John Myers
You have probably heard the term chlorate in connection with food and asked yourself: Is this also in my food? We will now explain what it is all about and how dangerous the substance really is.
Chlorate in food – dangerous or not?
Chlorate is the salt of chloric acid. You can probably imagine very little of this unless you paid close attention in chemistry class at school or took a course in this field. Acid salts are formed when an acid reacts with e.g. reacts with metals, mainly by oxidation. The best-known acid salt is sodium chloride, which is our table salt. This is the salt of hydrochloric acid.
What is extremely dangerous for us in one form is completely harmless in another and can even be found in everyday use. But is this also the case with chlorates?
- Since chlorates are very volatile compounds, i.e. compounds that react quickly chemically, they only occur very rarely in nature.
- Chlorates are generally toxic and highly flammable compounds. In the past, they were used as weed killers, which often put a lot of strain on food. However, this is now banned in the EU.
- Unfortunately, chlorates still sometimes make it into our food. This often happens because water disinfected with chlorine compounds for washing e.g. B. vegetables is used. Mixing water with these compounds can produce chlorates.
- The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has been able to detect increased levels of chlorates, especially in fruit juices, salads, and herbs as well as frozen vegetables. These products came from different countries, including Germany. However, up to 0.01 mg of chlorate per kg of food is legal.
- Chlorates can also occur in minimal amounts in drinking water. According to German law, this is also permitted up to 0.7 mg per liter.
The dangers and sensible prevention
Now you must be concerned because chlorates have been found in food and drinking water. Fortunately, the amounts were so small that there is no danger to humans. Nevertheless, chlorates are generally not completely harmless and there are a few things to consider in this regard. If you want to know exactly what is in your drinking water, there are cheap tests available to buy. These show a whole range of substances that are in the water and how much of it is okay.
But what exactly happens in the body when you take in too much chlorate? And what can you do to avoid ingesting too much chlorate?
- If you ingest too much chlorate, it can reduce your body’s ability to absorb iodine. However, this problem is reversible and if you do not seriously intoxicate yourself, the body will take care of itself. In very severe cases, damage to the red blood cells can occur. But that only happens if you work directly with chlorates. An excessive amount of the substance is more than 0.036 mg per kg body weight.
- It would take effort or poison to reach that level, as shown by the allowable limits above. A normal diet usually does not do this.
- Risk groups for too much chlorate intake are people with thyroid problems, people with iodine deficiency, newborns, and children.
- Therefore: only young people with iodine deficiency, who repeatedly come into contact with substances that contain, particularly chlorate, are really at risk. That would mean that e.g. For example, a child with iodine deficiency would have to be in regular contact with chlorine-based disinfectants, which is extremely unlikely. So you see, there really is no need to worry.
- Eating a balanced diet is enough not to be afraid of chlorates. It is also best to use fresh organic products, as these have to be produced without pesticides and the chlorate contamination is lowest here.
