Medical, Health & Fitness: Which Honeys and Manuka Honeys Are The Best?

Consumer Council head Wong Yuk-shan. Photo: David Wong
Image and caption from SCMP

I have always enjoyed reading researches, and the Consumer Council of Hong Kong has often impressed me the most.

In Issue 441, the Consumer Council released the findings of their research on 40 General Honeys and 15 Manuka Honeys available in Hong Kong's supermarkets, department stores and retail shops. According to the labels, these honeys are made in New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Spain, Switzerland, Belgium, Italy, UK, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Japan.

Is Cheap Always Bad?
Image from Locky's English Playground

All 55 samples were subjected to multiple tests carried out by labs in Belgium, Germany and UK, namely,

1. Safety Test: Test for the presence of Chloramphenicol, Nitrofurans, Streptomycins, Sulfonamides, Tetracyclines, Quinolones and Macrolides.
2. Added Sugar Test: AOAC998.12 test for C4 Sugar (corn syrup and cane syrup) and C3 Sugar (rice syrup, wheat syrup, chicory syrup).
3. Origin Analysis: Use pollen to recover plant types thus the origins of the honeys and compare with the labelled origin.
4. Common Quality Test: Test for the amount of moisture content, Hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), diastase, invertase, sugar content and the level of fermentation.
5. Manuka Honey Anti-bacterial Activity Test: Test for Methylglyoxal, MGO content and  (Non-Peroxide Activity, NPA; Total Activity, TA) as compared with the NPA and TA of a phenol solution.

All tests are based on the Codex Standard for Honey, CODEX. and full documentation can be downloaded from here.

EXTRACT OF DOCUMENTATION

Content	Threshold
Moisture	Not > 20%; Heather honey (Calluna): Not > 23%
Total Fructose & Glucose	Not < 60%; Honeydew honey, blends of honeydew honey with blossom honey, Not < 45%
Sucrose	Not > 5g/100g Alfalfa (Medicago sativa), Citrus spp., False Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia), French Honeysuckle (Hedysarum), Menzies Banksia (Banksia menziesii),Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis), Leatherwood (Eucryphia lucida), Eucryphia milligani, Not > 10g/100g Lavender (Lavandula spp),Borage (Borago officinalis), Not > 15g / 100g
HMF	Not > 40mg / kg honey of declared origin from countries or regions with tropical ambient temperatures, and blends of these honeys, the HMF content shall Not be > 80 mg/kg
Diastase Activity	Not < 8 Schade units honeys with a low natural enzyme content Not < 3 Schade Units
Others	3.1      Honey sold as such shall not have added to it any food ingredient, including food additives, nor shall any other additions be made other than honey. Honey shall not have any objectionable matter, flavour, aroma, or taint absorbed from foreign matter during its processing and storage. The honey shall not have begun to ferment or effervesce. No pollen or constituent particular to honey may be removed except where this is unavoidable in the removal of foreign inorganic or organic matter. 6.1.8  Where honey has been designated according to floral, plant source, or by the name of a geographical or topological region, then the name of the country where the honey has been produced shall be declared.

The findings are truly amazing!!! For those of you who can read Chinese or knows someone who can, it is highly recommended that you purchase a soft copy of the report from the Consumer Council website to support what they do (I do!).

But for our English Playground readers, you definitely can benefit from the core of the matter.

First Choice (left) and Select (right)
Image from Consumer Council

For general honeys, among 40 samples, 16 samples earned a rating of 5-star, 12 others earned 4.5-star and 5 earned 4-star.

The best and cheapest of the 5 stars are:

1. First Choice Pure Australian Honey, 400g, HK$8.4 / 100g
2. Select Pure Honey, 400g, HK$8.5 / 100g

I live closer to ParkNShop than to Wellcome so I bought Select Pure Honey.

5 Star Waitemata (left), 4.5 Star Airborne (center) and 4.5 Star hnz (right)
Image from Consumer Council

As for Manuka honeys, among 15 samples, only 1 sample earned a rating of 5-star, 7 others earned 4.5-star and 5 earned 4 stars.

