书籍分享 - 恐怖的食品添加物

不久前的中国毒奶风暴搞得大家对食品忧心重重，一个三聚氰胺（Melamine）就足以令人哗然-原来吃进肚子的东西这么“化学”！打铁要趁热，既然如此，且就顺势还原饮食世界里丑陋的一面。诚如此书作者安部司所言，没有人知道“食品”是如何做出来的。“要是你知道了，你就吃不下了。”这句话听起来是不是很熟悉呢？从事食品工业的员工都是这样说的吧。自己工厂的食品，相信没几个员工会吃。

眼不见为净、耳不听为妙，如果你还想享受现代高科技精细化学调制加工的精美速成食物，眼珠可别向下滑了，后果自负。但如果你还想让自己的身体少受一点来历不明的外来者侵略，别放弃对健康的执着，快往下看！

作为“食品添加物之神”，作者对食品的内幕及食品添加物的真相知至甚详，以此为主题的演讲在日本场场爆满，而2005年出版的这本书更造成非常大的回响。（因而才有幸被青睐翻译而让我们开开眼界）凡事皆有利弊，在崇拜速食所带给我们的方便、快速和似模似样的美味的同时，我们对其害处却似懂非懂，仿佛“没被证明不安全的”就等于安全。正因如此，作者著书揭发食品制成的“内幕”。

这本书流畅易读而引人深思，特意摘录以下几点供分享：

- 健康饮料是由虫子磨碎以后染色而成的。
- 黏懒的肉屑藉由三十种添加物而复活，成为肉丸子。
- 化腐朽为神奇的漂白剂让低档的咸鳕鱼子瞬间成为闪亮的高档货。
- 食品里的色素不过是添加物里的冰山一角，无色素的食品不过是五十步。
- 低盐食品比高盐食品反而多了几种控制咸度的“甜味料”。
- 一分钱，两分货。买廉价酱油、米酒、盐，多送你几种添加物。
- 合并标示到底混了N个添加物？
- 没有果子的果汁。
- 千篇一律的黄金三重奏：盐、化学调味剂及蛋白质水解物，能组成万种风味。

面对如此烦琐的细节，抱持“单纯的怀疑”是一起的开始。为什么鲜艳得那么恐怖？为什么新鲜可维持那么久？为什么。。。要做一个精明的消费者，还真是不容易呢。现代社会，无忧无虑的人恐怕早晚被无知所误。

可惜的是，随着社会发展步伐越来越快，即使再精明的人，是否能悠哉闲哉地“慢活”？当调味料成为主味料，当鲜菜蔬变成罐装品，当钢铁锅换成微波炉，谁有空闲去浸洗削切炖煮炒焖，谁有兴趣去了解搭配火候调味？如果要起步学习烹饪已是难事，那要去品味各种肉蔬的天然鲜甜和细尝之间的微妙差别就更是神话了。现代社会里没有神话，只有化学魔法，“民以速食为天”，失去的不止是自己煮食的满足、为人煮食的幸福，还有天赋的味觉。

【附】

http://ug99.blogspot.com/2008/06/blog-post_28.html

http://www.huf.org.tw/pu/pu21712.htm

- 1999年6月，比利时120人和法国802人在饮用可口可乐之后发生呕吐、头昏眼花及头痛，公司回收1千7百万瓶汽水。

- 2004年3月，可口可乐在英国销售的Dasani瓶装水的溴酸盐(bromate)含量远超过英国规定的饮用水标准。

- 2005年，辣椒粉中发现致癌染色剂“苏丹一号”，引发英国史上规模最大的食品紧急召回行动。

- 2007年，GSK 饮料在新西兰的利宾纳广告虚报维生素C含量。

- 2009年6月，Red Bull饮料在德国、台湾和香港被检出含有可卡因。

Au revoir

I haven't blogged in a long time, and I will only update occasionally. Things change. Life changes. And so do I.

Believe it or not, whatever things I do, I do it for multiple reasons but not single reason. I blogs because

- I talk to understand. I need to talk with my alter ego to understand my emotions. And now I'm satisfied with my current level of understanding. Repetition worths much less.

- I write to excel. As an impulsive writer, I just like the moment of expressing ideas out of inner need and the feeling of playing with words. But I feel I should read more now.

- I like to share. But now photos, simple notes...are much easier to be shared through FB.

