Plant carbon black is not plant activated carbon, give plant carbon black a proper name

1、 Food additive - Requirements for plant carbon black
The scope of the "National Food Safety Standard for Plant Carbon Black as a Food Additive" (GB 28308-2012), issued on April 25, 2012 and implemented on June 25, 2012, stipulates that this standard applies to plant carbon black as a food additive produced from plants as raw materials through carbonization and refinement.
Physical and chemical items and indicators specified in national standards:
Drying reduction, w/% ≤ 12.0;
Carbon content (on a dry basis), w/% ≥ 95;
Ash content, w/% ≤ 4.0;
Alkali soluble chromogenic substances have passed the test;
Advanced aromatic hydrocarbons have passed the test;
Total arsenic (calculated as As)/(mg/kg) ≤ 3;
Lead (Pb)/(mg/kg) ≤ 10;
Cadmium (Ge)/(mg/kg) ≤ 1;
Mercury (Hg)/(mg/kg) ≤ 1.
Plant carbon black that meets the above standards can be used as a food additive, and the process requires a refining process.
2、 Correct Use of Plant Carbon Black in Food
At present, the use of food additives in food in China is implemented in accordance with the "National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives" (GB 2760-2014) implemented on May 24, 2015.
Plant carbon black that meets the requirements of the National Food Safety Standard for Food Additives - Plant Carbon Black (GB 28308-2012) can be used as a food additive colorant (natural edible melanin).
According to the National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives (GB 2760-2014) and the original National Health and Family Planning Commission's Announcement No. 8 of 2016, plant carbon black as a food additive can be used in six categories of food: frozen beverages (excluding edible ice), pastries, biscuits, candies, dough, and collagen casings. Among them, the maximum usage of frozen beverages (excluding edible ice), pastries, biscuits, and candies is 5.0g/kg; The maximum usage of Fenyuan is 1.5g/kg; Collagen casing is added according to production requirements.
The definition of varieties is determined by the following categories and interpretations:
03.0 frozen beverages (excluding 03.04 edible ice): including 03.01 ice cream and ice cream; 03.03 Flavored ice and popsicles.
05.02 Candies: including hard candies, crisp candies, burnt sweet candies, milk candies, tablet candies, gel candies, inflatable candies, gum based candies and other candies.
06.05.02.04 Powder round: A spherical non instant product made from starch through granulation process.
07.02 pastry: Food made mainly from grains, oil, sugar, and/or sweeteners, eggs, etc., with an appropriate amount of auxiliary materials added, and processed through processes such as modulation, shaping, and ripening. It includes: 07.02.01 Chinese pastry (excluding mooncakes), 07.02.02 Western pastry, 07.02.03 mooncake, and 07.02.04 pastry colored packaging.
07.03 Cookies: including sandwich and decorative biscuits, wafer biscuits, Chicken rolls and other biscuits.
16.03 Collagen casing.
During the food processing of the above categories, plant carbon black as a food additive can be used in accordance with the provisions of the "National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives" (GB 2760-2014) and the original announcement of the National Health and Family Planning Commission. The maximum usage of frozen drinks (excluding edible ice), pastries, biscuits, and candies is 5.0g/kg; The maximum usage of Fenyuan is 1.5g/kg; Collagen casing is added according to production requirements.
3、 The difference between plant charcoal black and bamboo charcoal
Plant carbon black is made from plant stems and shells, which are carbonized and refined.
Food additive plant carbon black is a plant carbon black that meets the requirements of the National Food Safety Standard for Food Additives Plant Carbon Black (GB 28308-2012) and can be used as a food additive colorant. The scope of this standard is applicable to the food additive plant carbon black produced by carbonization and refinement using plants as raw materials. That is to say, bamboo, a type of plant, can be used as a raw material to produce food additive plant carbon black.
Bamboo charcoal is the charcoal burned from bamboo, which has many micropores, greatly increasing its surface area. It is precisely these microporous structures and huge surface areas that make bamboo charcoal have good adsorption performance and are applied in water purification, air purification, deodorization, and other fields. In the production process of bamboo charcoal, there are certain differences between the carbonization of its process and the carbonization of plant carbon black. Moreover, more importantly, there is a lack of refining process, and the product indicators may not necessarily meet the requirements of the National Food Safety Standard for Plant Carbon Black as a Food Additive (GB 28308-2012). So bamboo charcoal is not necessarily plant carbon black. Only plant carbon black, which meets the requirements of the "National Food Safety Standard for Food Additives - Plant Carbon Black" (GB 28308-2012), is produced by carbonization and refinement of plant bamboo as raw material. The use of bamboo charcoal in food production does not comply with the national food safety standards. Therefore, general bamboo charcoal cannot be used in food production and is suspected of illegal addition.
