New food scandal in sight. According to information relayed by the Dutch newspaper Noorhollands Dagblad on December 13, 2022, the black color of Oreos would in fact have nothing natural. For years, the Olam cocoa factory would mix large amounts of ammonia with ground cocoa beans in order to achieve this color.
“The factory managed to keep this a secret for years, even though the government knew about it.“, immediately denounces the Dutch media. The Environment Agency even, at the request of Olam, concealed the addition of tens of thousands of kilograms of ammonia, thus deceiving local residents, the competition and even politicians.
In response, the company claims that theammonia is released naturally when processing the cocoa beans and Mondelez, which markets the cakes, adds that the amount of ammonia present in the cakes does not present any danger. While Olam has never hid from using ammonia, it has never been mentioned that large amounts of ammonia are also added during the process.
“Not enough money invested“
The director of the company did not wish to specify what quantity of ammonia this represented on an annual basis. “Olam uses ammonia as an alkalizing solution for certain cocoa powders to modify the color and taste of the final product. There is no or very little ammonia left in the final product”, justifies Eric Nederhand. “I cannot comment on specific quantities.”
Even worse : according to the newspaper’s source, the plant was never designed to handle large quantities of ammonia, and would simply not meet the standards for handling such substances properly. “There was never enough money invested to do it right […] So the ammonia is cracking in every nook and cranny, the stench is tremendous”testifies the source.
What are the health risks ? Widely used in the food industry, ammonia is corrosive to skin, eyes and lungs. In the most exposed people, it can cause irritation of the nose, throat and respiratory tract. But when the exposure is too high, it can cause immediate death by simple inhalation.
Ingestion of ammonia can, in large quantities, cause damage to the mucous membranes of the mouth, esophagus, stomach and intestine ranging from irritation to burns, and perforation in the worst cases.
Source :
- Oreo-koekjes zwart dankzij grote hoeveelheden milieuvervuilend ammoniak, Noordhollands DagbladDecember 13, 2022
