As the saying goes: "The country is based on the people, and the people depend on food." Food is the material basis and guarantee for human survival. In recent years, with the rapid development of food industry, more and more processed foods have entered the public's field of vision, and the broad masses of the people are paying more and more attention to food safety.
Propylene glycol is a colorless, odorless, slightly viscous liquid that is slightly thicker than water. It has almost no taste and is a chemically synthesized food additive. Like ethanol, it belongs to alcohols. In addition, as an organic solvent, it can dissolve some organic solutes better than water, and it can also hold water well. Because of these special chemical properties, it is widely used in cosmetics. Propylene glycol can usually be used as a moisturizer, softener, solvent, etc., and it has excellent moisturizing effect. It can be used in almost all cosmetics.
In addition to the field of cosmetics, it is also indispensable in the field of food. But we pay little attention to it. According to the "GB 2760-2014 National Food Safety Standard Food Additive Use Standard", the functions of propylene glycol are: stabilizer, coagulant, anticaking agent, defoamer, emulsifier, moisture retention agent, thickener. It is often used as a food emulsifier added to bread, butter and other products. In addition, propylene glycol is often used in beer processing and extraction processes as a solvent for aroma substances. In addition, for people who like to bake, propylene glycol is a common product which can help pastries get better taste and flavor.
Propylene glycol is a legal food additive in our country, with such a wide range of applications, is it poisonous? According to the national standard, the safe intake of propylene glycol is the standard set by the International Joint Expert Group on Food Additives, that is, the daily intake of propylene glycol should not exceed 25 mg per kilogram of body weight. For adults with a body weight of 70 kg, the maximum daily intake should not exceed 1.75 grams. At present, in the field of pastry food production such as cakes, when propylene glycol is used as an additive, the method adopted is basically that the content of propylene glycol does not exceed 3 grams per kilogram of food.
Propylene glycol can be approved for use as a food additive and has passed a strict safety assessment. Under "standard use scenarios and intake", "long-term consumption" will not be harmful to health.