Is it true that cooking food in foil is dangerous for health?

There is an opinion that the use of foil during baking makes the resulting dish harmful to humans. We decided to check if this is a reason.

The fact that the products baked in foil can harm health are told by the media (for example, “”World 24" And "Arguments and facts"), Information And Scientific and popular Portals, sites about Cooking. Users Blog Platforms (""Picabu","Zen" Livejournal) and female forums Discuss the potential danger of this preparation method. You can find on YouTube video On the alleged harm of foil, shot by bloggers that specialize in a healthy lifestyle.

Foil - This is aluminum, rolled into a very thin sheet. One side is usually brilliant, the other is matte, but in terms of their properties and composition they are nothing No different, these are just the costs of the production process. Foil is actively used in Cooking - Both in the process of cooking and for storage. If Wrap Meat, fish or other products in foil during baking, it will hold heat and moisture inside, making the finished dish more juicy. In addition, the baking sheet on which the food was baked in foil is much easier to then clean. However, many sources express fears that you will have to pay for these amenities with your own health - aluminum from foil can supposedly fall into food. It is argued that the high content of aluminum in the human body can lead to development Alzheimer's disease And breast cancer.

Aluminum - The third most common chemical element on Earth and the most common metal. In small doses, he Contained In water and in unprepared foods (usually not more than 5 mg/kg, however, in some products, such as tea leaves, its concentration can reach much higher values). The highest content of this metal is in dishes of cereals and grain products (bread, cakes, cookies and other pastries), vegetables (spinach, radishes and salad), mushrooms and drinks (tea and cocoa). That is, it is almost impossible to completely avoid the entry of aluminum into the body. It is not as scary as it sounds, because in small doses it It is necessary The human body plays an important role in life. 

However, in the case of excess aluminum, a danger can be a danger. WHO specialists They think In general, consuming up to 2 mg of aluminum per 1 kg of weight for a healthy person is safe for a healthy person. European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) insiststhat a harmless dose is half as much: 1 mg of aluminum per 1 kg of weight (that is, an adult weighing 60 kg can safely consume about 60 mg of aluminum per week, or about 8.5 mg per day). According to studies that were carried out in several European countries, this threshold is often exceeded - adults receive an average of 0.2 to 1.5 mg per 1 kg of body weight per week, and children and adolescents - from 0.7 to 2.3 mg per 1 kg. US Diseases Control and Prevention Centers (CDC) They say: The average American eats about 7–9 mg of aluminum per day, which is generally on the border of a safe dose. Central Research Institute of Epidemiology of Rospotrebnadzor Curses Even higher numbers: according to the institute, every day, from 5 to 50 mg of aluminum (depending on the region of residence), the human body every day.

Can foil really give aluminum to the dishes that are prepared in it? European Association of Aluminum Foil manufacturers warnsthat foods containing many acids or salt (for example, fruits or marinated in vinegar) really contribute to the release of aluminum particles that can fall into food. In 2019, a group of scientists from the Czech Republic spent study: They took different types of meat, fish, vegetables, cheese and other products and baked them in the foil of five different manufacturers fresh and pickled. In the course of heat treatment, a certain amount of aluminum really turned into food, and to a much greater extent in those products that were pre -marinated (which means they contained more acids and salt). The cooking temperature also played a role - in the heat of less than 160 ° C, the metal fell into food slower than at 220 ° C. When storing products in foil, after baking, aluminum continued to accumulate in food. Nevertheless, scientists came to the conclusion that the doses recorded by them themselves cannot cause health problems, but admitted that additional studies are necessary to confirm their results. 

In 2020, similar experiment Scientists from Italy. They took beef, chicken and fish and prepared them in three ways: without foil, in foil without spices and in foil with spices. Then the authors of the experiment measured the content of aluminum in finished products. In the case of chicken and fish, the highest rates (about 40 mg/kg) were detected in samples prepared in foil with spices, and in the case of beef - in foil without spices (scientists note that this difference in the results can be caused by some organic acids in the meat itself). In samples baked without the use of foil, the content of aluminum was below the level of detection. Scientists note that although the identified results below the safe limit established by European supervisory authorities, the use of dishes prepared in this method can lead to excess permissible weekly norm, taking into account other sources from which aluminum penetrates the body.

How dangerous is the ingress of this metal into the body? "Checked" already It wrote The fact that, contrary to common opinion, deodorants containing aluminum and antiperspirants do not cause cancer. Judging by the results of the systematic review The scientific literature conducted by Canadian scientists in 2014 has no trust in evidence that aluminum and its derivatives can increase the risk of developing cancer or Alzheimer's disease - at least in the forms and concentrations that a person can eat with food. Late review of 2017 showed, that a serious concern about the level of aluminum in the body and its possible effect on health should be shown only to people who, in their professional activity, constantly deal with this metal. The fear of the connection of aluminum with the development of Alzheimer's disease, apparently, is due to the fact that in the body of people suffering from this disease, the content of this metal is higher than in healthy ones. However, researchers note that in this case it is not yet clear whether it is a question of the cause of the disease or its investigation. 

In any authoritative medical source, “verified” it was not possible to find recommendations to avoid the use of foil in cooking. CDC experts, for example, They think This method of cooking is safe, and to limit doses of aluminum entering the body, it is recommended only to avoid excessive use buffer forms Aspirin and other drugs with a high content of this metal. Most of aluminum in the body is quite quickly excreted from the body along with bowel movements, not having the opportunity to cause any harm to health. However, in people suffering from kidney diseases, its excretion with urine can be difficult.

Thus, the food baked in foil can “absorb” part of the aluminum - this is confirmed by a number of studies conducted by scientists from different countries. However, this metal is found in many foods and even in water - when consumed in safe doses, nothing terrible with a person can happen (however, controlling organs from different countries have not yet come to consensus regarding which dose can be considered harmless). Judging by the results of experiments with baking food in foil, the use of dishes prepared in this way cannot lead to an excess of the concentration of aluminum in the body even for the most stringent recommendations. Probably, certain caution should be observed only by those people who use drugs with a high content of this metal or encounter its high concentrations within the framework of professional activity. Also, the content of aluminum in the body should be controlled by people with kidney diseases, since they may be difficult to remove. At the same time, the systematic reviews of scientific works did not reveal any proven relationship between consumption with aluminum and Alzheimer's disease or oncological diseases that are usually frightened by opponents of foil in culinary.

Photo on the cover: Pixabay.com

Most likely not true

What do our verdicts mean?

Read on the topic:

1. CDC. Public Health Statement for Aluminum
2. Is it true that the food prepared in the microwave becomes carcinogenic?
3. Is it true that deodorants containing aluminum and antiperspirants provoke cancer?