The 5 star Manuka is:

1. Waitemata Manuka UMF®15 New Zealand Honey, 500g, HK$107.6 / 100g

But the cheapest among the 4.5 stars are:

1. Airborne Manuka Honey Active NPA 8+, 500g, HK$39.6 / 100g
2. hnz New Zealand Manuka Honey UMF®10+, 500g, HK$45.6 / 100g

Airborne Manuka Honey Active NPA 8+ couldn't earn a 5-star because it has been tested with an NPA lower than 8 while hnz New Zealand Manuka Honey UMF®10+ has an invertase lower than 28 units.

FYI, Active Manuka Honey Association, AMHA provides a rough conversion table for UMF : MGO.

NPA	UMF	MGO
3	3	30
6	6	100
10	10	250
13	13	400
16	16	550

Source from Consumer Council

So if you are not a big fan of bigger NPA / UMF / MGO numbers, you can simply go for the cheaper 4.5-star ones.

Last but not least, I have some facts from the research article for you.

Some Facts of Manuka Honey from the Consumer Council's Research Article There isn't enough evidence to show that the consumption of general honeys or Manuka honeys heals / cures / prevent diseases or strengthen our immune system. Diabetes patients should go easy on honeys. Honeys and its ingredients might cause allergic reactions to some people. Tonnes of evidence shows that honey helps curing wounds and cuts mainly due to its anti-bacterial properties. Manuka Honeys with MGO do have anti-bacterial properties, but it is not a property solely possessed by Manuka Honey, for example, certain medicinal honeys. The viability of honey for external use should not be equated to that for internal use, that is, its anti-bacterial properties may not sustain inside our body. Evidence from large double-blinded clinical trial experiments are absent at the moment. The level of nutrients in honey isn't of much difference from normal sugar. Overconsumption of honey will increase the risk of obesity, similar to that of normal sugar. Infants below the age of 1 should not consume honey, as infection by Clostridium botulinum pores causing infant botulism is possible. Baby with Infant Botulism Image from botulismsymptoms.org

This report on honeys by the Consumer Council has stirred massive responses from the honey companies. If you want to read them, please see Resources below.

Vocabulary:
Chloramphenicol
Nitrofurans
Streptomycins
Sulfonamides
Tetracyclines
Quinolones
Macrolides
Hydroxymethylfurfural, HMF
Diastase
Invertase
Methylglyoxal, MGO
Non-Peroxide Activity, NPA
Unique Manuka Factor, UMF
phenol
viability -- (n) ability to work as intended or to succeed 
equate to sth -- (phrasal verb) to be the same in amount, number, or size:
Clostridium botulinum -- (n)[S] a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium that produces several toxins. The best known are its neurotoxins, subdivided in types A-G, that cause the flaccid muscular paralysis seen in botulism. They are also the main paralytic agent in botox. C. botulinum is an anaerobic spore-former, which produces oval, subterminal endospores and is commonly found in soil.
Infant botulism -- (n) n humans, a rare but sometimes fatal paralytic illness. Foodborne botulism is an intoxication caused by consuming food contaminated with the botulinum toxin;



Resources:
Health and Fitness: Manuka Honey (1st Suggested Cure for Mouth Ulcers) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2010/01/health-and-fitness-manuka-honey-1st.html

List of standards @ CODEX Alimentarius
http://www.codexalimentarius.org/standards/list-of-standards/en/?provide=standards&orderField=fullReference&sort=asc&num1=CODEX

Standard for Honey @ CODEX Alimentarius
http://www.codexalimentarius.org/download/standards/310/cxs_012e.pdf

Calluna @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calluna

Consumer Council
http://www.consumer.org.hk/website/ws_en/

NZ vows to look into Hong Kong's manuka honey test findings @ South China Morning Post
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1287903/nz-vows-look-hong-kongs-manuka-honey-test-findings

There's something funny going on with honey, says Consumer Council @ South China Morning Post
http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/article/1283519/consumer-watchdog-says-some-honey-brands-contain-rogue-sugar

News : National : Hong Kong consumer body questions NZ manuka honey @ Radio New Zealand
http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/national/214689/hong-kong-consumer-body-questions-nz-manuka-honey

Manuka Honey Test Finds Rogue Ingredients @ Stuff.co.nz
http://www.stuff.co.nz/business/industries/8928858/Manuka-honey-fall-fouls-of-overseas-tests

Worrying manuka honey test brings call for action @ Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News
http://www.odt.co.nz/news/farming/266065/worrying-manuka-honey-test-brings-call-action

