foto: Instagram/@renii.asih
Brilio.net - White tofu is one of the food ingredients that is favored by many people, both as a side dish and a snack. With a soft texture and neutral taste, white tofu is a versatile choice for various types of dishes. However, behind its popularity, a serious problem arises when there are irresponsible traders who mix formalin into white tofu to make it last longer.
This dangerous practice is not only detrimental to consumers, but also carries serious health risks. Formalin, which is supposed to be used as a preservative in the non-food industry, can be very dangerous if it enters the body. When white tofu that has been mixed with formalin is consumed, this chemical can cause various health impacts, such as irritation of the digestive tract, poisoning, and the risk of chronic diseases such as cancer.
Although tofu containing formalin may look fresher and last longer, its long-term effects can be very detrimental to consumers' health. This problem is becoming increasingly worrying because it is difficult for ordinary consumers to detect the presence of formalin in white tofu just by looking or smelling it. Therefore, many people test it in a special way, such as by checking its texture.
Furthermore, the method is usually done by pressing the surface of raw white tofu. Tofu that is easily broken is considered more natural and does not contain formalin. However, on the contrary, tofu that is more chewy and does not break easily is believed to contain formalin. But is that true?
An Instagram user @renii.asih once proved this in one of the videos she uploaded. To be more precise, she tried testing two pieces of tofu that had different textures, namely one tofu that tended to be chewy and the other that crumbled easily. She then took two steps to prove whether the tofu that crumbled easily was safer to consume and did not contain formalin.
photo: Instagram/@renii.asih
As reported by BrilioFood from Instagram @renii.asih on Wednesday (21/8), the first step is to prepare turmeric and two toothpicks. Each toothpick is immediately inserted into the fresh turmeric rhizome. This will make the tip of the toothpick turn yellow because of the curcumin in the turmeric that sticks.
photo: Instagram/@renii.asih
The next step, Instagram user @renii.asih skewered both tofu using each end of a yellow toothpick. A moment later, she took both toothpicks and let them sit for a few moments.
"If the tip of the toothpick turns reddish, it means the tofu contains formalin," said Instagram @renii.asih.
photo: Instagram/@renii.asih
Sure enough, both ends of the toothpick that were originally yellow became reddish. This indicates that even chewy and easily crumbled tofu can potentially contain dangerous formaldehyde. Therefore, knowing the texture of white tofu alone is not enough to detect formaldehyde content.
Reported from nutritionj.biomedcentral.com, when a toothpick smeared with turmeric is inserted into tofu containing formalin, the yellow color of the turmeric will change to reddish brown. This happens because curcumin reacts with formaldehyde, forming a new compound that causes the color change.
Basically, curcumin has chemical properties that are sensitive to formaldehyde, allowing visual identification of this hazardous substance in food. This method is an easy and fast alternative for testing.
The upload about the trick to test white tofu has been watched more than 1 million times on Instagram. It is no wonder that the video has been flooded with comments from netizens. Many other Instagram users claimed to have just learned the trick.
" Very useful tips ," said Instagram @amalia.lovepink.
" It's hard these days to find out without formalin, " explained Instagram @rumah.bayarnya.helen.
" Wow, I want to test it too, it's scary too, " wrote the Instagram account @intannajiahalim.
" Thanks for the tips, usually when I eat tofu or meatballs that contain preservatives I definitely have shortness of breath, thanks ," commented the Instagram account @remyaphan.
(brl/mal)
