‘It’s a dangerous red rubber belt’ … If you don’t want to make heavy metal kimchi

If you were planning to dip kimchi in Kim Jang-cheol’s “red rubber basin” this year, caution is needed.

The Ministry of Food Safety and Medicines said on the 18th: “When pickling cabbage and radishes or mixing kimchi and kkakdugi, red rubber basins are often used. Because red rubber basins are usually made from recycled raw materials. , lead, cadmium, etc. There is a possibility of heavy metals coming out. ”
The Ministry of Food Safety and Medicines has announced that if you want to use a Kim Jang-cheol rubber basin, it is best to choose a food-grade synthetic resin (plastic) material or a stainless steel material.

Also, when buying a kimchi device, you should check the product labeling information and use the right product for your purpose. Food utensils are marked with the word “food” or an illustrated phrase, so you need to check them before use. Also the names of materials such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), etc. And consumer safety precautions must be observed carefully.

In particular, the Ministry of Food Safety and Medicines advised that when buying kimchi mats, bowls, pumpkins, vinyl, cutting boards, rubber gloves, etc., you need to make sure they are “for food”. If you have to use a rubber bowl that isn’t for food, you need to be careful not to leave kimchi or condiments directly on the rubber bowl by placing food plastic inside.

When making kimjang dressing broth using green onion roots or onion peels, you should also use a stainless steel broth net (barrel) made for food. When buying onions, there are some cases where the ingredients are put into the onion net, which is served in the onion net, and the broth is prepared. However, plastic onion netting can dissolve red pigments at high temperatures, so it should not be used for cooking food.

Plastic kitchen utensils can also cause deformation such as crushing at high temperatures, so be careful and avoid contact with heated food. In some cases, plastic ladles or pumpkins are placed in a pot and heated with the food. Instead of plastic, stainless steel utensils should be used, and when using a microwave, make sure it is “microwave safe”.

Proper use of food utensils, etc. Can be found in the Country for Food Safety (www.foodsafetykorea.go.kr) “Notification · Education”. An official from the Ministry of Food Safety and Medicines said: “Recently, there are many TV shows that provide information so that food equipment can be used properly, such as that onion nets should not be heated, but there are still people who don’t know it well. I hope I can eat kimchi in a healthy way. ”

Reporter Lee Tae-yoon [email protected]