Biochemist named possible reasons for mercury in pies in Moscow

Mercury could have gotten into baked goods when thermometers were handled carelessly at the production site. This version of the poisoning of two people with heavy metals in a Moscow bakery was voiced to Izvestia on February 12 by biochemist and scientist Alexander Khodos.

"Most likely, in some place in the technological process <...> technologists used mercury thermometers. It is not prohibited, it is possible to use them. But in food production it is necessary to use a thermometer in protective casings - these are such special metal cups, where you pour, for example, glycerin to improve thermal conductivity, and there you insert the thermometer. If the thermometer breaks, all the mercury remains in this beaker. They simply take the beaker out, dispose of the mercury, rinse the beaker and put in a new thermometer. Either someone violated the technology, or the mercury from the broken thermometer <...> got into the food," - said the expert.

At the same time, emphasized Hodos, metallic mercury when ingested in food is not very dangerous to humans. Much stronger can harm mercury vapor.

"When mercury together with food enters the human body, it almost does not interact with anything and almost unchanged form passes through the stomach, intestines and comes out with fecal masses. <...> The main channel of entry of mercury into the body is the respiratory tract. <...> It enters our body, accumulates in the lungs, primarily in the kidneys, leads to disorders of kidney tissue. <...> If you got into a room where mercury [was spilled] for a few minutes or even a couple hours - it's not good, but it's not very scary. But if you live or work in such a room every day from morning to evening, then you will accumulate a cumulative effect," Hodos explained.

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