Talk of the town：Do not eat too many biscuits!
【明報專訊】Between March and May 2021, the Consumer Council collected 60 types of prepackaged biscuits from the market. In all samples, the council detected contaminants or genetic carcinogens. 46 of them have been found to contain 3 types of contaminants, including glycidol, acrylamide and 3-MCPD.
Glycidol and acrylamide are both genetic carcinogens. The Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) believes that it is not suitable for determining the safe intake level of genetic carcinogens. It is recommended that intake should be as small as possible.
56 of the 60 samples tested by the Consumer Council have been found to contain 3-MCPD. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends that adults weighing 60 kg and 5-year-old boys weighing 19.5 kg should not take over 120 micrograms and 39 micrograms of the chemical respectively every day.
Gilly Wong, the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Consumer Council, says that if biscuits are eaten as regular meals, it is possible to have a high intake of different pollutants, so they should not be eaten frequently.
◆Grammar booster
Recommend, suggest, insist and should
In British English, the word ''should'' is often used together with ''recommend'', ''suggest'' and ''insist''.
e.g. Dr Panda suggested that we should eat more vegetables.
■ Gear up
1. The Consumer Council tested 60 types of biscuits. (True/ False)
2. There is a safe threshold of the daily intake of genetic carcinogens. (True/ False)
3. The Consumer Council believes that biscuits should not be treated as part of our staple diet. (True/ False)
■ Game
Difficulty: (★★★★)
Dr. Panda is investigating different types of biscuits, but the names are encrypted. Unscramble them.
(Hint: go to Google and type ''types of biscuits'' to learn the names of common biscuits.)
1. GREGIN TUN
G_ _ _ _ _ N_ _
2. ESVTGDIIE
D_ _ _ _ _ _ _ E
3. NPLIA
P_ _ _ N
4. OMLEAAT
O_ _ _ _ _L
5. HREADBROST
S _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ D
■Glossary
contaminant (n) 污染物
genetic (adj) 基因的
respectively (adv) 分別
regular (adj) 經常做(或發生)的
[Smarties' Power English 第325期]
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