Studying the Safety of Instant Noodles Sold in Egyptian Hypermarkets
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Abstract
Instant noodles are one of the staple foods that are popular all around the world. Recently, global demand for noodles has been increasing gradually. This study aims to determine certain safety parameters for spices and liquid seasoning oils that are used in instant noodles available in Egyptian hypermarkets. A total of 90 packets were purchased including four of the main available brands of instant noodles. These samples were categorized as follows: Brand I produced in 7 flavors, Brand II produced in 3 flavors, Brand III produced in 3 flavors and Brand IV produced in 2 flavors. All purchased samples had nearly the same expiry date. The following parameters were measured: aflatoxin content (B1, B2, G1 and G2), heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Hg, As) and oxidation potential. Spices in all brands were free from mercury except for the seafood and shrimp flavors, which had Hg contents of 0.02 and 0.32 ppm, respectively. Cadmium contents of 0.42 and 0.36 ppm were found in shrimp flavor in brands IV and II, respectively, which were higher than the Egyptian standards (0.2 µg/g). Processed tomato flavor had the highest contamination of AFB1 (5.1 ppb). Brand IV Creamy Shrimp flavor and Brand I Special chicken flavor had the highest iodine values of 2.86 ± 0.04 and 1.45 ± 0.02, respectively. Thus consumption of instant noodles is still a risky choice because some flavors contain aflatoxins and heavy metals exceeding the Egyptian standard limits. In addition, extensive studies on experimental animals are needed to evaluate the safety of noodles and health hazards from the consumption of spices and liquid seasonings.
Keywords: Aflatoxins; heavy metals; noodles; rancidity parameters; safety
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