ChoChoPK: 01/01/2012

There was this one time when I was grocery shopping and I saw many ingredients on a package. I wasn’t sure which ones are good and which ones are bad. So I decided to collect a few, do a quick look up, and share the results with everyone.

Just because something is approved by the government doesn’t mean it’s completely harmless. The fact that “it may cause xyz” doesn’t necessarily means it’s a big deal. The effects on human listed below are mostly copied from Wikipedia, without further verification. So take this with a grain of salt. The more common ones are listed in bold.

Chinese	English	E number	Effects on human	Found in
抑霉唑	Enilconazole, a.k.a. imazalil, chloramizole		Causes cancer according to California's Proposition 65	Exterior of oranges
噻苯達唑, 噻苯咪唑, 噻苯唑	Tiabendazole, a.k.a. thiabendazole, TBZ	E233	High dosage may cause liver and intestine disorder, also cures lead poisoning or mercury poisoning	Exterior of oranges
Probably 苯基酚鈉	Sodium-o-phenylphenate		Causes cancer according to California's Proposition 65	Exterior of oranges
麩胺酸單鈉, a.k.a. 味精, 谷氨酸鈉, 穀氨酸單鈉	Monosodium glutamate, a.k.a. MSG	E621	Disputed, approved in the EU.	Lee Kum Kee chili bean sauce, instant noodles, many other products
肌苷酸二鈉	Disodium inosinate, a.k.a. disodium 5'-inosinate	E631	No harm found so far, approved in the EU.	Lee Kum Kee chili bean sauce, chips, instant noodles, snacks
鳥苷酸二鈉	Disodium guanylate, a.k.a. disodium 5'-guanylate	E627	Bad for children under 12 weeks, those with asthma or gout, approved in the EU.	Lee Kum Kee chili bean sauce, instant noodles, snacks, packaged soup
菸鹼酸, a.k.a. 菸酸, 維生素B3, 維生素PP	Niacin, a.k.a. vitamin B3, vitamin PP		Bad if in excess or shortage	Wonton and dumpling wraps
硫胺, a.k.a. 維生素B1	Thiamine, a.k.a. vitamin B1		Bad if in excess or shortage	Wonton and dumpling wraps
核黃素, a.k.a. 維生素B2	Riboflavin, a.k.a. vitamin B2	E101	Deficiency leads to cracks at the corners of the mouth (angular cheilitis). Excessive dosage taken orally is probably not toxic. Approved by the EU and the US.	Wonton and dumpling wraps, instant noodles
葉酸, a.k.a. 維生素B9	Folic acid, a.k.a. vitamin B9		Good for pregnant women	Wonton and dumpling wraps
丙酸鈉	Sodium propionate, a.k.a. sodium propanoate	E281	Unknown, approved in the EU.	Wonton and dumpling wraps, bakery products
苯甲酸鈉	Sodium benzoate	E211	When combined with vitamin C, it forms benzene, a known carcinogen, but approved by the EU.	Wonton and dumpling wraps, soft drinks
檸檬酸	Citric acid	E330	Unknown, approved in the EU.	Wonton and dumpling wraps, Hsin Tung Yang soy bean paste
半胱胺酸	Cysteine	E920	Has antitoxic property, approved in the EU.	Wonton and dumpling wraps
二氧化矽	Silicon dioxide	E551	May cause silicosis, bronchitis or cancer if inhaled. May cause dementia if drunk with water, approved in the EU.	Indomie Mi goreng
瓜爾豆膠, a.k.a. 瓜爾膠	Guar gum	E412	Wikipedia has unreferenced list of effects, approved in the EU.	Indomie Mi goreng, Nissin Demae Itcho (出前一丁) XO sauce seafood flavor
生育酚（可表現維生素E活性）	Tocopherol, a.k.a. TCP (has vitamin E activity)	E306-309	Beneficial for the most part, approved in the EU.	Indomie Mi goreng, Demae Itcho XO sauce seafood flavor
三聚磷酸鈉	Sodium triphosphate, a.k.a. STP, sodium tripolyphosphate, TPP	E451	Healthy with moderate amount, approved in the EU.	Demae Itcho XO sauce seafood flavor
磷酸鈉鹽（包括磷酸一氫鈉, 磷酸二氫鈉, 磷酸鈉）	Sodium phosphates（包括monosodium phosphate, disodium phosphate, trisodium phosphate）	E339	Probably not good for kidneys, approved in the EU.	Demae Itcho XO sauce seafood flavor, Pocky
六偏磷酸鈉	Sodium hexametaphosphate, a.k.a. SHMP		Unknown	Demae Itcho XO sauce seafood flavor
海藻酸	Alginic acid, a.k.a. algin, alginate	E400	Unknown, approved in the EU.	Demae Itcho XO sauce seafood flavor
抗壞血酸棕櫚酸酯（油溶性維生素C）	Ascorbyl palmitate (fat-soluble vitamin C)	E304	Approved in the EU, the US, Australia, and New Zealand	Demae Itcho XO sauce seafood flavor
山梨酸鉀	Potassium sorbate	E202	No harm found so far, but has irritant property. Approved in the EU.	Sriracha sauce
亞硫酸氫鈉	Sodium bisulfite	E222	Approved in the EU	Sriracha sauce
黃原膠	Xanthan gum	E415	Excessive amount may cause diarrhea. May trigger allergic response to those allergic to corn, gluten, soy, or milk, approved in the EU.	Sriracha sauce
乳酸	Lactic acid	E270, E472b	Approved in the EU, the US, Australia, and New Zealand	Hsin Tung Yang soy bean paste
麥芽糊精	Maltodextrin		Unknown	Instant noodles and package noodles
紅40（人工色素）	Red 40, a.k.a.. Allura Red AC	E129	May lead to hyperactivity in children. Approved in the EU and US, banned in Switzerland.	M&M, snacks with saturated colors (both sweet and savory), red colored flu syrup
黃色5號（人工色素）, a.k.a.. 檸檬黃	Yellow 5, a.k.a. Tartrazine	E102	May lead to hyperactivity and reduced intelligence in children. Banned in Norway, was banned in Austria and Germany, until overturned by EU. Approved in the US. Many organizations call for bans of Yellow 5.	M&M, snacks with saturated colors (both sweet and savory)
黃色6號（人工色素）	Yellow 6, a.k.a. Sunset Yellow FCF	E110	May lead to hyperactivity in children. Banned in Norway and Finland. Approved in the EU but reduced safe dosage in 2011. Approved in the US.	M&M, snacks with saturated colors (both sweet and savory)
藍色1號（人工色素）	Blue 1, a.k.a. Brilliant Blue FCF	E133	Was banned in many European counties. National Institutes of Health in the US claims it does not lead to hyperactivity in children.	M&M, snacks with saturated colors
藍色2號（人工色素）	Blue 2, a.k.a. Indigo carmine	E132	Harmful if inhaled	M&M, M&M, snacks with saturated colors

Tocopherol (has vitamin E activity) and ascorbyl palmitate (fat-soluble vitamin C) are sometimes labeled as “preservative”. But it’s not as scary as the name “preservative”. Compounds with names that look like something in a chemistry textbook aren’t necessarily bad. Some are good, but some are bad too. “All natural” isn’t always good either, such as drinking liquid lard directly.