yang popular ialah Sunset Yellow (E110). Selain memberi kesan alergik, Sunset Yellow lebih merbahaya kerana dikatakan karsinogenik. Kanak-kanak boleh mengalami ADHD (hiperaktif). Kebanyakan negara Eropah seperti Norway dan Finland telahpun mengharamkan penggunaannya di dalam makanan. Di Malaysia, anda masih boleh membaca perkataan Sunset Yellow dan Tartrazin pada label kebanyakan makanan kudap-kudap. snek, coklat dan minuman.

Sebenarnya terdapat bahan organik pewarna kuning yang lebih baik iaitu beta-kerotin tetapi penggunaaannya sangat minimum kerana kebanyakan pengusaha tidak memberi perhatian terhadap kesihatan pengguna.

Bagaimanapun, bahan-bahan di atas adalah bahan yang minimum yang diperlukan untuk menghasilkan mee kuning. Tidaklah diketahui jika ada pengusaha mempunyai bahan-bahan lain sebagai tambahan di dalam membuat mee kuning mereka. Sebahagian pengusaha menggunakan asid borik dan sodium benzoate sebagai bahan pengawet. Kerana mee kuning dijual secara terhidang di dalam mangkuk yang panas, tiada cara untuk kita ketahui pewarna apakah yang digunakan di dalam mee itu. Malah kebanyakan mee basah yang belum dimasak yang dijual di dalam bungkusan plastik juga tidak mengandungi senarai kandungan bahan pada label bungkusannya.

Apa yang boleh saya perkatakan, elakkan terus memakan mee kuning. Kalau tidak mampu, hanya makan sekali-sekala sahaja kerana pengambilan terlalu banyak dalam sesuatu masa boleh mendatangkan mudarat. Jangan jadikan ia makanan kegemaran. Jika boleh, hasilkan mee sendiri tanpa menggunakan bahan kimia. Kerana anda lebih tahu apa yang selamat untuk dimakan.



Perkongsian Informasi daripada:
http://thesecretmedicines.blogspot.com

Natural Food Coloring

Plant extracts are a natural way to add food coloring to foodstuff without all of the harmful side-effects found in artificial ones. In fact, most of these extracts are high in bioflavonoids, antioxidants, and polyphenols which are beneficial when added to your diet. A growing number of natural food dyes are being commercially produced, partly due to consumer concerns surrounding synthetic dyes. Some examples include:

• Caramel coloring (E150), made from caramelized sugar, used in cola products and also in cosmetics

Caramel color is one of the oldest and most widely-used food colorings, and is found in almost every kind of industrially produced food, including: batters,beer, brown bread, buns, chocolate, cookies, cough drops, dark liquor such as brandy, rum, and whisky, chocolate-flavored flour-based confectionery, coatings, custards, decorations, fillings and toppings, potato chips, dessert mixes, doughnuts, fish and shellfish spreads, frozen desserts, fruit preserves, glucose tablets, gravy browning, ice cream, pickles, sauces and dressings, soft drinks (especially colas), sweets, vinegar, and wines.

• Annatto (E160b), a reddish-orange dye made from the seed of the achiote.

Annatto is commonly found in Latin America and Caribbean cuisines as both a coloring agent and for flavoring. Central and South American natives use the seeds to make a body paint and lipstick. For this reason, the achiote is sometimes called the "lipstick-tree". Achiote originated in South America and has spread in popularity to many parts of Asia. It is also grown in other tropical or subtropical regions of the world, including Central America, Africa and Asia. The heart-shaped fruit are brown or reddish brown at maturity, and are covered with short, stiff hairs. When fully mature, the fruit split open, exposing the numerous dark red seeds. While the fruit itself is not edible, the orange-red pulp that covers the seed is used to produce a yellow to orange commercial food coloring. Achiote dye is prepared by grinding seeds or simmering the seeds in water or oil.

• Turmeric (curcuminoids, E100)

Turmeric (coded as E100 when used as a food additive) is used to protect food products from sunlight. The oleoresin is used for oil-containing products. The curcumin/polysorbate solution or curcumin powder dissolved in alcohol is used for water-containing products. Over-coloring, such as in pickles, relishes, and mustard, is sometimes used to compensate for fading.

In combination with annatto (E160b), turmeric has been used to color cheeses, yogurt, dry mixes, salad dressings, winter butter and margarine. Turmeric is also used to give a yellow color to some prepared mustards, canned chicken broths and other foods (often as a much cheaper replacement for saffron).

• Paprika (E160c)

Paprika is a spice made from the grinding of dried fruits of Capsicum annuum (e.g., bell peppers or chili peppers). In many European languages, the wordpaprika refers to bell peppers themselves. The seasoning is used in many cuisines to add color and flavor to dishes. Paprika can range from mild to hot. Flavors also vary from country to country.


