Mom is still using plastic bottles to store seasonings? Throw them away!

The five flavors blend to create a hundred flavors! Our food culture emphasizes "color, fragrance, and taste", and condiments are an indispensable ingredient in making delicious food.

For the convenience of use, many families put spices next to the stove. Besides being convenient, it also poses health risks. For example, spices that need to be refrigerated are prone to mold and hair growth when placed at room temperature; spices that need to be stored dry will become damp and deteriorate over time...

Our lives are inseparable from firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea, but many people still have blind spots in their knowledge of seasoning storage: a hot search on Weibo about oyster sauce storage attracted 600 million people to watch, and most netizens said: refresh your cognition, I only now know that oyster sauce should be kept in the refrigerator!

Looking at the pictures of netizens’ oyster sauce growing mold and hair is really scary.

In addition to oyster sauce, how should we scientifically store seasonings such as oil, salt, sauce, vinegar, sugar, MSG, ketchup, pepper, etc. at home?

Salt, chicken essence, sugar sealed

The kitchen is humid, and salt, chicken essence, sugar, etc. are directly exposed to moisture and easily clump. Although it does not affect the quality and edibility, it will affect the melting speed when cooking.

Therefore, if you mind clumping, you should pay attention to moisture-proof, store it in a sealed and cool and ventilated place.

Powdered condiments, dry sealed

Foods like Sichuan pepper powder, pepper powder, cumin powder, etc. are all made from the stems, roots, fruits, and leaves of plants. They have strong spicy or aromatic tastes and contain a large amount of volatile oils, which are easy to mold.

Therefore, these seasonings should be stored in bags that are sealed and kept dry to prevent moisture and mildew.

Dry goods and seasonings, stay away from the stove

Dried condiments such as peppercorns, aniseed, bay leaves, and dried chilies must also be protected from moisture and mildew. The more moisture and the higher the temperature, the easier it is to mold, so it is best not to place them near the stove. They can be stored in a dry and sealed place. They must also be cleaned before use. If moldy, they should not be eaten.

Liquid seasoning bottle caps

Liquid condiments such as soy sauce, vinegar, oil, chili oil, and pepper oil should be stored differently according to the container. If they are bottled, tighten the cap after use;

If it is bagged, pour it into a clean and dry bottle after opening, tighten the lid, keep it away from the stove, and place it in a cool and ventilated place.

Sauces and condiments, refrigerated

Chili sauce, bean paste, soybean sauce, noodle sauce and other sauces and condiments generally contain about 60% water. They are generally sterilized after packaging. If they are to be stored for a long time, they should be tightly covered and refrigerated in the refrigerator.

In addition to understanding how to store them, let's talk about a common phenomenon in many families - parents at home like to use plastic beverage bottles to pack soy sauce, vinegar, oil and other condiments. This may seem fine on the surface, but it actually poses a significant health risk.

Most plastic beverage bottles are made of PET, but the difference is that the bottles for each beverage are "tailor-made", that is, at the beginning of design and production, corresponding "migration experiments" will be carried out to ensure that when the PET plastic bottle is used to hold the beverage, the harmful substances migrating into the beverage will not exceed the safety limit.

In other words, there is no problem when PET plastic bottles are used to hold original products. However, if they are reused and the original beverage is replaced with sauce, vinegar, oil, etc., it becomes unsafe!

Clear studies have shown that for the same PET plastic bottle at the same temperature, the migration amount of phthalates (a type of plasticizer) in water and oil differs by nearly 20 times.

If vinegar is added, the acidic pH of vinegar may also greatly enhance the migration rate of certain metal catalysts in PET. (The same applies to alkaline seasonings)

At the same time, the high temperature in the kitchen or stove will also intensify molecular activity, prompting the migration and diffusion of harmful substances. According to the thermodynamic diffusion curve model, above 60°C, the diffusion rate of various harmful substances basically increases exponentially.

In addition, long-term use is also a problem. For example, a bottle can be used for a year or so. But in fact, when plastic bottles are used according to the original design, they also have a limited lifespan. The longer the time, the greater the migration. When you switch to condiments, coupled with long-term use, the risk will increase greatly.

In short, when using plastic beverage bottles to store kitchen condiments, the harmful substances in the bottle are very likely to migrate into the condiments and harm your health.

So, after you finish drinking a drink, just throw away the bottle. There is no waste. Compared with your health, the few dollars saved are not worth mentioning!

Source: Youlai Healthy Life