NZ Honey Comes under Scrutiny in Hong Kong @ Scoop News
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/BU1307/S00648/nz-honey-comes-under-scrutiny-in-hong-kong.htm

No Sugar Added @ Comvita
http://www.comvita.co.nz/news-media/general-news/no-sugar-added.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chloramphenicol
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nitrofurans
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streptomycin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sulfonamides
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetracyclines
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quinolones
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Macrolides
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydroxymethylfurfural
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diastase
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invertase
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylglyoxal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenol

Clostridium botulinum @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clostridium_botulinum

Infant botulism @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infant_botulism

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/viability?q=viability+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/equate-to-sth

TV & Animals: Watch Shark Week 2013 Shows

Image from Discovery Channel

The Shark Week is over!!! And I have watched nothing on TV because I don't have the Discovery Channel! What should I do? What should I do?

Well, if you are Locky's English Playground fan, you'll know I wouldn't let that the TV programmes get away! I must always find out where I can watch these programmes!


The Great White Gauntlet
When you are eating your favourite abalone, have you ever thought about, where do they come from? How do they get from the bottom of the sea to your plate? For those who earns a living from catching abalone, what's the downside of earning money from abalone? Well, how about staying away from great white sharks? No pain, no gain! Don't blame it on the sharks, it's their home you're breaking into!




Shark After Dark 2013 Josh Wolf, Chris Hardwick, Tom Green
Sorry, this one is unavailable even for me.

Alien Shark

First live Megamouth Shark caught on camera!!
Image from Discovery Channel

Deep-sea shark researchers share their huge discoveries with everyone on the planet in this program. It's truly magnificent to have so many rare sharks caught alive on camera for the first time!

Do you know that a bluntnose sixgill shark can be bigger than a great white shark? Have you seen a live megamouth shark in action? No? Then you must watch the following video!

Sharkpocalypse
The apocalypse, originally meant a disclosure of knowledge while now known as the end of the world, may be a word used by those who witnesses a shark attack, but does it always have to end up this way? Are we actually making the sharks braver when facing humans? Can dead sharks repel living sharks?

Two men decided to investigate whether the sharks really want to attack humans and what has caused an increase in shark attacks through a series of awesome experiments. We're talking about many kinds of sharks, not just one. And these two guys are CRAAAAZY yet COOL!!! My kind of favourite shows!!!

Great White Serial Killer
A surfer wants to find out how and why 2 other surfers, Lucas Ransom and Francisco Solorio were killed by a great white shark at Surf Beach. Could they be killed by the same shark? See how forensic studies analyzes the cases.

Top Ten Sharkdown
A countdown of the Top 10 shark attacks from the 21st century.

I Escaped JAWS
It's real shark attack footage from eye-witnesses of the actual shark attacks together with the interviews of the survivors compiled into a horrific programme! It was shocking and bloody, be warned. It's not pleasant, but it's incredible to learn how much shark attack survivors want to return to the sea for more encounters with their biters. Respect, lots of respect for the sharks.

It's good to learn that October is also called "Sharktober". Maybe that's why I love sharks so much, because Sharktober is my birth-month.


Voodoo Shark
You think that sharks can only swim in seawaters? You are very wrong! The adaptive bull sharks swims up freshwater rivers for their hunt. Cajun fishermen attempts to research the existence of a monster shark while scientists and researchers wants data from the freshwater bulls outside New Orleans.

Return Of Jaws

Cape Cod, THE hot spot for great white sharks. We know they are there, we have them on cameras when we chum them, but what if they are not being chum? What if we want to chase a swimming sharks on the move without the shark knowing? What if we don't want to put a camera on a shark's fin? What if there is a camera that swims as fast as a great white? The programs has a storyline which does runs like the sequel of the movie JAWS.

Megalodon -- The Monster Shark
Yes, I know, it's a drama, it's fake, but how fake is this? In fact, it is better than most modern movies about sharks -- more scary, more real, better filming technique AND no laser on the shark's head. Not bad if you have extra time to spend.

After watching all of them, your English listening level will surely improve, together with your knowledge on sharks!