- I blog to think. At this stage of life, everyone thinks uniquely. You just shouldn't be overloaded with another people's thoughts.

I still thinks a lot but I gotta spend more time on reading and doing something else more important in life. Being retrenched at 24 certainly bring changes in life.

My current life

Yeah, two is down, one more.

If you don't understand what I'm saying, let me explain it. Now I am working as shift trainee in the fab, which means I work 12 hours per day, 4 or 3 days per week alternatively. This week is short week so I need to work 3 days and got 4 days holiday. Yippee....but not until tomorrow night.

Working in fab is kind of busy, busy adapting, busy learning and busy building up good foundation. To have many colleagues with experience is good for learning and yet that means the mountain of expectation is higher to climb.

Frankly speaking, maybe it's not up to your expectation, I am still struggling with my work, especially fighting vigorously against the ZZ monster. It's just too hard to stay awake and focus for 12 hours without dozing off. I think I already earn my reputation for being dozy-fishy. Yalar, I can sleep earlier la...but sometimes come back late, sometimes need to cook for tomorrow, sometimes come back feel like talking to friend instead of just go to bed, so most of the times I only get 5 to 6 hours to sleep. I have to find another smart way to keep me awake in the fab, that thing definitely will not be coffee though.

I starts to feel that working life is real life because there are too many decisions to make, too many things to learn, too many aspects to be balanced and too many relationships to be taken care of. As a comparison, student's life, although is simple and nice, is just too phantom.

Rest, is meaningless without work.

Indicents + Accidents

Recently I received series of warnings.

On Sunday's outing to Strawberry reservoir, after passing the dirt road, our car's front right tyre gone flat.

On yesterday's visit to hospital, while I was driving on the freeway, all out of sudden a flying rock caused a little crack in the front windshield.

Then on the way back to hospital after dinner at night, I bent into a wrong lane, cut back into the right one wrongly without observing, and got a loud horn from car behind shamefully.

And it wasn't enough. I lost my way coming out of hospital and wandered around unfamiliar routes in SLC. I was finding my way out and turned into a two way road with one lane each way. It was so dark with few street lamps and no cars that I could hardly recognize the road conditions. Finally a bus passed on my left. I was on the right way.

And then two strong light circles emerged in front, not far away. Gosh! Within split second I pull my car over to the right and braked heavily. Just touching the front bush, mere escape. If what's on my right was a concrete divider then I would have been divided, without the chance even to wave goodbye.

I am glad that I am still here. I bought a heavy lesson without paying. How lucky!

复杂

骨子里我是个夜猫子，尽管我未必享受。寂静的黑夜里弥漫淡忧的气息，我在静谧谧的氛围中逐个捕捉慢条斯理的音符，伴随着一丝丝剪不断的冥想，游魂进自己忧愁的世界。

心事我其实有很多，但我都把它藏在异度空间，连白天的我也没法进去。只有在独自一个人的深夜，神秘的空间才自动显现，让我身上的不快乐因子活跃。悲愁，或许是重重面具下最内的几层之一；而怪异，是另外一层。我不去找人倾诉，却又在这抽象描述，不想让人知道又想让人知道，不是很奇怪么？正怪人，正怪门。门，是给有钥匙的人开的。

有些东西我怎么也看不懂，尤其是别人的行为和想法。世界，真的太复杂了，复杂在不可复制的性格。I didn't know that I could be so disturbed and felt beaten for inability to understand people's action that totally escape my understanding of the person. 怎么可以这样，怎么可以那样，怎么……

有些东西我怎么也学不来，因为这些必须从错中学习，而偏偏错在这些往往是致命的。Perhaps I will never get a chance to learn...

but I shall be fine. I hope.

