After using wooden chopsticks for a long time … Family of four dies of liver cancer ‘Shock’

The image is unrelated to the article / Image = Getty Image Bank A case in which a family member died of liver cancer after using wooden chopsticks for a long time without putting them in is being reviewed place

According to Taiwan’s Zhongtian Television (CTI) on the 25th (local time), Tan Dunzi, head nurse of the clinical toxicology department at Linkou Changgung Hospital in Taiwan, appeared on a recent medical program and said that it is important to ‘ wash and replace them regularly. wooden chopsticks.

Referring to a case in China in 2013 in which a family of four died one after another of cancer, he said, “It was not a medical overdose. The reason the whole family got liver cancer was because they used moldy chopsticks.

If you use moldy kitchen utensils for a long time, aflatoxin, a class 1 carcinogen, can develop. Because this product was used continuously, carcinogens accumulated over a long period of time, eventually leading to liver cancer in a family member.

Wooden spoons, tableware and cooking utensils can crack if used for a long time, and dust and mold can easily get between the cracks. Tan Duntz advised that if mold or other materials are visible to the naked eye, remove immediately and replace the product.

He also instructed us on how to clean wooden chopsticks. In the case of bamboo chopsticks, wood grains are both vertical and horizontal, so they must be carefully cleaned one by one along the grain.

Even if you wash it this way, it is not completely safe. Wuche Hospital nutritionist Huang Shuhui said in an interview with local media ‘Health 2.0’, “Aflatoxin is a mold product and cannot be removed even by washing or boiling. Aflatoxin is very toxic and is 68 times more toxic than arsenic and 100 times more toxic than potassium cyanide.

Tan Dunzi advised that chopstick materials should be chosen carefully. It is recommended that chopsticks be made of 304 stainless steel, as those made of melamine or plastic are easily deformed by heat and cannot be immersed in a pot or boiling water.

Jang Ji-min, Hankyung.com guest reporter [email protected]