The application prospect of vegetable carbon black in the food field has attracted much attention

　　Earlier this year, Danone's brand Activia launched a yogurt with the theme of "black charcoal" in the Ukrainian market, which became a hit all over the Internet as soon as it was launched. Previously, "black" foods such as coconut ash ice cream and black cupcakes have become popular food. It is undeniable that "black" food has brought a lot of discussion to the product itself with the unique color of anti-classic, combined with digital marketing to bring unexpected gains to the brand, and also made the application prospect of plant carbon black, an unpopular food additive, receive unprecedented attention.

　　There is no doubt that the anti-classic, anti-routine "black" food concept helps brands quickly open up the market and occupy the attention of consumers, and is an efficient choice for brands to gain high attention in the short term. Why does black food attract consumer attention and enthusiastic discussion?

　　In the traditional concept, "black" and "delicious" are completely incompatible, and even when making word meaning associations, it is more likely to be associated with "dark cuisine", which is completely unable to stimulate appetite. However, it is precisely because of the challenge to this traditional thinking logic, and the strong impact on the thinking formed by the word-of-mouth recommendation of many celebrities and Internet celebrities, which quickly stimulates the curiosity of ordinary consumers, forms a boom in the punch card experience, and naturally causes discussions about the appearance and interior of the food and the enthusiasm of "sun map" sharing, so that "black" food has quickly become Internet red food and received a lot of attention.

　　In fact, in addition to the internet celebrity brand, global dairy giants like Danone are trying to do this, so what kind of food additives is food-grade activated charcoal? Why do brands choose to use it as a "pioneer" in developing social markets?

Add new flavors to your food

　　Activated charcoal as a food additive is actually not common, so far, more commonly used in medicine, as an antidote to adsorb gastric toxins, but this also proves that it can enter the human digestive system.

　　At present, China and most countries in the world allow food-grade activated carbon as a food material to enter the processing process. Food-grade activated charcoal refers to the use of plant carbon black as a colorant, and also refers to activated charcoal that is only used as a food aid, which needs to be removed in the final food. However, activated carbon, which is often said in product advertisements, generally refers to plant carbon black.

　　The most common method of production of food-grade activated charcoal is to heat coconut shells to extremely high temperatures until they are carbonized or completely burned out, and then the ash produced is treated with steam or hot air at the same temperature to form a "microporous structure". This process greatly increases the surface area of charcoal and also explains why it is a well-effective antidote.

　　The authoritative article reads: "You can think of activated carbon as a sponge with many small holes in it. In fact, it is these small pores that give activated carbon powerful adsorption properties, which refers to the process by which atoms or molecules from gases, liquids, or dissolved solids bind to the surface of activated carbon. ”

　　Food-grade activated charcoal has little to no effect on the taste and flavor of food, which provides a rich space for food processors to operate. That's why Morgenstern, which is popular in the United States, added coconut and caramelized honey vanilla to its black ice cream launch in 2017, while another brand, Little Damage, offers a variety of mixed flavor options, such as plant charcoal black almond flavors.

　　In addition, a restaurant in Austin, Texas, usa, made a batch of black ice cream for the first time in 2017 as a Halloween limited product. Due to the popularity of the product, this ice cream has appeared on its menu several times since then. When the owner first decided to make black ice cream, he originally wanted to use cuttlefish juice or black sesame seeds. But in the end, it was found that plant carbon black was the best choice: "Plant carbon black is the most appropriate." Not only does it add a little crunchy texture to the food, but it's surprising that the charcoal and ice cream mix can be so smooth and harmonious. ”

Security is a concern

　　2018 can be said to be a year when plant carbon black is highly active in the market as a food additive, and black ice cream and black cupcakes have become high-frequency hot spots in life and social networks. But when "black" internet celebrity food was in full swing to market and seize the market, in July 2018, the Health and Mental Health Department of New York City announced a ban on the addition of activated charcoal to food and beverages, and required relevant merchants to clean up inventory, thus ending the sales of black ice cream, black latte, black cupcake and other internet celebrity products.

　　The New York City Department of Health and Mental Health said in a statement that the use of activated charcoal as a food additive or food colorant is prohibited under U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations. Because according to expert opinions, the adsorption effect of activated carbon is "equal", that is, it not only absorbs harmful substances in the body, but also "packs away" the nutrients ingested in the body; for people during the medication, it will also affect the effect of the drug, which will cause constipation and even dehydration when serious.

　　So are the plant charcoal black foods on the market inedible?

　　Although there is abuse in the use of vegetable carbon black as a food additive at home or abroad, this does not mean that foods with added plant carbon black are inedible.

　　According to the provisions of China's food additive use standards, plant carbon black belongs to food additives, is a colorant, in frozen drinks (except for edible ice), candy, pastries, biscuits in the maximum use of 5 grams / kg. However, functional publicity is not allowed in advertising, such as claiming that its products can "lose weight", "beautify", "detoxify" and so on. The European Union, Japan and other countries have also approved plant carbon black as edible melanin, which can be used in food production. That is, if plant charcoal black is used as a colorant in food, it is edible within a certain dose.

　　Relevant industry insiders also said that although there is indeed a risk in eating activated charcoal, but only a small dose does not have to worry, "the activated carbon that affects the absorption of drugs is medical grade, if it is added to the ice cream cost will be very high, the merchant will not do this." ”

　　It can be seen that if it is edible grade of vegetable carbon black, it can be eaten in small doses. In addition, consumers should pay special attention to whether the edible vegetable charcoal black or the crude bamboo charcoal used in the charcoal-containing food is used (bamboo charcoal cannot be used as a food additive). When producing and packaging food containing vegetable charcoal black, producers should also label them reasonably and compliantly, such as "vegetable carbon black ice cream" and "vegetable carbon black cake", instead of replacing them with activated carbon or bamboo charcoal. Otherwise, it is easy to cause consumer misunderstanding, and it is not conducive to market supervision, so that food with non-compliant bamboo charcoal can be taken advantage of to enter the market. (Jiao Rui)