3-MCPD
Encyclopedia
3-MCPD or is an organic
chemical compound
which is carcinogenic and highly suspected to be genotoxic
in humans, has male anti-fertility effects, and is a chemical byproduct which may be formed in foods, the most commonly found member of chemical contaminants known as chloropropanols.
It is primarily created in foods by protein hydrolysis by adding hydrochloric acid to speed up the reaction of the (soy) protein with lipids at high temperatures. Another method 3-MCPD can also occur in foods which have been in contact with materials containing epichlorohydrin
-based wet-strength
resins - used in the production of some tea bags and sausage
casings.
It has been found in some East Asian and Southeast Asian sauces such as Oyster sauce
, Hoisin sauce
and Soy sauce
. Using hydrochloric acid rather than traditional slow fermentation is a far cheaper and faster method but unavoidably creates carcinogens.
mechanism. It is able to cross the blood-testis barrier
and blood-brain barrier
. The oral of 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol was reported to be 152 mg/kg bodyweight in rats.
3-MCPD also has male antifertility effects and can be used as a rat chemosterilant
.
/Department of Health
Food Safety and Standards Group (JFSSG) in 2000 and reported more than half of the samples collected from retail outlets contained various levels of 3-MCPD .
Organic compound
An organic compound is any member of a large class of gaseous, liquid, or solid chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of carbon-containing compounds such as carbides, carbonates, simple oxides of carbon, and cyanides, as well as the...
chemical compound
Chemical compound
A chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
which is carcinogenic and highly suspected to be genotoxic
Genotoxic
In genetics, genotoxicity describes a deleterious action on a cell's genetic material affecting its integrity. This includes both certain chemical compounds and certain types of radiation....
in humans, has male anti-fertility effects, and is a chemical byproduct which may be formed in foods, the most commonly found member of chemical contaminants known as chloropropanols.
It is primarily created in foods by protein hydrolysis by adding hydrochloric acid to speed up the reaction of the (soy) protein with lipids at high temperatures. Another method 3-MCPD can also occur in foods which have been in contact with materials containing epichlorohydrin
Epichlorohydrin
Epichlorohydrin is an organochlorine compound and an epoxide. This is a colorless liquid with a pungent, garlic-like odor, moderately soluble in water, but miscible with most polar organic solvents. Epichlorohydrin is a highly reactive compound and is used in the production of glycerol, plastics,...
-based wet-strength
Wet strength
Wet strength of paper is a measure of how well the fibreweb is holding together upon a force of rupture. Wet strength is routinely expressed as the ratio of wet to dry tensile force at break.-Mechanism:...
resins - used in the production of some tea bags and sausage
Sausage
A sausage is a food usually made from ground meat , mixed with salt, herbs, and other spices, although vegetarian sausages are available. The word sausage is derived from Old French saussiche, from the Latin word salsus, meaning salted.Typically, a sausage is formed in a casing traditionally made...
casings.
It has been found in some East Asian and Southeast Asian sauces such as Oyster sauce
Oyster sauce
Oyster sauce describes a number of sauces made by cooking oysters. The most common in modern use is a viscous dark brown condiment made from sugar, salt and water thickened with cornstarch, flavoured with a little oyster essence or extract and some versions may be darkened with caramel, though high...
, Hoisin sauce
Hoisin sauce
Hoisin sauce, or haixian sauce, is a Chinese dipping sauce. The word hoisin is a romanization of the Chinese word for seafood "" as pronounced in Cantonese.-Ingredients:...
and Soy sauce
Soy sauce
Soy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
. Using hydrochloric acid rather than traditional slow fermentation is a far cheaper and faster method but unavoidably creates carcinogens.
Absorption and toxicity
3-MCPD is considered to be carcinogenic to rodents via a non-genotoxicGenotoxic
In genetics, genotoxicity describes a deleterious action on a cell's genetic material affecting its integrity. This includes both certain chemical compounds and certain types of radiation....
mechanism. It is able to cross the blood-testis barrier
Blood-testis barrier
The blood–testis barrier is a physical barrier between the blood vessels and the seminiferous tubules of the animal testes...
and blood-brain barrier
Blood-brain barrier
The blood–brain barrier is a separation of circulating blood and the brain extracellular fluid in the central nervous system . It occurs along all capillaries and consists of tight junctions around the capillaries that do not exist in normal circulation. Endothelial cells restrict the diffusion...
. The oral of 3-chloro-1,2-propanediol was reported to be 152 mg/kg bodyweight in rats.
3-MCPD also has male antifertility effects and can be used as a rat chemosterilant
Chemosterilant
A chemosterilant is a chemical compound that causes reproductive sterility in an organism. They may be used to control pest populations by sterilizing males....
.
Legal limits
The joint Australia New Zealand Food Authority (ANZFA) set a limit for 3-MCPD in soy sauce of 0.02 milligrams per kilogram, in line with European Commission standards which came into force in the EU in April 2002.Incidents
A survey of soy sauces and similar products available in the UK was carried out by the Joint Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and FoodMinistry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food was a United Kingdom government department created by the Board of Agriculture Act 1889 and at that time called the Board of Agriculture, and then from 1903 the Board of Agriculture and Fisheries, and from 1919 the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries...
/Department of Health
Department of Health (United Kingdom)
The Department of Health is a department of the United Kingdom government with responsibility for government policy for health and social care matters and for the National Health Service in England along with a few elements of the same matters which are not otherwise devolved to the Scottish,...
