Do you know what potato chips and toilet cleaner have in common?
By amirev777
@amirev777 (4117)
India
January 12, 2019 5:50am CST
We all know that binge eating on potato chips is bad for our health. We all know that potatoto chips are made from frying thin slices of fresh potatoes in oil. But, thinly sliced and fried in oil till they turn golden brown. But, preservatives and chemicals are also added to it to ensure that the packet of chips stay fresh, intact and crispy brown by the time it reaches you. One of the most commonly used chemicals in potato chips to prolong its shelf life is sodium bisulfite - a powerful chemical also found in most toilet cleaners and household cleaning agents, although in larger quantities. Although sodium bisulfite is considered generally “safe” if added in small quantities, it can be extremely harmful when added to products which contain Vitamin B12 - like some varieties of potatoes.
There is something you should know before you go on binge eating that pack of chips...
2 people like this
3 responses
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Jan 19
Please substantiate your claim (and that of the Times of India) that "it can be extremely harmful/lethal when added to products which contain B12 - like some varieties of potatoes." I believe that this is false scaremongering!
Sodium bisulphite (and sodium matabisulphite) are definitely NOT harmful in the small quantities used in the food industry. They are routinely used to kill fungal and bacterial infections which would otherwise spoil the food and, as far as I can ascertain, this is also the reason that sodium bisulphite (with other chemicals) is used in some toilet cleaners.
1 person likes this
@amirev777 (4117)
• India
12 Jan 19
@owlwings You could be right - but there is no doubt that binge eating potato chips is harmful to health with all those harmful chemicals and preservatives. Maybe less harmful than drinking toilet cleaner for sure. Have you tried drinking dettol for your gastrointestinal tract infection due to anaerobic bacteria, even though dettol is a proven antiseptic? I guess your doctor will prescribe a nitroimidazole antibacterial and anti-protozoal medication like metronidazole or tinidazole in combination with a fluoroquinolone antibiotic.
@owlwings (43915)
• Cambridge, England
12 Jan 19
@amirev777 Certainly too many potato crisps is harmful - but MOSTLY because they contain far too much salt and also rather too much fat (depending on how they are cooked).
I don't see quite why you choose to mention Dettol in this context. It's an entirely different kind of antiseptic and I certainly wouldn't consider drinking it! I have gargled with a solution of Dettol (and so, presumably, have swallowed a very small amount) but I would NEVER drink it!
1 person likes this
@debjani1 (7207)
•
12 Jan 19
I don't like potato chips. But my daughter liked it. Very rarely I have given to her