Paprika is produced in a number of places including Spain, Hungary, and California. It is used as an ingredient in a broad variety of dishes throughout the world. Paprika is principally used to season and color rices, stews, and soups, such as goulash, and in the preparation of sausages as an ingredient that is mixed with meats and other spices. In the United States, paprika is frequently sprinkled on foods as a garnish, but the flavor is more effectively produced by heating it gently in oil.

• Pandan (Pandanus amaryllifolius), a green food coloring

Pandanus amaryllifolius is a tropical plant in the screwpine genus which is known commonly as pandan and is used widely in Southeast Asian cooking as a flavoring. The plant is rare in the wild but is widely cultivated. It is an upright green plant with fan-shaped sprays of long, narrow, bladelike leaves and woodyaerial roots. The plant is sterile, flowers only very rarely, and is propagated by cuttings.


The leaves are sometimes steeped in coconut milk, which is then added to the dish. They may be tied in a bunch and cooked with the food. They may also be woven into a basket which is used as a pot for cooking rice. Pandan chicken, or gai ob bai toey, is a Thai dish with chicken wrapped in pandan leaves and fried. The leaves are also used as a flavoring for desserts such as pandan cake and sweet beverages.

• Butterfly pea (Clitoria ternatea), a blue food dye

In Southeast Asia the flowers are used to colour food. In Malay cooking, an aqueous extract is used to colour glutinous rice for kuih ketan (also known aspulut tai tai in Peranakan/Nyonya cooking) and in nonya chang. In Thailand, a syrupy blue drink is made called nam dok anchan (น้ำดอกอัญชัน). In Burma the flowers are used as food, often they are dipped in batter and fried.

In animal tests the methanolic extract of Clitoria ternatea roots demonstrated nootropic, anxiolytic, antidepressant, anticonvulsant and antistress activity.^[1]The active constituent(s) include Tannins, resins, Starch, Taraxerol & Taraxerone.

Clitoria ternatea root extracts are capable of curing whooping cough if taken orally^{[citation needed]}. The extract from the white-flowered plant can cure goiter. Its roots are used in ayurveda Indian medicine.

Recently, several biologically active peptides called cliotides have been isolated from the heat-stable fraction of Clitoria ternatea extract. Cliotides belong to the cyclotides family and acvities studies show that cliotides display potent antimicrobial activity against E. coli and cytotoxicity against HeLa cells. These peptides have potential to be lead compound for the development of novel antimicrobial and anti-cancer agents.

To ensure reproducibility, the colored components of these substances are often provided in highly purified form, and for increased stability and convenience, they can be formulated in suitable carrier materials (solid and liquids). Hexane, acetone and other solvents break down cell walls in the fruit and vegetables and allow for maximum extraction of the coloring. Residues of these often remain in the finished product, but they do not need to be declared on the product; this is because they are part of a group of substances known as carry-over ingredients.

Bahaya Bahan Pewarna Kimia

Pewarna makanan merupakan benda berwarna yang mengandungi bahan kimia terhadap makanan yang di warnainya. Tujuan pemberian warna berujuan agar makanan terlihat lebih berwarna sehingga menarik perhatian pengguna. Bahan pewarna umumnya dalam bentuk cecair dan serbuk yang larut di air.


Makanan olahan seperti kuih, minuman suplemen, dan aiskrim cenderung mengandungi kadar pewarna tambahan (aditif) yang tinggi. Pewarna tambahan buatan digunakan dalam industri makanan kerana berbagai alasan, di antaranya untuk:


> mengimbangi pemudaran warna kerana paparan cahaya, udara, perubahan suhu dan kelembapan
> memperbaiki variasi warna
> menguatkan warna yang terjadi secara semulajadi
> mewarnai bahan makanan yang tak berwarna
> membuat makanan lebih menarik sehingga mengundang selera




Beberapa kajian ilmiah telah mengaitkan penggunaan pewarna buatan dengan hiperaktif pada anak-anak. Hiperaktif adalah suatu keadaaan di mana anak mengalami kesulitan untuk memusatkan perhatian dan mengawal perilaku mereka.

Sebuah hasil penelitian yang diterbitkan di jurnal media terkemuka Lancet mengungkapkan bahwa beberapa zat pewarna makanan meningkatkan tingkat hiperaktif kanak-kanak usia 3-9 tahun. Kanak-kanak yang mengambil makanan yang mengandungi pewarna buatan selama bertahun-tahun lebih berisiko menunjukkan tanda-tanda hiperaktif. Selain risiko hiperaktif, sekelompok sangat kecil dari populasi kanak-kanak (sekitar 0,1%) juga mengalami kesan sampingan lain seperti: ruam, mual, asma, migrain dan mudah pitam.

