Analysis is the bain of our lives.. too many of them are slapdash and not done properly. Also the result has to be read context.
There are so many things that will effect the result and make something that appears safe to be unsafe and vice a versa.
For example
1/. Is the test done on raw ingredients or on a cooked bread loaf?
2/. Is the result a test result or a statistical calculation from a list of ingredients and the analysis of the raw ingredients?
3/. If tested what is the test method differing methods will give totally different results from the same samples.
4/. Which machine is being used? Results do vary depending on the machine being used and how its set up.
5/. What is the machine setup to test and how long since it was last calibrated?
And most importantly
6/. What was the last sample to be tested?
I used to do testing to British standards institute levels for 7 years while working in quality control and I can tell you its VERY hard to replicate results on the same samples on differing days.
Also trying to detect a sugar in a starch mix is very very hard to do, starch is effectively long chain sugars after all!
No analysis can detect contaminated oils if for example one oil is contaminated with another.
This is why I keep on going on forever (and will too!) about keeping our taste buds sharp and being able to detect and reject anything and everything tasting sweet! ;D
If I go to the local supermarket and look at the sugar content of potatoes for example I find sweet potatoes are shown to have 4% sugar content while a variety called King Edward (which are the safest for me) are shown to be 6% sugar!
Err No not really!
With bread for example it all depends on if the bread is made using yeast or not, manufactured bread is usually "blown up" using compressed CO2 or nitrogen because its quicker than using yeast!
If its made using yeast how long its left to "prove" was the sugar was added to the yeast first before mixing into the flour etc etc..
So if the test is done on the raw ingredients or done on the finished product makes a real difference to the safety aspect for us with HFI.
In most cases I do not think they are tested at all,
I think its all done on a spreadsheet by working out the amount of each ingredient and the analysis of each ingredient and doing a calculation as to the sugar, carb, protein calorific content etc etc of the finished item.
So we then have added inaccuracy's built into the result, just how accurate were the original results?
White bread in the UK is safe for me I would have died long ago if it was not.
Fred I suspect the 100MG is the level at which you can metabolize before your body starts getting " stressed".
I think our bodies can handle a much larger level before any real damage is done.. because our livers are constantly repairing themselves as a result of damage we do the them every day.
Lots of foods we all eat contain toxins (most flavours are actually toxins of one sort or another) and our bodies are very good at repairing these "minor" damages caused on a day to day basis.
So long as the damage is not constant and large scale we can and do all live with constant ongoing repairs to our systems.
What I am trying to say is occasional small amounts of above 100mg is unlikely to cause you any problems whatsoever..
But then I'm not a doctor.. so maybe a discussion with a liver specialist might be useful to confirm or deny my theory?
