FOOD ADDITIVE AND STANDARDS UNIT
CHEMICAL PRESERVATIVE:
PARABENS IN FOODS
WHAT ARE PARABENS?
Parabens are chemicals widely used as
preservatives in personal care products
such as cosmetics and pharmaceutical
product. Common parabens are methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben,
and butylparaben. Parabens occur
naturally at low levels in certain foods,
such as barley, strawberries, currants,
vanilla, carrots, and onions. But, it is
banned in food products in Malaysia.
However, FDA and USDA allow parabens to be added to food with certain
permissible level.
You’ll find them
listed on thousands
of
personal care
products such as
shampoos, mascara,
foundations and
body lotions.
BUT
DID YOU
KNOW THAT
IT IS ADDED
TO FOOD
PRODUCTS
AS WELL???
WHY PARABENS ARE ADDED TO FOODS?
Act as antimicrobials to
prevent food spoilage
Used in food
packaging
Prolong shelf life of food
products
DO YOU
KNOW THAT
PARABENS
ARE BANNED
IN FOODS IN
OUR
COUNTRY???
Although parabens are banned in Malaysia, people
may be less aware of the use of Parabens in some
foodstuffs mainly in foreign countries, identifiable
on labelling as additives E214-219. FDA and USDA
recognized it as safe with certain permissible level.
The most commonly used Parabens in food are
Methylparaben (food additive E218) and Ethylparaben (E214). Commonly added in food products
such as in baked goods, sauces, juices and jellies.
DETECTION OF PARABENS IN FOODS
Sampling on food samples
Simplified Methanol extraction procedure
HPLC Separation of all four Parabens
Detection of analytes if present
TOXIC AND ADVERSE EFFECT OF PARABENS
Human and animal studies have failed to show that parabens have any acute
toxicity. Therefore, many studies have involved long term effects of chronic
exposure such as:
•
Propyl paraben causes reduction of daily sperm production at the lowest dose
level tested at 10 mg/kg body weight per day.
•
May contribute to development of cancerous tumors.
"If you wanted to create a nation of
underperforming children, you could hardly do
better
than to add a preservative known to cause
learning difficulties to an everyday staple food"
- Sue Dengate
Bhuvaneswary a/p Gunasagaran, MKA Ipoh