Vocabulary:
magnificent -- (adj) 
bluntnose sixgill shark -- (n)[C] see Resources below
megamouth shark -- (n)[C] see Resources below
gauntlet -- (n) [C] a long, thick glove (= hand covering), worn for protection
abalone -- (n)[C] see Food: Chinese Delicacy @ Locky's English Playground
apocalypse -- (n) [S or U] a very serious event resulting in great destruction and change:
repel -- (vb) [T] to force something or someone to move away or stop attacking you:
sequel -- (n) a book, film, or play that continues the
chum -- (vb) luring animals, usually fish or sharks, by throwing "chum" into the water.


Resources:
Watch Shark Week 2013 Alien Sharks Online @ Coke and PopCorn ~ TV Shows and Movie Replay
http://www.cokeandpopcorn.info/shark-week-2013-alien-sharks/

Bluntnose sixgill shark @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluntnose_sixgill_shark

Megamouth shark @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megamouth_shark

Food: Chinese Delicacy @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2010/02/food-chinese-delicacy.html

Animals and Environment: Do Sharks Deserve to Die for Their Fins? @  Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2009/05/animals-and-environment-do-sharks.html

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/gauntlet?q=gauntlet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/repel_1?q=repel
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chumming

Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground app v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release Version)

v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release version)
Image from Locky's English Playground

Hope you all had a happy typhooliday!

Sorry people, didn't have any update from Monday to Wednesday as I was too engaged in working on Locky's English Playground app v1.1.4, trying to add a Share button on every page for you to share your favourite article. After days of hard work, I have finally succeeded!


Download:
As usual, you can find the latest download links from our Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/LockysEnglishPlayground


Bug Fixes and Update List:
Here's the list of bug fixes and updates:

App updated to v1.1.4 (Beta Pre-release version)

v1.1.4 Bug fixed:
Added Share button to every page
Added Menu button / action bar interactivity

v1.1.3 Bug fixed:
Changed Actionbar colours
Removed splash screen for low-res phones
Smaller size of app

v1.1.2 Bug fixed:
Added logo background screen

v1.1.1 Bug fixed:
Can now play YouTube videos

v1.1.0 Bug fixed:
Added Settings page on swipe-to-left
Removed right menu list
Enlarged logo
Replaced menu list with small fonts
Added hardware menu button functionality


Installation:
For first timer:
Do visit: Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App (Alpha)


Interface:
Here's how the latest v1.1.4 looks like:

Loading on Slower Network
Image from Locky's English Playground

If your network is slower, you will see the app's background logo of the app and the logo at the top left corner.

Fully-loaded app
Image from Locky's English Playground

When the app is fully-loaded, you will see three most updated blog clickable pages. Click on them if you want to start reading immediately.

Settings Page
Image from Locky's English Playground

On swipe to left, the settings menu will be opened. The "My Bookmarks" function will still need some waiting, but the rest are working well. Do use the Contact / Report a Bug function if you encounter frequent problem when using the app.

Category / Tag Menu
Image from Locky's English Playground

On swipe to right, the Category / Tag menu will be opened, click on the list to find the posts related to the specific topics.

8 latest posts in the "Animals" Category
Image from Locky's English Playground

Once clicked, the 6-grids layout will show the 6 latest posts in the requested category. Click on anyone to read that page.

A blog post opened in web
Image from Locky's English Playground

When a grid is clicked, the page will be loaded.

Playground app will launch requested videos on your YouTube app or have it played in the webpage itself
Image from Locky's English Playground

YouTube videos can now be played in the app itself or by launching your YouTube app on the phone. This is done automatically by the app and you need not worry about it.

A blog post opened in web
Image from Locky's English Playground

If you like the post and would like to share it with your friends on your favourite app such as Facebook or LINE, hit the menu button on your phone and find the share button either at the bottom or on the right side of the top bar.

Sharing post on your favourite app
Image from Locky's English Playground

Then pick our favourite app to share the post. To remove the top bar and the share button, hit the menu button on your phone again.

To share the entire blog, use this share button
Image from Locky's English Playground

To share the entire blog, use the share button on the cover 3-grid page.

To share the entire category, use the share button on the 6-grid page.
Image from Locky's English Playground

To share the entire category, use the share button on the 6-grid page.

Horizontal view of the 3-grid cover page
Image from Locky's English Playground

Horizontal view of the 6-grid cover page
Image from Locky's English Playground

Locky's English Playground also supports the horizontal view. Looks cool, especially with BB Sharky, doesn't it?

Share button on the top-right corner
Image from Locky's English Playground

Share button is located at the top-right corner for the horizontal view.

