WHAT'S A FOODIE TO DO?
Amid the goth food craze, New York City recently banned the use of activated charcoal as a food additive. Should Thailand follow suit?
As of late, black food is taking social media by storm. Charcoal soft serve, charcoal croissant and all the charcoal adaptations in between. The black ingredient is all the rage.
But it’s probably near the end for Instagrammy charcoal- black foods — at least in New York City — where the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DOHMH) announced recently the ban of activated charcoal as food additives and colouring agents in the Big Apple. The announcement, according to the DOHMH, is a result of a rule instituted by the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The reason, they said, is that activated charcoal has the potential to absorb the drugs that people are taking which can make them become ineffective. Although the latest ban hasn’t yet affected the food industry in Thailand, many may start second guessing whether to opt for black dishes over fear that consumption would more or less harm their health. As the news becomes more widespread — especially after the most recent ban of industrially-produced trans fat — Thai consumers are again left in bewilderment if they should shrug off the New York announcement or avoid eating all these foods, snacks and beverages that contain charcoal powder. Lecturer and researcher Thunnalin Winuprasith of Mahidol University’s Institute of Nutrition said that although activated charcoal is known to help absorb toxins, it can instead cause adverse consequences if consumed in too large quantities. “What nutritionists fear for Thai people is that whenever they know certain foods are good for health, they tend to eat them a lot and often. It’s the same with activated charcoal,” commented Thunnalin. Activated charcoal, explained the researcher, is a type of carbon produced by burning materials like bamboo, coconut husk, wood or tree bark at temperatures over 1,000C. The result is ash particles that are very small and porous, so much so that they have the ability to absorb poisons and chemicals including medication and vitamins.
In the culinary world, the ash or black powder is widely used in the making of dishes like ice cream, pastries and burger buns, to name a few. A Thai dessert known to use charcoal as an ingredient is kanom piakpoon, or black coconut sweet pudding. The ban of activated charcoal in food and drink recipes throughout New York City affects establishments that ser ve such dishes. American ice cream parlour Morgenstern’s Finest Ice Cream, the city’s top charcoal ice cream destination, was reported to have dumped nearly US$ 3,000 worth of its black ice cream that caused a social media food frenzy after it was released in 2015. Round K’s Matte Black Latte, which hit the market in 2017, is no longer sold after the health department visited the café in May and confiscated two bags of activated charcoal and demanded the shop stop selling its popular drink. Despite the consequences facing eateries in New York after the ban, the health department claimed that it has been sending orders to restaurants to cease pre
paring food with activated charcoal since March 2016. The orders say restaurants should discard anything
that is considered adulterated food and that activated charcoal is not allowed to be used as a food additive or colouring agent.
In the medical world, however, activated charcoal, used as a means to absorb toxins from the gastrointestinal tracts, will have the ability to function as said only if it is prescribed in a high dose of around 50- 100g. However, a portion of food that contains charcoal, said Thunnalin, only contains an average of 250- 500mg of the black powder which, in her opinion, would render no medicinal effects. “First, it is paramount to understand that the quantity of activated charcoal used as a food additive is not high enough to absorb chemicals from the body. Second, consumers must understand that while some claim activated charcoal can detoxify the blood, that is not true. The absorption takes place in the gastrointestinal system,” said the researcher. But for those who are taking regular medications or contraceptives, it won’t hurt to keep an eye on the amount of charcoal- black food that they eat. “I think a portion of [charcoal] bread once in a while is fine. But eating it very often or every day is not recommended, anyhow, especially for people on regular medicines,” she said. “Nutrition- wise, activated charcoal has no nutritional value. It contains no nutrients. And the body can rid unwanted chemicals or toxins by itself. In short, [ a generally healthy person] sees no need to consume activated charcoal for any health benefits.” Although the charcoal ban hasn’t yet been issued here in Thailand, Thunnalin said the movement in the Big Apple would definitely shake the goth food trend elsewhere and is sure to cause quite a stir among Thai consumers, especially food enthusiasts. “News travels fast these days, thanks to social media. When people hear of the ban, I believe many of them would think the ingredient would more or less have an impact on health. And they can’t help but feeling worried.” Even so, the nutrition expert does not believe Thailand’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will issue the similar ban — at least not in the near future. Trans fats, she says, are completely prohibited in Thailand because studies and reports have clearly shown that it is harmful to health and it affects consumers on a large scale. Charcoal, conversely, is not consumed so much in Thailand. What the FDA should do instead is to send out an educational message about the use of activated charcoal in food. “Educating consumers is crucial at this point because after the news spreads, people start to question if they can continue eating the charcoal- black foods. So although Thailand is yet to see a ban on activated charcoal as a food ingredient, the FDA should still monitor and send out a warning message especially among vulnerable groups like children, the elderly, pregnant women and patients taking regular medication so that they become more vigilant when it comes to their dietary choices.”