Spirulina Lead Exceeds Standard Event Reversal

Recently, the six major Spirulina brands, including Green A, were exposed by the media as “abundant lead in heavy metals,” and several sales outlets across the country have also taken the initiative to remove the relevant products. However, today (30th) morning, the inspection results announced by the State Food and Drug Administration almost overturned previous media investigations. According to the circular, among the six major spirulina brands, only one brand of “Certlis” was tested out of compliance with national standards, and the other five brands were all inspected.

From the standard, reach the mark. Insiders pointed out: "Spiral algae tablets exceeded the incident," a major reversal, the secret lies in the parties to the product testing standards vary. Is this the case? Is "Spiral Algae Over-standard Event" misread by the media or is the standard unclear?

This morning, the State Food and Drug Administration announced the results of the special supervision and inspection of heavy metals in health foods using Spirulina as raw material. Previously, the media reported that the "Green A" brand Spirulina Tablets, "Thomson" brand spirulina tablets, and "Jin Aoli" brand Sanda Spirulina tablets and other products, lead content in this supervision and inspection results are not Exceeds national limited standards. For this result, Liang Sheng, a spokesperson for Tomson Health, breathed a sigh of relief, but he thinks that the incident has a great influence on the brand image and capital market of the listed company Tomson BJ. Currently, on the GEM, Tomson BJ is still in suspension. status.

Liang Shuisheng: There has already been a report on the 27th media. The impact on the company’s brand image and products is very large. We applied for a suspension. The State Food and Drug Administration issued this report. We also sent this report as an announcement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange trading platform. Today, it is still in the process of suspension.

Why do some media think that the lead content of the six major spirulina brands exceeds the standard, but the inspection results of the Food and Drug Administration have been different from the media investigations? The reporter found that both the media and the State Administration of Food and Drug Administration referred to the “National General Standard for Health (Functional) Foods (GB16740-1997)” implemented in February 1997. The Food and Drug Administration uses algae and tea as raw materials. For solid drinks and capsule products, the lead limit is 2.0 mg/kg, and at this limit, most Spirulina products meet the standards. However, there are media selection criteria for a limit of 0.5mg/kg. The reason is that in addition to capsules and solid drinks, the national standard also specifies that the lead content of heavy metals in foods should not exceed 0.5mg/kg. Under such limits, the lead content of the six brands of spirulina products exceeded the standard.

The spirulina products such as Tomson Benten and Green A are algae-based tablets. Whether the tablet is a general product or a capsule product is used to limit the lead content, there is no detailed provision in the national standard. Any of Jiguoguo, the head of the Department of Food Nutrition and Safety at the Food College of China Agricultural University, believes that the lead content standard for algae tablets should still be tested against the standards of the capsules.

He Jiguo: If it eats like eating, it will surely be poisoned. Whoever eats a pill can eat it, and it is definitely the same amount as a capsule.

According to industry insiders, the national “General Standard for Health (Functional) Foods” formulated in 1997 has been around for more than 10 years. At the time, the heat of Spirulina did not rise. In this regard, He Jiguo said that although the standards were formulated early, the determination of the lead dose of heavy metals was relatively mature.

He Jiguo: Even if it was made very early, but when its mechanism including the dose of poisons is very clear, this is no problem. The poison of lead was known for as many years as it was. Even in the 1950s, it was very clear. Therefore, the national standard in 1997 was no problem.

Why is the threshold value of 2.0mg/kg standard for lead content of algae products in health products 4 times higher than that of general products? He Jiguo explained this.

He Jiguo: First, consider the different sources of raw materials; Second, considering the difference in the amount of use, it is certainly a difference in standards. Because there are some foods in which the environment or growth characteristics are different, they will be rich in certain ingredients, and its content is high. Therefore, if it is eaten, it is also restrictive.

Even under the limit of 2.0 mg/kg of lead, the “Cantlis” brand in the Bureau of Food and Drug Administration's notification was still detected to be inconsistent with national standards. The product was produced by Fujian Biosciences Co., Ltd.