Well, that's it for the updates on the features of the app, many thanks for your support and as always, "like" the Facebook page and leave me a comment!

Vocabulary:
"typhoo-liday" -- (n)[C] A word created by Locky, meaning a holiday brought about by the hoisting of a high level typhoon signals, in the case of Hong Kong it is number 8 or higher.


Resources:

Message: Nesat Brings First Typhooliday In 2 Years? @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2011/09/message-nesat-brings-first-typhooliday.html

Locky's English Playground Facebook Page
https://www.facebook.com/LockysEnglishPlayground

Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App (Alpha) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.hk/2013/08/technology-message-lockys-english.html

World: Fun Facts We All Should Know -- Part 1

Shek O Beach
Image from anamericangirlinhongkong

Surfing on the internet is a marvellous thing to do, since there are so many things to learn, as long as you have self-control over the time you spend and know which sources are trustworthy.

In this "Very Hot Weather Warning" Friday in Hong Kong, I bring to you some facts which I think is pretty Cool to know (well, at least for me), and I hope you can learn them with me!

Question 1: How many countries are there in the world?

Image from US Department of State

Answer: This is actually a tricky question, since it is an arguable topic (Is Taiwan a country, for instance?), some websites say 196, some say 195. Will the change in wording improve the results? According to the US Department of State, the number of independent states in the world is 195. Hm... I still think if people want to argue, they still can, no matter how you change the wording.


Question 2: Is there such a thing as peak seasons for gold?
Answer: Yes, definitely! This involves several factors, first of all, we need to know which countries have the biggest demand for gold in the world.

Image from kitco

It is not difficult to see that India and China lead the pack in the world's gold demand. This has to do a lot with cultures and traditions. According to an article from Financial Post,

Image from businessweek

"Approximately 10,000 weddings are held in India each year from late September through January...demand for gold tends to rise in the months leading up to the start of the wedding season as fabricators and jewellers get prepared. As a result, the season has played a large role in the gold equity sector's annual strength between August and the start of October."

A pair of dragon and Phoenix bangles
Image from dreamstime

As for China, it is not as much as a 'peak season' but a 'peak year', that means, peak season all year round. The year of Dragon -- just to name one -- with or without a 'two springs' in the lunar year, is considered as a good year to get married and have children. Close relatives of the marrying couple will flood the jewellery shops to buy gift prizes, a pair of dragon-phoenix gold bangles in particular.

So in short, the answer is definitely a 'yes', there are 'peak seasons' in the gold market.


Question 3: Are Sharks Attracted by Human Blood?

Image from lcsd.gov.hk

Answer: Surprisingly, NO! NO! NO! Hollywood shark movies have shaped our wrong concept so much that we all think sharks are attracted by all blood! Even the Leisure and Cultural Services Department will offer the above safety advice for swimmers to avoid shark attack.

Although the department may be wrong, but hey, an advice is an advice, if they don't say this and you get bitten even by chance, who is going to take the blame? I'm surprise the list isn't longer really. They should add, "Do not bring a cut-up fish to swim", "Do not cover yourself in fish juice before swimming", "Do not swim if you are a fisherman", etc. Because honestly speaking, after watching Mythbusters, you can really tell what really attracts the sharks. My advices are laughable, but they are better advices than "Do not swim if you are bleeding or have any open wound."


Question 4: How Likely Are You To Be Attacked By A Shark?
Answer: In short, very very rarely. In details, here you go!

So guys, stay alert when you go toilet, it might just kill you!

Yeah, the Discovery Channel may and should apologise for their poor Shark Week production Megalodon, but I still think they produce lots and lots of quality programmes. And honestly speaking, their programmes are much more entertaining than those from the National Geographic.

Have a happy weekend!!!


Vocabulary:
bangle -- (n)[C] a ring of stiff plastic, metal, etc. worn around the wrist or arm as jewellery
In short -- (idiom) In summary; briefly.


