The longer the shelf life of food, the more preservatives it contains?

The longer the shelf life of food, the more preservatives it contains?

This is not the case. It is undeniable that adding preservatives can indeed extend the shelf life of food, but it is not the only, most effective and cheapest way. Moreover, the addition of preservatives is not unlimited and must comply with relevant national standards and regulations. Excessive addition of preservatives not only cannot extend the shelf life of food indefinitely, but may also cause potential harm to human health. The shelf life of food is determined by a variety of factors, including internal and external factors: · Internal factors: mainly include the moisture content, sugar content, salt content, etc. of the food. For example, foods with high sugar, high salt or high acid, such as honey, pickles, vinegar, wine, etc., can extend the shelf life because the substances they contain have natural preservative effects, so their shelf life is relatively long. · External factors: mainly involve food packaging and production processes. Some foods have been processed by sterilization, vacuum, sealing and other processes during the production process, which effectively blocks the growth and reproduction of bacteria, so they can be stored for a long time even without adding preservatives. In other words, the length of food's shelf life is not necessarily related to the amount of preservatives, but is determined by a variety of factors. When buying food with a longer shelf life, you don't need to worry too much about the amount of preservatives added.

Author: Doubao, Master of Food Processing and Safety, Beijing Forestry University

Reviewer: Zhang Yu, researcher/PhD, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, national health science expert