【Impact of unscrupulous merchants】

The emergence of this claim is mainly due to a 2011 inspection by mainland authorities that found some brands of bird's nest on the market contained excessive levels of nitrite, a common and highly toxic carcinogen. These bird's nests were actually blood nests artificially processed by unscrupulous merchants. These unscrupulous individuals would add chemicals to swiftlet droppings and then use the droppings to fumigate white bird's nest red. Since swiftlet droppings contain a large amount of nitrite, the blood nest processed in this way naturally had excessive nitrite levels. In fact, as long as one chooses a reputable, time-honored brand with a conscience, the quality of the bird's nest is guaranteed, and this risk will naturally not exist.

【Misunderstanding of nitrite content】

The nitrite content in normal bird's nest is negligible compared to pickled vegetables and leftover food. Moreover, nitrite is washed away during the soaking and cleaning process of bird's nest. Cleaned bird's nest has a nitrite content of less than or equal to 30 mg/kg. According to the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety, cucumbers or eggplants already contain over 56 mg/kg, so the nitrite content in normal bird's nest does not lead to cancer at all!

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Vegetable nitrate content (Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety)

【Over-interpretation of EGF】

Another claim is that the epidermal growth factor (EGF) in bird's nest can cause cancer. EGF is a protein that stimulates cell division, regeneration, tissue reconstruction, and wound healing. Therefore, some say that for cancer patients, EGF would indirectly stimulate the growth of cancer cells. However, according to a research report from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University, there is currently no research to confirm this claim. On the contrary, research by the Chinese University of Hong Kong found that sialic acid in bird's nest can moisturize the skin and enhance beauty, and even inhibit bacterial growth. Therefore, bird's nest does not cause cancer; instead, it is a highly nutritious health food that nourishes and beautifies.

From the above, it can be seen that the rumor that bird's nest causes cancer is largely due to the actions of unscrupulous merchants and people's over-interpretation. Bird's nest itself has extremely high nutritional value, is suitable for all ages, and its position as one of the top ten traditional tonic foods for thousands of years is unshakable.

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