Berikut adalah beberapa jenis pewarna buatan dan kesan samping yang ditimbulkan:

1. Tartrazine (E102 atau Yellow 5)

Tartrazine adalah pewarna kuning yang banyak digunakan dalam makanan dan ubat-ubatan. Selain berpotensi meningkatkan hiperaktiviti kanak-kanak, pada sekitar 1- 10 dari sepuluh ribu orang , tartrazine menimbulkan kesan samping langsung seperti urtikaria (ruam kulit), rinitis (hidung meler), asma, purpura (kulit lebam) dan anafilaksis sistemik (shock).

2. Sunset Yellow (E110, Orange Yellow S atau Yellow 6)

Sunset Yellow adalah pewarna yang dapat ditemukan dalam makanan seperti jus jeruk, aiskrim, keju, jeli, minuman soda dan banyak ubat-ubatan. Untuk sekelompok kecil individu, konsumsi pewarna aditif ini dapat menimbulkan urtikaria, rinitis, alergi, hiperaktif, sakit perut, mual, dan muntah.

Dalam beberapa penelitian sainstifik, zat ini telah dihubungkan dengan peningkatan kejadian tumor pada haiwan dan kerosakan kromosom, namun kadar konsumsi zat ini dalam kajian tersebut jauh lebih tinggi dari yang dikonsumsi manusia. Kajian Organisasi Kesihatan Dunia (WHO) tidak menemukan bukti insiden tumor meningkat baik dalam jangka pendek dan jangka panjang kaerana konsumsi Sunset Yellow.

3. Ponceau 4R (E124 atau SX Purple)

Ponceau 4R adalah pewarna merah hati yang digunakan dalam berbagai produk, termasuk selai, kuih, agar-agar dan minuman ringan. Selain berpotensi memicu hiperaktiviti pada kanak-kanak, Ponceau 4R dianggap karsinogenik (penyebab kanser) di beberapa negara, termasuk Amerika Serikat, Norwegia, dan Finlandia. US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) sejak tahun 2000 telah menyita permis dan makanan buatan Cina yang mengandung Ponceau 4R. Pewarna aditif ini juga dapat meningkatkan serapan aluminium sehingga melebihi batas toleransi.

4. Allura Red (E129)

Allura Red adalah pewarna sinetis merah jingga yang banyak digunakan pada makanan dan minuman. Allura Red sudah dilarang di banyak negara lain, termasuk Belgia, Perancis, Jerman, Swedia, Austria dan Norwegia.

Sebuah kajian menunjukkan bahwa reaksi hipersensitif terjadi pada 15% orang yang menggunakan Allura Red. Dalam kajian itu, 52 peserta yang telah menderita gatal-gatal atau ruam kulit selama empat minggu atau lebih diikutkan dalam program diet yang sama sekali tidak mengandung Allura Red dan makanan lain yang diketahui dapat menyebabkan ruam atau gatal-gatal. Setelah tiga minggu tidak ada gejala, para peserta kembali diberi makanan yang mengandung Allura Red dan dimonitor. Dari pengujian itu, 15% kembali menunjukkan gejala ruam atau gatal-gatal.

5. Quinoline Yellow (E104)

Pewarna makanan kuning ini digunakan dalam produk seperti aiskrim dan minuman energi. Zat ini sudah dilarang di banyak negara termasuk Australia, Amerika, Jepang dan Norwegia karena dianggap meningkatkan risiko hiperaktiviti dan serangan asma.

Chemical Food Colouring

Food coloring

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Food coloring spreading on a thin water film in the International Space Station.

Food coloring is a substance, liquid or powder, that is added to food or drink to change its color. Food coloring is used both in commercial food production and in domestic cooking. Due to its safety and general availability, food coloring is also used in a variety of non-food applications, for example in home craft projects and in education.

People associate certain colors with certain flavors, and the color of food can influence the perceived flavor in anything from candy to wine.^[1] For this reason, food manufacturers add these dyes to their products. Sometimes the aim is to simulate a color that is perceived by the consumer as natural, such as adding red coloring to glacé cherries (which would otherwise be beige), but sometimes it is for effect, like the green ketchup that Heinz launched in 1999.