倾斜

这几个星期连续出外，不是玩就是病，没空好好静下来。直至前晚舒舒服服地睡了一晚到早上十点多，有心情打电话回家，以为大马时间是八点多，不料等到彼端铃声响了很久，听到沙哑的声音后，才惊觉玩得连时差都算错了，那时正是午夜沉睡的零时十分。顿时晴天霹雳。

以为把生活平衡得很好，其实错漏百出，是很深的挫折；自以为是的优点，其实不外如是，是很大的失败。

来美一个月了，看到的学到的很多，逐渐适应了下来慢慢开始自我感觉良好，正好来个当头棒喝。坦白说，我没做好的事比我做好的事更多，凭什么感觉良好呢？真是……

二十四岁的起跑道
具体的路面风向
不由掌控
只剩飘渺的方向

是否我太执着于平衡
才会轻重不分
虚假的面面俱圆
没一个稳定的点

没有倾斜的人生
是否一定没有光彩
微烁的幸福
难道只在黑夜可贵

若生活是幅美画
就算我活得再出彩
也只是纯熟的工匠
而非飘逸的大师

适应

新丁受训，首先的挑战就是适应环境。现在已是工作训练的第二个星期，却还是有些不适应，尤其是密裹成粽子进洁净房。上星期训练第一次进去时，赶着穿连身衣险点扭到大腿。现在渐渐懂得怎么穿了，却还是嫌多了一层纱布顶在鼻子下面痒痒的。

接下来的挑战就是狂吞资讯，连番炮轰的XYZ实在让我疲于接受。工作+交通+家务+管理+计划差不多消耗了我大部分的时间和精力，但为了省钱和修行，我会尽力不在公司吃上一餐。好渴望有八小时睡眠的幸福，但身体也似乎慢慢适应了少睡两小时，只是偶尔会在公司钓钓鱼。幸好现在还是训练期，呼呼。（自我安慰：能辛勤耐劳的，才会享受悠闲）

但要有优质生活，需要照顾的不仅仅是自己的起居饮食，还要吸收无数的常识、过滤大量的言语和寻找提高效率的方法。有时候，实在是很累……幸好还可去慢跑和在这里发牢骚。

好了，加速适应和继续前进！

Travelling

A man travels the world over in search of what he needs...
and returns home to find it.
- George Moore

Living in Utah, US

Disclaimer: Please stop reading if your green monster starts overtaking you. (I'm joking, :D)

Initially I wanted to describe my living experience here as living experience in US, but slowly through daily conversations and observations I came to realize that living here at Utah is unique, as unique as living in any other state in United States perhaps, because US is just too vast to be stereotyped.

If you aren't NBA fan, you might not even have heard of Utah, which is definitely not like metropolis New York. Quietly surrounded by gorgeous mountains and beautiful lakes, it have everything exactly opposite to Singapore: big, large, hugeeeeeeee!

Utah Lake

For example, Walmart is huge. The first time we saw it, we were so excited to take photography there. That day was Thursday. And then Friday - Walmart again, Saturday - Walmart again, Sunday - Walmart again...I feel a bit embarrassed to say that we took picture with Walmart. They all look the same even though they are all at different places. (Non-tourist: What so big deal!) Paiseh, we are still tourists. :D


It's convenient to have so many Walmarts nearby, if and only if you drive. MI4 = find small groceries stores within walking distance. It's cool to drive here with opposite orientation, different rules and better cars!

Chrysler (I drive slightly less cool model, ^^)

And about my temporary fully-furnished house that's so comfortable to stay: Two cozy rooms with queen size beds, closet room, living room with soft couch, kitchen, landry room, garage.

Example of Oakwood housing (I can't show mine without camera)

I guess I better stop here before being hunted by green monsters, :D. Though I have my own worries, as everyone do. 'Til next time.

(FYI, time here is GMT -6. So the time difference with MY, SG which are at GMT +8 zone is 14 hours. Just know whether to +14 or -14, you will know time at both sides.)

煮食修行

很久很久没有下厨了，妈妈说我终于重出江湖，哈哈，没办法，在大学期间只能偶尔煮爽，缺厨具少时间没心思，久而久之就没意思。在这里可不同了，自己煮一餐大约一两块，在外吃至少四五块，如果要省钱四周游玩，只怕不会煮都要硬着头皮学煮了。除此之外，这里食材多元，厨具齐全，身边能偷师的人多得是，如果不在这段期间尽量学习和提升厨艺，那可真是浪费了。

我能煮，但已不说自己很会煮，毕竟煮的不过是家常菜，尤其因为我家特殊的背景，什么东西都一锅熟，很多时候不能拿出来献丑。唯一能说的就是，与同辈能煮的朋友比较，我自小受过的锻炼不会被比下去。（老爸语：“能够自己煮来吃，是生存的重要技能。”）

反正就是自煮自乐，有心就好。第二段修行，从现在开始。