Does the preserved egg contain high lead? what if the heavy metal content exceeds the standard? Preserved egg export market US and Canada earn foreign exchange

Preserved eggs have a special smell and are a common ingredient in China. At present, they are also exported to the United States, Canada and other countries, but the European Union has not yet allowed Taiwan to import preserved eggs, and the Food and Drug Administration is currently submitting it to the European Union for review. In addition, there are many rumors among the people about preserved eggs, even saying that preserved eggs are soaked in "horse urine", or that lead-containing eggs turn black. The Food and Drug Administration said that preserved egg products on the market will be checked irregularly, and if the heavy metal content exceeds the standard, the maximum penalty is 3 million yuan.

According to the Prevention and Inspection Bureau, preserved eggs are made from washed duck eggs or eggs, soaked in sodium hydroxide solution with a pH value above 13 and soaked at room temperature for 45 to 55 days. Taiwan is a common food in Taiwan and overseas Chinese areas. Taiwan has applied to the European Union for the import of preserved eggs by the Food and Drug Administration, which is under review by the European side.

At present, domestic preserved eggs are mainly exported to the United States. From January to March this year, 122 metric tons have been exported, including salted eggs, with a total value of NT $17,781 million. In addition, Canada, Australia, Japan and Hong Kong have each exported 22 metric tons, 58 metric tons and 1 metric ton. Peng Mingxing, head of the animal inspection team of the Prevention and Quarantine Bureau, said that the export of preserved eggs to the United States, Canada, and Australia must be accompanied by animal quarantine certificates issued by the Prevention and Quarantine Bureau, mainly for the quarantine results of poultry diseases such as bird flu. As for preserved eggs exported to Japan and Hong Kong, quarantine certificates are not required.

Alkaline substances change the characteristics of protein. White eggs turn black.

In the early production of preserved eggs, the way of burning rice stalks was often used to wrap the ashes containing alkaline minerals in raw eggs and decompose proteins through alkaline substances to make proteins more flexible. At the same time, under the action of chemistry, proteins decompose to produce the smell of ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, making unwitting people think that they are made from horse urine. Nowadays, in order to mass production, most of them are soaked in edible grade sodium hydroxide. when making preserved eggs, some manufacturers will add lead oxide and copper sulfate to block the pores in the eggshell, improve the success rate of making preserved eggs and prolong the preservation time.

The Food and Drug Administration recommends that the products certified with the "CAS" mark should be selected when purchasing preserved eggs, because the certification represents the evaluation of the manufacturer's software and hardware equipment and hygiene management, and the eggs are tested to be free of pesticide drug residues, the products are sterilized at low temperature, and after removing pathogenic bacteria, they are produced and transported by professional factories, and the packaging also conforms to the hygienic Standard for Container Packaging of Food utensils laid down by the Food and Drug Administration. The clean eggs packaged independently meet the hygiene requirements.

As for the packaging labeling part of preserved eggs, because lead is not a nutrient, the "lead-free" label does not fall within the scope of nutrition claims. If manufacturers use food additives such as sodium hydroxide, they need to be marked in the outer package. The smell and color of preserved eggs are very different from ordinary eggs, some people like it and some people don't like it.

Preserved eggs with excessive lead can be fined up to 3 million

The FDA said that according to the Egg Hygiene Standards, the lead content of poultry egg products should not be higher than 0.3ppm, and the copper content should not be higher than 5 ppm. According to Article 17 of the Food Safety and Hygiene Management Law, manufacturers' products do not comply with hygiene and safety, and the products will be destroyed. If the manufacturer fails to make corrections within the time limit, he may impose a fine of 30 to 3 million yuan.