Purpose of food coloring

While most consumers are aware that food with bright or unnatural colors (such as the green ketchup mentioned above, or children's cereals such as Froot Loops) likely contain food coloring, far fewer people know that seemingly "natural" foods such as oranges and salmon are sometimes also dyed to mask natural variations in color.^[2] Color variation in foods throughout the seasons and the effects of processing and storage often make color addition commercially advantageous to maintain the color expected or preferred by the consumer. Some of the primary reasons include:

• Offsetting color loss due to light, air, extremes of temperature, moisture, and storage conditions.
• Masking natural variations in color.
• Enhancing naturally occurring colors.
• Providing identity to foods.
• Protecting flavors and vitamins from damage by light.
• Decorative or artistic purposes such as cake icing.
• Birthdays and other celebration

C is for COOKIES!

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Food Additives ARE as BAD as We Feared

By SEAN POULTER

Parents have been warned to avoid artificial additives used in drinks, sweets and processed foods amid a link to behaviour problems in children.
A study funded by the government's Food Standards Agency(FSA) is understood to have drawn a link with temper tantrums and poor concentration.
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Researchers have found a definite link between additives and temper problems with children

There are also concerns about allergic reactions such as asthma and rashes.
The findings are potentially explosive for the entire food industry, which faces the need to reformulate a vast array of children's products.
Vyvyan Howard, professor of bio-imaging at Ulster University and an adviser to the FSA, called on parents and manufacturers to protect children.
He said: "It is biologically plausible that they could be having an effect.
"Parents can protect their children by avoiding foods containing the additives. I personally do not feed these sorts of foods to my 15-month-old daughter."
He called on manufacturers and supermarkets to remove the additives on a precautionary basis.
He said: "It is the right thing to do to remove these additives from children's foods. They have no nutritional value, so why put them in?
"There are very tight restrictions banning these additives from foods designed for children under the age of one.
"But why stop there? Children's brains and nervous systems are developing beyond the age of one."
Prof Howard is not a member of the FSA committee assessing the latest research, however he did advise on how the study should be conducted.
Experts on the FSA's Committee on Toxicity(CoT) are expected to say that parents who want to minimise any risk of an adverse reaction should avoid these additives.
Some leading companies have already responded to mounting evidence of harm caused by chemical additives, particularly the vivid colours used to dress up products.
Smarties has dropped artificial colours with the result the blue variety has been axed.
Sainsbury's recently announced a ban on artificial colours and flavours from 120 own label soft drinks. This follows similar moves by Marks & Spencer and the Co-op.
The research, carried out by a team from Southampton University, appears to confirm earlier studies suggesting additives can cause reactions, either individually or as a cocktail.
The colours, tested on groups of three-year-olds and eight-to-nine year olds, were tartrazine (E102), ponceau 4R (E124), sunset yellow (E110), carmoisine (E122), quinoline yellow (E104) and allura red AC (E129).
The team also looked at the effect of the preservative sodium benzoate (E211), which is commonly used in soft drinks.
Precise details of the research findings are being kept secret until they can be peer reviewed and published in a scientific journal.
However, a source at Southampton University told the food industry's magazine, The Grocer, that their results are in line with earlier findings, published in 2004.
The original research, which took place on the Isle of Wight, involved giving fruit drinks to children aged three. In some weeks, these were laced with additives.
Parents reported changed behaviour when the youngsters were given the additives.
However, the original findings were questioned because they relied on anecdotal reports from parents while the fact the children were so young made it difficult to measure their behaviour in a meaningful way.
Because of these doubts, a second tranche of research was commissioned following advice from an expert committee, which included Professor Howard.
The Founder of the Hyperactive Children Support Group, Sally Bunday, said there is good evidence that artificial additives can have a harmful effect.
She said: "The consequences can be very serious for both children and adults who are sensitive to these artificial colours.
"The reaction in children can be horrendous in terms of mood swings with crying, screaming, inability to sleep. There can also be physical reactions such as difficulty in breathing on skin rashes.
"For a young person there is also a risk of quite angry mood swings."
The founder of the organic brand Organix, Lizzie Vann, has been campaigning for a ban on all artificial additives from children's food.
"The use of artificial additives in children?s foods means we are conducting a long-term experiment on our children?s health," she said.
"If the Government is serious about improving children?s nutrition the ban on artificial food additives must be a priority."
The Food & Drink Federation, which speaks for manufacturers, said the colours and chemicals used by the industry are proven to be safe.
"The use of food additives is strictly regulated under European law," it said.
"They must be approved as safe by the appropriate European scientific committee before they can be used...Consumers' intake of food additives is also closely monitored.
"A recent European Commission report on 'Dietary Food Additive Intake' indicated that consumption of all types of additives was within the strict safety limits set by the legislation. Particular attention was given to consumption by children."
The FSA and Southampton University refused to comment until the research has been officially published.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-453431/The-proof-food-additives-ARE-bad-feared.html#ixzz1X92tqN5y