4、 Correct positioning of plant carbon black
Plant carbon black can be used as a food additive and colorant in food production, and belongs to the category of edible melanin.
On November 4, 2008, the reply from the General Office of the Ministry of Health on whether bamboo charcoal can be used as a food raw material or additive was not included in the Hygienic Standards for the Use of Food Additives (GB2760). Due to the lack of detailed information on the production process, quality specifications, and other aspects of bamboo charcoal in the submission, it is difficult to determine whether it belongs to ordinary food raw materials or whether it is plant carbon black or plant activated carbon. The Hygienic Standards for the Use of Food Additives stipulate that plant carbon black can be used as a colorant in the production and processing of candies, rice products, wheat flour products, pastries, and biscuits; Plant activated carbon can be used as a processing aid in the food industry, but it should be removed before making the final product.
The use of bamboo as raw material can produce food additive "plant carbon black". Enterprises should obtain a production license for "plant carbon black" food additive, and the produced products should comply with the relevant food safety standards (GB28308-2012). Zhejiang Wanglin Biotechnology Co., Ltd. has obtained a production license for food additives, The product can be used for the production of food varieties specified in the National Food Safety Standard for the Use of Food Additives (GB 2760-2014).
5、 Plant carbon black is not a health product or a medicine
Plant charcoal black is not a health product, let alone a drug. Products such as bamboo charcoal peanuts, bamboo charcoal bread, and bamboo charcoal cake produced using bamboo charcoal as raw materials on the market, which claim to have the function of "detoxifying and beautifying", are not suitable.
Food labels should be reasonably labeled
Firstly, food names should be reasonable and standardized, such as "plant carbon black biscuits", "plant (bamboo) carbon black mooncakes", "plant (bamboo) carbon black candies", "plant (bamboo) carbon black ice cream", "plant carbon black ice cream", "black ice cream", and "plant carbon black dough".
The name of the raw materials in the ingredient list is reasonable, and "plant carbon black", "plant carbon black (source: bamboo)", "(bamboo) plant carbon black", etc. can be used. Function and pharmacological effects cannot be claimed in the product introduction.
Application of Plant Carbon Black in Foreign Countries
The Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), is currently the most authoritative international body for formulating food additive standards. The vast majority of the nearly 3000 registered and approved food additive standards worldwide come from the standards recommended by JECFA. JECFA does not set a limit on the daily intake of plant carbon black by the human body (see the original National Health and Family Planning Commission's Announcement No. 8 of 2016 approving the expansion of the scope of use of plant carbon black: collagen casing, added according to production needs)
EU Regulation EC No. 231/2012/EU approves plant carbon black as a natural black food color, with the EU food color code E153. Plant carbon black is the most widely used in the European Union and can be used in 67 major categories of food. The addition amount is almost unlimited, and all are added according to production needs. The name of plant charcoal black in the Japanese food additive catalog is "plant charcoal pigment", which is also widely used. Except for 4 types of food that cannot be used, all other types of food can be used. Most of them are also added according to production needs. Canada, Mexico, Australia, Russia, India, Indonesia, and other countries in Eastern Europe, South America, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East generally allow the use of plant carbon black, and the scope and amount of use shall comply with the EU E153 standard. The Chinese food additive plant carbon black national standard GB28308-2012 and the EU E153 are all consistent.
The only country in the world that has not approved the use of plant carbon black in food is the United States. Why has the US FDA not yet approved the use of plant carbon black in food? This is related to the relevant regulations and processes of the US FDA. There are no domestic companies or research institutions in the United States that have applied to the FDA for the use of plant carbon black in food, so the US FDA has not yet approved the use of plant carbon black in food.
Finally, it is necessary to point out that activated carbon from plants can be used as a processing aid in the food industry, mainly for adsorption and decolorization, and should be removed before making the final product. This means that there must be no residue of activated carbon from plants in the food. The United States also stipulates that plant activated carbon is a food industry processing aid and cannot be consumed. However, medicinal charcoal tablets can be made from plant activated carbon that meets the standards of the pharmacopoeia and can be used by patients to take. Please note that medicinal charcoal tablets are medicine, not regular food.