Resources:
Independent States in the World @ US Department of State
http://www.state.gov/s/inr/rls/4250.htm

World Countries List, a list of Countries and Regions in the World :: Liste des Noms de Pays du Monde - @ Nations Online Project
http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/countries_of_the_world.htm

India’s wedding season no longer a golden bet @ Financial Post
http://business.financialpost.com/2012/07/26/indias-wedding-season-no-longer-a-golden-bet/

 Commentaries - Julian D.W. Phillips @ Kitco
http://www.kitco.com/ind/AuthenticMoney/aug182011.html

Gold price nears peak as wedding season begins @ NDTVProfit.com
http://profit.ndtv.com/news/commodities/article-gold-price-nears-peak-as-wedding-season-begins-313789

Double Dragon: Next Chinese lunar year to have 'two springs' @ Want China Times
http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20111227000060&cid=1105

MythBusters - Drop of Blood @ YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gU9CQT-snIo

Beaches and Swimming Pools @ Leisure and Cultural Services Department
http://www.lcsd.gov.hk/beach/en/atten-safety.php

How Likely Are You To Be Attacked By A Shark? @ YouTube
http://youtu.be/rrKhO3t_hLk

Megalodon shark special on Discovery Channel 'betrayed trust,' Wil Wheaton says @ ABC Go
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=news/entertainment&id=9199762

http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/bangle?q=bangle+
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/in+short

Health & Fitness: Is Halogen Oven Safe For The Health?

A chicken in a halogen oven
Image from German Pool

Yes, it is kind of new, and yes, it is convenient, energy-efficient, high-power and quick when getting your food cooked, especially the chicken. (Don't understand why every halogen oven ad has a whole chicken in it, maybe it is the most difficult thing to cook thoroughly.)

Whole chicken in the halogen oven
Image from German Pool

Some companies claim that this halogen oven only takes 1/3 of the cooking time conventional appliances do and saves up to 60% on energy costs, simplifying all the steps involved in the cooking methods such as grill, bake, pan-fry, braise, toast, steam, broil, roast, reheat and defrost into just ONE step -- put the food in, I mean, how cool is that? Who wouldn't want one? Who doesn't you want to become a master chef who can cook a whole chicken by effortlessly turning a knob in the machine?

Whole chicken already cooked by a halogen oven
Image from Groupon.hk

That's not all, looking at that attractive price makes me want to grab one immediately!

But wait! I can smell something fishy here...

If there is something this magical, shouldn't there be something weird to it too? Specifically, will eating the food cooked with a halogen oven causes cancer? At the end of the day, the food is to be eaten, everything that goes through our gastrointestinal tract should first be asked about its safety.

The Centre of Food Safety of Hong Kong has an article talking about Radiation and Food Safety of using a halogen oven, which I must say, is very poorly written. I have included a screen-cap of it below:

Image from cfs.gov.hk

Excuse me! Why are we talking about disinfecting food here? I want to know if the food cooked by a halogen oven will cause cancer or not, why are you telling me about germs and spores? Which high-temperature cooking method doesn't kill germs and spores I ask you?

There isn't much answers from the internet when searching in English. Luckily, with the help of my wife -- who remembers watching something about the halogen oven from the news -- I finally found the relevant information I need.

Associate Professor Dr. Lam of the biology and chemistry department @ City University of Hong Kong
Image from appledaily.com.hk

In the news article and the video, Dr. Lam argues that the cooking food with a halogen oven through the use of far infrared is practically the same as barbecuing food. During the cooking process, once the temperature reaches over 300°C, the amino acids, creatine (and glucose) react to produce a chemical substance known as heterocyclic amine (HCA), some of which are known to be carcinogenic[1]. He further stated that as the creatine level is high in chicken, more HCAs will be created in the process of cooking with halogen oven.

At constant cooking temperature of 115°C, creatine level stablises at around 2 minutes, so as the HCAs level
Images from edb.utexas.edu

But to be fair, we can't blame the halogen oven for producing carcinogenic food, the culprits are the high-temp cooking methods. According to Pais et al.(1999), Researchers have identified 16 types of HCAs produced from the cooking of muscle meats (beef, chicken breast, chicken thigh, turkey breast, pork and fish) which could increase the risk of cancer in human. Chicken meat is definitely on the list of course, also are beef, pork, fish and other poultry[2]. As for seafood, Rizwan Khan et al. (2013) discovers that fried swordfish is among the richest known sources of HCAs which is even higher than that in fried chicken[3].