Food Safety and Standards Group (JFSSG) in 2000 and reported more than half of the samples collected from retail outlets contained various levels of 3-MCPD .
- In 2001 the United Kingdom Food Standards Agency found in tests of various oyster sauces and soy sauceSoy sauceSoy sauce is a condiment produced by fermenting soybeans with Aspergillus oryzae or Aspergillus sojae molds, along with water and salt...
s that some 22% of samples contained a chemical called 3-MCPD (3-monochloropropane-1,2-diol) at levels considerably higher than those deemed safe by the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
. About two-thirds of these samples also contained a second chloropropanol called 1,3-DCP (1,3-dichloropropane-2-ol) which experts advise should not be present at any levels in food. Both chemicals have the potential to cause cancerCancerCancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
and the Agency recommended that the affected products be withdrawn from shelves and avoided.
- Britain's Food Standards Agency (FSA) singled out brands and products imported from Thailand, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Brands named in the British warning include Golden Mountain, King Imperial, Pearl River Bridge, Jammy Chai, Lee Kum KeeLee Kum KeeLee Kum Kee International Holdings Ltd. is a food company which specialized in manufacturing oyster flavored sauce and a wide range of authentic Chinese and Asian sauces founded by Lee Kum Sheung in 1888 in Nanshui, a small town in Guangdong. Its primary brand, Lee Kum Kee is well known throughout...
(李錦記), Golden Mark, Kimlan (金蘭）, Golden Swan, Sinsin, Tung Chun and Wanjasham soy sauce. Knorr soy sauce was also implicated, as well as Uni-President Enterprises CorporationUni-President Enterprises CorporationUni-President Enterprises Corporation is an international food conglomerate based in Tainan, Taiwan. It is the largest food production company in Taiwan as well as Asia, and has a significant market share in dairy product, foods and snacks, and beverages markets. It is also responsible for...
(統一企業公司) creamy soy sauce from Taiwan, Silver Swan soy sauce from the Philippines, Ta Tun soy bean sauce from Taiwan, Tau Vi Yeu seasoning sauce and Soya bean sauce from Vietnam, Zu Miao Fo Shan soy superior sauce and Mushroom soy sauce from China and Golden Mountain and Lee Kum Kee chicken marinade.
- Relatively high levels of 3-MCPD and other chloropropanols were found in soy sauce and other foods in China between 2002 and 2004.
- In 2007 in Vietnam, 3-MCPD was found in toxic levels (Testing since 2001, In 2004, the HCM City Institute of Hygiene and Public Health found 33 of 41 sample of soya sauce with high rates of 3-MCPD, including six samples with up to 11,000 to 18,000 times more 3-MPCD than permitted, an increase over 23 to 5,644 times in 2001) in soy sauces there in 2007, along with formaldehydeFormaldehydeFormaldehyde is an organic compound with the formula CH2O. It is the simplest aldehyde, hence its systematic name methanal.Formaldehyde is a colorless gas with a characteristic pungent odor. It is an important precursor to many other chemical compounds, especially for polymers...
in the national dish PhoPHOPHO may refer to:* Primary Health Organisation* Potentially hazardous object, an asteroid or comet that could potentially collide with Earth...
, and banned pesticides in vegetables and fruits. A prominent newspaper Thanh Nien Daily commented, "Health agencies have known that Vietnamese soy sauce, the country's second most popular sauce after fish sauce, has been chock full of cancer agents since at least 2001,"
- In March 2008 in Australia, "carcinogens" were found in soy sauces there, and Australians were advised to avoid soy sauce.
- In Nov 2008, Britain's Food Standards Agency reported a wide range of household name food products from sliced bread to crackers, beefburgers and cheese with 3-MCPD above safe limits. Relatively high levels of the chemical were found in popular brands such as Mother's PrideMother's PrideMother's Pride is a brand name for a variety of breads produced by British Bakeries, a division of Premier Foods. The company also bakes Nimble and Hovis branded loaves as well as supermarket 'own brand' ranges....
, Jacobs crackers, John West, KraftKraft FoodsKraft Foods Inc. is an American confectionery, food and beverage conglomerate. It markets many brands in more than 170 countries. 12 of its brands annually earn more than $1 billion worldwide: Cadbury, Jacobs, Kraft, LU, Maxwell House, Milka, Nabisco, Oscar Mayer, Philadelphia, Trident, Tang...
Dairylea and McVitie's Krackawheat. The same study also found relatively high levels in a range of supermarket own-brands, including TescoTescoTesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
char-grilled beefburgers, Sainsbury's Hot 'n Spicy Chicken Drumsticks and digestive biscuitDigestive biscuitA digestive biscuit, sometimes referred to as a sweet-meal biscuit, is a semi-sweet biscuit originated in the United Kingdom and popular worldwide. The term 'digestive' is derived from the belief that they had antacid properties due to the use of sodium bicarbonate when they were first developed...
s from AsdaAsdaAsda Stores Ltd is a British supermarket chain which retails food, clothing, general merchandise, toys and financial services. It also has a mobile telephone network, , Asda Mobile...
. The highest levels of 3-MCPD found in a non- soy sauce product, crackers, was 134 mcg per kg. The highest level of 3-MCPD found in soy sauce was 93,000 mcg per kg, 700 times higher. The legal limit for 3-MCPD coming in next year will be 20 mcg per kg. But the safety guideline on daily intake is 120mcg for a 60 kg person per day.