O Centro de Hong Kong para a Segurança dos Alimentos oferece as seguintes informações e conselhos:
Use of Hydrogen Peroxide in Food Processing
- Because of its strong oxidising property, hydrogen peroxide is used as a bleaching agent in some foods such as wheat flour, edible oil, egg white etc. in countries like the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
- It is also allowed to be used as an antimicrobial agent in food, e.g. milk, and as a sterilizing agent for food packaging materials.
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Safety of Hydrogen Peroxide
- Oral ingestion of 3% hydrogen peroxide solutions (household strength) generally does not result in severe toxicity but may result in vomiting, mild irritation to mucosa and burns in the mouth, throat, oesophagus and stomach. Ingestion of higher concentration, e.g. >10%, can result in more dangerous sequelae such as burns to mucus membranes and gut mucosa.
- Hydrogen peroxide is unstable and would decompose in contact with food and after cooking.
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Advice to the Trade
If hydrogen peroxide is used in processing food, only food grade hydrogen peroxide should be used in processing food.
The amount of hydrogen peroxide to be used in food processing should be limited to the amount sufficient for the purpose.
Appropriate measures should be taken to remove residual hydrogen peroxide from the finished products.
Com base nessas informações, parece haver algum precedente para o uso de peróxido de hidrogênio em um ambiente de cozinha.