This food that supposedly creates carcinogens if made incorrectly every day

This food that I ate every day can produce 'carcinogens' if prepared incorrectly.

Caution is needed when making soybean paste, as carcinogens can be produced if done improperly.

 

When soybean paste is fermented in an open environment, various microorganisms are involved in the process.

It can produce mold toxins such as aflatoxin.

Aflatoxin is a highly toxic carcinogenic substance that causes acute or chronic disorders in humans and animals.

 

The health authorities emphasize that especially when making soybean paste at home, careful attention must be paid from the selection of ingredients to the aging process.

 

Aflatoxin is a toxin produced by fungi of the Aspergillus genus, and it is classified as a Group 1 human carcinogen capable of causing cancer in humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the World Health Organization (WHO).

 

This toxin is very heat-stable, so it does not easily decompose during heating or cooking.

 

The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (hereinafter referred to as MFDS) aims to reduce the production of aflatoxins.

▲Selection and washing of raw materials

▲Making traditional fermented soybean paste

Making soybean paste

 ▲된장 숙성 과정 등에서 아플라톡신 생성을 줄일 수 있는 방법을 소개했다.

 

How to reduce aflatoxin production

 

1. Choose beans that are free of wounds, clean, bright yellow in color, and shiny.
2.  
3. Beans with wounds are prone to mold contamination through small cracks, and mold spores or toxins may spread throughout the entire bean.

 

When making meju, it is best to weigh about 1 to 2 kg per piece.

 

If made too large, it won't dry to the inside, allowing bacteria to breed.

 

3. The mold that produces aflatoxin grows well in places with high temperature and humidity, so the temperature of the place where the meju is fermented should be below 30°C and the humidity below 60%.

 

4. To effectively inhibit the production of aflatoxin when making meju, it is recommended to use a small amount of commercial yellow koji (mold used in making soy sauce or alcohol) together.

 

It is recommended to wash the surface of the meju at least three times with running water until the mold and foreign substances are removed, then dry it in a well-lit and well-ventilated place for more than half a day.

 

6. While soaking the meju in saltwater, wash chili seeds, charcoal, and kelp thoroughly and add them together.

 

If you wash chili seeds and other ingredients thoroughly and add them together, the aflatoxin in soybean paste decreases by 20-30%.

 

However, the aflatoxin adsorbed onto the chili seeds may detach and contaminate the soybean paste again, so it is recommended to remove it after about two weeks.

 

7. Since the level of aflatoxin decreases as the fermentation period of soybean paste (doenjang) lengthens, it is recommended to consume it after aging for at least 6 months.