The picture shows that vegetables tied with tape are very common in supermarkets. (Photo source: Peninsula Morning News Photographer Meng Nan)

Does the tape used to tie vegetables in supermarkets contain "poison"?

The reporter sent the tape for inspection, and the relevant departments intervened in the investigation

On the vegetable counters of many supermarkets in the city, bundles of vegetables tied with tape attracted many citizens to buy. However, people often pay attention to whether the vegetables are fresh, but often ignore the tape tied to the vegetables. Yesterday, the reporter found that the lowest online price of a roll of vegetable tape was only 60 cents. Some tapes even marked that the raw materials contained corrosive organic glass glue. Due to the lack of testing standards, there are still doubts whether the tape residue is harmful to the human body. Relevant experts remind citizens to be vigilant about vegetable tape. Yesterday, the reporter bought three kinds of green vegetables in the supermarket, all of which were tied with different styles of tape. The Food Safety Risk Assessment, Inspection and Monitoring Center of the Xigang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention has retained samples and intervened in the investigation.

Market: Tape-bound vegetables are common in supermarkets

Yesterday, reporters interviewed many supermarkets in Dalian and found that it is common to directly bind vegetables with tape. At Wal-Mart Supermarket Olympic Plaza Store, reporters saw that celery, leeks, garlic sprouts, rapeseed, lettuce, etc. on the vegetable racks were tied with 1 cm wide blue tape, some tied to the stems of vegetables, and some tied directly to the leaves.

A supermarket staff member said that the use of tape to bind vegetables is mainly to prevent the leaves from falling off, which is both beautiful and easy to carry. At the same time, it can also prevent consumers from picking and damaging vegetables at will, "It's the same reason as using straw ropes to bind vegetables in the morning market." The staff member said.

In a supermarket in Xigang District, reporters saw that most leafy vegetables were also tied with tape. Citizen Ms. Wang told reporters that she often buys vegetables in supermarkets, but she felt that the vegetable stems were a little sticky after the tape that bound the green vegetables was torn off. "I don't know what these tapes are made of, and whether the glue on them has any effect on the human body." Ms. Wang said that she would soak the green vegetables in the supermarket with fruit and vegetable cleaner before putting them into the pot.

"I think the supermarket does this just to sell the green vegetables in bundles." Citizen Mr. Li believes that it is not reasonable to use tape to bundle vegetables, and the glue left on them is not easy to deal with.

Online: The lowest price of vegetable bundling tape is 6 cents

During the interview, the reporter found that most of the tapes used by supermarkets to bundle vegetables were not marked with information such as the factory name, address, and production date. The supermarket staff did not know where these tapes were purchased from.

Yesterday, the reporter found that some online stores specialize in selling tape products for bundling vegetables. The cheapest one is 1 cm wide and 46 meters long per roll. The price is only 6 cents, and it is indicated that the material is polypropylene film and acrylic glue.

The reporter found out from the information that polypropylene film is usually used to process food plastic bags and is a relatively safe food packaging material. But acrylic glue is often called plexiglass glue. According to some data, plexiglass glue is corrosive and toxic, and masks should be worn for long-term contact. The country has issued mandatory standards for plexiglass glue, but this standard is mainly used for "limits of harmful substances in adhesives for indoor building decoration materials" and does not contain any relevant statements for use in food.

The various bundled tapes sold in online stores are labeled as "environmentally friendly" and are sold at prices ranging from 0.6 yuan to 3 yuan per roll, but all stores do not have relevant test reports that are harmless to the human body.

Submission for inspection: Relevant departments intervene to determine whether the tape contains "toxicity"

Nong Shaozhuang, a food expert at Dalian University of Technology, said that China currently lacks testing standards for the safety of vegetable bundled tape, and most institutions in Dalian are currently unable to test related content.

Yesterday, the reporter bought three kinds of vegetables from several supermarkets, which were tied with blue and red tapes respectively, and sent them to the Food Safety Risk Assessment, Inspection and Monitoring Center of the Xigang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The center has obtained laboratory accreditation and food testing agency accreditation, and is currently applying for national laboratory accreditation. Relevant experts from the center also said that China currently lacks national testing standards and judgment standards for food-grade tapes. "The glue standards formulated by the state are mainly applicable to the decoration and decoration industry and belong to the category of industrial glue." Experts said that if the tape uses organic glass glue, it should be industrial glue, and the chemical composition needs further analysis.

"But the tape is used to bundle vegetables, and it can be compared with the relevant national standards for food packaging." Experts said that the food packaging link includes relevant identification of plastic packaging. The center has received three samples and analyzed the composition of their adhesives.

This reporter will further follow up on the test results of the vegetable bundling tape.

Experts¡¯ opinions

Vegetable tying tape is difficult to remove or may harm the body

Nong Shaozhuang told reporters that tapes are divided into food-grade tapes and ordinary tapes, of which the most critical is adhesives, but there are no relevant labels on the use of tapes on the market, so people cannot determine whether the material is safe. Nong Shaozhuang said that some adhesives are chemical and may contain harmful chemicals such as plasticizers that affect the human body. If used for a long time, it will be harmful to the human body.

Relevant experts from the Food Safety Risk Assessment, Inspection and Monitoring Center of the Xigang District Center for Disease Control and Prevention said that general glue may contain chemical components such as benzene, formaldehyde, and polyacrylate. At room temperature, these components are stable, but at high temperatures, they may release substances that are harmful to the human body. Moreover, experts found that the viscosity of vegetable tying tape is very high, and it even adheres to rubber gloves during inspection. Therefore, it is recommended that consumers cut off the remaining tape when purchasing such vegetables.

Learning from others: Some cities have stopped using tape to bundle vegetables

Foreign countries: There are adhesives that can be used directly on the surface of food, and labels directly attached to fruits and vegetables use food-grade adhesives. Other cities in China

Some cities require local supermarkets to stop using tape to bundle vegetables for sale, and recommend using ropes to bundle vegetables, or using paper or non-polluting plastic film under the tape when bundling vegetables.

In 2011, the Harbin Municipal Agricultural Committee issued a "Notice on Prohibition of Direct Use of Tape to Bundle Vegetables for Sale", believing that the glue contains a variety of chemical components, which is difficult to clean and can easily cause harm to the human body, so it is necessary to stop it. The notice clearly emphasizes that if manufacturers still use tape to bundle vegetables, they will be fined less than 2,000 yuan once discovered.

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