We consumed over 6,000 tons of palm oil just for the first six months of the year, and that - without our knowledge. The reason lies in the pastry shops and restaurants. There, the products are without a label that we can read and from which we can be informed about what we are eating, reported FOCUS.
8 out of 10 pastry shops in our country sell us pies with cheese, but without cheese. This shows a survey of “Active Users". We buy snacks in a paper package and a plastic bag. No label to say if it has an imitation palm oil product. "The average user has no way to tell them apart," said Bogomil Nikolov from the "Active Users" Association.
Unknowingly, we've eaten nearly 7% more imitation products this year. At the same time, they are increasingly rarely found in supermarket stands. "In practice, it is difficult to establish, especially by a non-specialist. Our research shows that only the cottage cheese in most patties is real. One practical tip is to choose pies with cottage cheese," Nikolov explained to Nova.
Imitation dairy products are cheap, extend the shelf life and improve the appearance of the product. But the effects on the user's health can be disastrous. "These trans fatty acids increase the risk of inflammatory processes, which are the basis of heart attacks and strokes. The immune resistance of the body drops sharply. The risk of mammary gland, breast, and prostate cancer increases," nutritionist Prof. Donka Baikova announced.
Besides in the form of dairy products, palm fat can also be found in the oil in which potatoes are fried in restaurants. "A little later after frying, while they are warm, they are pleasant, then they become hard. The cheese becomes hard, like a drop of tallow. This is how we can know," Prof. Baikova added.
If we look at the ingredients of our favorite desserts, we can find the cheap alternative there too. "Bulgaria's children often become fluffier, chubbier, with a reduced immune system," says the nutritionist.
"BABH must show all these producers, distributors and traders that it checks and is uncompromising,'' Nikolov urged. But only in January, thematic inspections for imitation dairy products were carried out.
Valentina Petrova's pastry shop is not included in the statistics. Claims that they do not use imitation dairy products. "We work with real cheese that is crushed. In principle, yes, it makes it more expensive," claims the baker.
"If you put two patties, one with an imitation, the other without, the difference between them will be 10-20 cents most likely. And people will buy the one more expensive by 20 cents, simply because they don't want the imitation," Nikolov points out.
In the middle of the month, the National Food Council will meet in an emergency meeting to discuss additional regulations on imitation products. "Unfortunately, Bulgaria is still at one of the lowest positions in the WHO ranking. We die, in the second or third place, from heart accidents and diseases," Prof. Baikova added.