Benzene

About specific vitamines, minerals or fiber, for example
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Kasper
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Benzene

Post by Kasper »

Heating of carrot juice increases benzene:
http://missclasses.com/mp3s/Prize%20CD% ... rticle.pdf

I'm wondering if an similar thing is true for pasteurized/concentrated fruit juices (orange juice).

Benzoic acid together with vitamin C and citric acid can be converted to benzene. Especially under heat/light. And also interesting, there seem to be a difference between plastic or glass package:
Chemical and sensorial changes related to the use of benzoates and ascorbic acid as additives in packed fermented vegetables were investigated. For this, three selected vegetables (green olives, cucumbers, and caperberries) stored under different conditions (glass or plastic containers, ambient or refrigerated storage) were used. In all cases, benzoic acid remained unchanged (glass bottle) or decreased slightly (plastic pouch) at prolonged storage. Ascorbic acid was partially or totally degraded during storage, the degradation rate depending on the storage conditions and the vegetable matrix. Benzene levels higher than 10 μg/L were found in cucumbers and caperberries containing both additives, but only when packed in plastic pouches and after prolonged storage at room temperature.

Here a list that I found:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp3-c6.pdf
Food/Number of cases found'/Concentration minimum-maximum in ppb
Cheddar cheese 2 20–47
Mixed nuts 3 1–6
Ground beef 12 9–190
Pork bacon 6 2–17
Banana, raw 13 11–132
Frankfurters, beef 4 2–11
Cream cheese 3 1–17
Chocolate cake icing 2 2–23
Tuna canned in oil 7 4–13
Fruit flavored cereal 5 2–21
Eggs scrambled 4 2–40
Peanut butter 5 2–25
Avocado, raw 10 3–30
Popcorn, popped in oil 3 4–22
Blueberry muffin 3 3–8
Strawberries, raw 1 1
Cola carbonated 3 1–138
Orange, raw 2 11–15
Coleslaw with dressing 14 11–102
Sweet roll danish 1 3–3
Potato chips 2 2–7
Fruit flavored sherbet 3 3–61
Quarter pound hamburger cooked 11 4–47
Margarine 1 7
Sandwich cookies 3 1–39
Butter 6 4-22
Chocolate chip cookies 2 1–8
Sour cream 2 3–15
Apple pie fresh/frozen 4 2–11
Chicken nuggets fast food 4 2–5
Graham crackers 2 1–9
French fries fast food 3 2–56
Cheeseburger quarter pound 8 5–44
Cheese pizza 2 1–2
Bologna 4 2–44
Cheese and pepperoni pizza 4 8–30
Olive/safflower oil 6 1–46
Sugar cookies 3 8–30
Cake doughnuts with icing 2 3
Popscicle 4 1–10

So eating 2 kg of bananas may yield between 2.2-26.4 micrograms of benzene.
dime
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Re: Benzene

Post by dime »

And what is benzene?
Kasper
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Re: Benzene

Post by Kasper »

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=benzene

"Benzene increases the risk of cancer and other illnesses. Benzene is a notorious cause of bone marrow failure. Substantial quantities of epidemiologic, clinical, and laboratory data link benzene to aplastic anemia, acute leukemia, and bone marrow abnormalities.[43][44] The specific hematologic malignancies that benzene is associated with include: acute myeloid leukemia (AML), aplastic anemia, myleodysplastic syndrome (MDS), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and chronic myeloid leukemia (CML).[45]
The American Petroleum Institute (API) stated in 1948 that "it is generally considered that the only absolutely safe concentration for benzene is zero."[46] The US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) classifies benzene as a human carcinogen. Long-term exposure to excessive levels of benzene in the air causes leukemia, a potentially fatal cancer of the blood-forming organs, in susceptible individuals. In particular, Acute myeloid leukemia or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (AML & ANLL) is not disputed to be caused by benzene.[47] IARC rated benzene as "known to be carcinogenic to humans" (Group 1).
Human exposure to benzene is a global health problem.[vague] Benzene targets liver, kidney, lung, heart and the brain and can cause DNA strand breaks, chromosomal damage, etc. Benzene causes cancer in both animals and humans. Benzene has been shown to cause cancer in both sexes of multiple species of laboratory animals exposed via various routes.[48][49]
Some women who inhaled high levels of benzene for many months had irregular menstrual periods and a decrease in the size of their ovaries. Benzene exposure has been linked directly to the neural birth defects spina bifida and anencephaly.[50] Men exposed to high levels of benzene are more likely to have an abnormal amount of chromosomes in their sperm, which impacts fertility and fetal development.[51]"
from wikipedia
dime
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Re: Benzene

Post by dime »

Good to know. I have a feeling that the amounts found naturally in fruits or so are perfectly healthy.
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RRM
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Re: Benzene

Post by RRM »

http://www.mindfully.org/Food/2003/VOCs ... 1dec03.htm
"Benzene was found in all foods except American cheese and vanilla ice cream.
The presence of benzene in so many foods reflects the ubiquitous nature of benzene in our industrial environment.
For example, the smoke inhaled in an average cigarette contains about 40 µg of benzene, and refueling a car without stage II vapor recovery can cause an exposure to an estimated 20 µg (10).
One would have to eat 10 kg of bananas containing 40 ppb benzene to reach a dose of 40 µg.
Driving a car can cause the absorption of 20-30 µg/hour, and breathing street side city air can cause 25 µg/hour (9).
The average daily dose from diet has been estimated to be 5 µg (10). A banana weighing 200 g and containing 40 ppb benzene would contribute 0.8 µg."

Luckily, benzene evaporates very quickly,
so that when juicing bananas, much of it is gone prior to consumption.
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