Ban on flour whitener in the mix

The Ministry of Health is considering a ban on a controversial food additive that makes flour appear whiter but is blamed by some for destroying its nutrients.

Ministry spokesman Mao Qunan said on Wednesday the ministry had received an application from the State Administration of Grain to stop the use of benzoperoxide, an additive used for bleaching flour for more than two decades. The ministry would ask the national food additive standards committee to discuss the issue before deciding whether to impose a ban.

He said accusations in a Southern Weekly report that the ministry was reluctant to ban the additive because it wanted to protect manufacturers' interests were 'groundless'.

Mr Mao said food additives, only allowed after strict testing, never caused health risks unless they were used excessively and that a ban should only be imposed after strict scientific tests.

The announcement comes after years of fruitless calls by nutrition experts and grain authorities to outlaw the use of benzoperoxide as a flour additive, on the grounds it destroys carotene and folic acid in flour.

In June last year, the ministry launched a two-month public consultation on whether to ban the whitening agent. However, it did not approve a modified wheat flour standard advocated by processing companies and the State Administration of Grain that would have banned the whitening agent.