Consumer Sovereignty: "Meat Processed Foods Lack Content Labeling for Carcinogenic Food Additives"

Status of Food Additive Usage in 25 Surveyed Products (Source: Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice)

[Asia Economy Reporter Seungjin Lee] It has been revealed that there are no risk or warning labels regarding potentially harmful food additives in processed meat products such as ham and sausages.

On the 15th, the Citizens' Coalition for Consumer Sovereignty announced the results of a survey on the status of food additives in 25 processed meat products from the top five domestic companies by sales volume: CJ CheilJedang, Daesang Cheongjeongwon, Dongwon F&B, Lotte Foods, and Mokwoochon.

According to the survey results, food additives accounted for about 45% of the total number of raw materials (104) in the 25 products, with 57 additives identified. The ratio of food additives to raw materials was highest at CJ CheilJedang with 52.8%, followed by Daesang Cheongjeongwon at 52.8%. Next were Dongwon F&B at 48.4%, Lotte Foods at 37.7%, and Mokwoochon at 37.2%.

The most commonly used food additive in most products was sodium nitrite, used in 22 out of the 25 surveyed products. Sodium nitrite is a coloring agent that, when heated to high temperatures or burned, produces nitrosamines, which are known carcinogens.

L-glutamic acid sodium salt (MSG) was the second most used additive, found in 19 of the 25 products. It is known to transform into carcinogenic substances at high temperatures and is also associated with causing obesity. Other additives used included cochineal extract, lactone color, and caramel color, which are food additives that can cause allergies or induce carcinogenesis.

However, none of the products displayed the amount of food additives used, and there were no risk or warning labels regarding the consumption of food additives. Additionally, in some manufacturers' cases, only the purpose of the additive was indicated without specifying the exact name of the additive.

In this regard, the Citizens' Coalition for Consumer Sovereignty stated, "For foods containing harmful food additives, a grace period should be provided until the designation is canceled, during which caution or warning labels must be displayed," and "Some additives, such as cochineal color, should be banned from use in foods intended for children at a minimum."

They also emphasized that food additives recognized by consumers as harmful should be deregistered from the Food Additives Codex, and that legal and institutional improvements related to labeling systems should be made to fulfill consumers' right to know.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.