The level of creatine does not stablise with temperature rises
Images from edb.utexas.edu

All in all, it is important to know that the higher the cooking temperature the lower the creatine in meat and the more the HCAs are produced. This production of HCAs cannot be avoided as long as cooking is involved, so in this "the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea" situation, it is therefore better to cook meats slowly at a lower temperature than to cook meats quickly at a higher temperature, since the level of creatine and HCAs do level off at a constant temperature with increasing cooking time.

Sometimes, faster isn't better.

Image from blog.pcnametag.com

Image from inboundsales.net

Therefore, our conclusion is that using a halogen oven for cooking does not directly cause immediate health hazards, but whether the way it has been marketed as a convenient, time-saving, high-speed cooking appliance actually induces the users desire to cook speedier food at a higher temperature more frequently could make a great topic for discussions.

For more information, do read the articles listed in the Resources sessions below. And as always, leave a comment below and tell me what you think. You may also like to download the Locky's English Playground app for better reading experience on your Android smartphone (sorry, no iPhone app).


Vocabulary:
halogen oven / cooker / cooking pot -- (n)[C] an appliance which uses far infrared from a halogen lamp to cook food
smell fishy -- to seem suspicious.
gastrointestinal tract -- (n)[C] the stomach and intestine,[1] sometimes including all the structures from the mouth to the anus.
far infrared -- (n)[U] a region in the infrared spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Far infrared is often defined as any radiation with a wavelength of 15 micrometers (µm) to 1 mm (corresponding to a range of about 20 THz to 300 GHz), which places far infrared radiation within the CIE IR-B and IR-C bands.
heterocyclic amine (HCA) -- (n)[U] chemical compounds containing at least one heterocyclic ring, which by definition has atoms of at least two different elements, plus the compound has at least one amine (nitrogen-containing) group. Carcinogenic heterocyclic amines are created by high temperature cooking of meat, for example.
carcinogenic -- (adj) refers to a substance that causes cancer
culprit -- (n)[C] a fact or situation that is the reason for something bad happening:
the devil and the deep blue sea -- (idiom) to have two choices that are both equally unpleasant or not convenient
hazard -- (n)[C] something that is dangerous and likely to cause damage:


Resources:
Food Safety Focus - Radiation and Food Safety @ Centre for Food Safety
http://www.cfs.gov.hk/english/multimedia/multimedia_pub/multimedia_pub_fsf_56_02.html

Halogen Cooking Pot | HK Top Brand | Hong Kong Q-Mark @ German Pool
http://www.germanpool.com/eng/products/list_hp.php

光波爐煮食如BBQ 患癌機會增 @ Apple Daily
http://hk.apple.nextmedia.com/news/art/20121104/18057214

錫紙BBQ損性能力　光波爐都唔啱食 @ YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olme80Ut0GI

Far Infrared @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far_infrared

Heterocyclic amine (HCAs) @ Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heterocyclic_amine

[1] Handbook of Analysis of Active Compounds in Functional Foods
http://books.google.com.hk/books?id=9yLrG9OgfM8C&pg=PA107&lpg=PA107&dq=Pais+et+al.+(1999)+creatine&source=bl&ots=S_crTvNRw9&sig=S1aqQa_Zcf85xeOWgnB8ozwPC5w&hl=en&sa=X&ei=YfYBUt_kGc3PlAXA8oHYCw&ved=0CDMQ6AEwAQ#v=onepage&q=Pais%20et%20al.%20(1999)%20creatine&f=false

[2] Formation of Mutagenic/Carcinogenic Heterocyclic Amines in Dry-Heated Model Systems, Meats, and Meat Drippings - Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry (ACS Publications)
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf980644e

[3] Identification of Seafood as an Important Dietary Source of Heterocyclic Amines by Chemometry and Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry
http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/tx4001682

Creatine Supplementation: Maintenance of Elevated Levels through the Diet @ The University of Texus At Austin
http://www.edb.utexas.edu/ssn/SN%20PDF/Creatine-Levels%20&%20Diet.PDF

Technology & Message: Locky's English Playground App v1.0.1 (Alpha) @ Locky's English Playground
http://lockyep.blogspot.com/2013/08/technology-message-lockys-english.html

http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/smell+fishy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_gastrointestinal_tract
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/carcinogenic?q=carcinogenic+
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/culprit?q=culprit
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/be-between-the-devil-and-the-deep-blue-sea?q=the+devil+and+the+deep+blue+sea
http://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/british/hazard_1?q=hazard+