- Written By: Nat Robinson
- Edited By: J.T. Gale
- Last Modified Date: 30 December 2011
-
Copyright Protected:
2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation
Sodium tripolyphosphate (STPP) is a sodium salt of triphosphoric acid that has the appearance of white crystal powder. It is odorless and is water soluble. In a highly controlled environment, it is made by combining monosodium phosphate and disodium phosphate. Among its many uses, sodium tripolyphosphate generally is used as a builder and a preservative.
As a builder, sodium tripolyphosphate mainly is used in detergents and soaps. This includes dishwasher detergents as well as laundry detergents. It is used in most gel, liquid, tablet, and powder forms of each type of detergent. In the detergent, it helps strengthen the cleaning action.
Sodium tripolyphosphate is a strong cleaning ingredient that typically can rid dishes and fabrics of soil and spots. Its key function is that it allows surfactants to work at their full potential. Also, it prevents deposition of soil and acts as a pH buffer. It softens detergent water and can be used as a water treatment, as well. Many household cleaning products, including surface and toilet cleaners, contain STPP due to its cleaning component.
The uses of sodium tripolyphosphate also include using it as a preservative. It can be used to preserve foods such as red meats, poultry, and seafood, helping them to retain their tenderness and moisture. Pet food and animal feed have been known to be treated with STPP, serving the same general purpose as it does in human food. STPP also has been used in helping to preserve the quality of drinks such as milk and fruit juices.
There are many other uses of sodium tripolyphosphate, as well. It is used in paint as a pigment dispersant. Ceramics use it to help disperse clay, and paper mills use it as an oil-resistant agent when coating paper. It additionally has been used as a tanning agent in making leather, and the minerals in cement have been known to be treated with it. Sodium tripolyphosphate also has been used as an additive in toothpaste due to its cleaning action.
It generally is advised that sodium tripolyphosphate be stored in a cool and well-ventilated area. Direct sunlight and damp areas usually should be avoided. If STPP comes into contact with skin, the area should be thoroughly rinsed. If eye contact is made, it is important to immediately flush the eyes. STPP is not intended to be ingested or directly inhaled either by human beings or by animals.
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anon237681
Post 30 |
The better domestic shrimp processors are getting away from this and using a natural salt product called VFish,which is a combination of mineral-rich sea salt with proprietary plant extract formulations. VFish is supposed to enable easier deboning of fish for processors by ensuring a firmer flesh structure due to its water-binding capacities. It binds water within the cells, as opposed to phosphates which do so between cells.
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anon230153
Post 29 |
All shrimps need to be frozen right after being caught on the boat so they do not go bad. Since they go bad very fast and turn black on the edges of their shell, there would be no time to bring it even to shore. Shrimp boats stay out for fishing for weeks on time and in that time the shrimp have to be frozen.(even the "fresh" shrimp in store were once frozen- all of them!) The way they get frozen is to throw them into a brine solution right away to freeze them. But the solution needs to stay liquid so you can throw the shrimp in and then take the frozen ones out after a short time. This substance helps to accomplish that. Otherwise it would take longer and the water would be a frozen block with shrimps frozen inside of the block and not individual frozen shrimps which can be processed. So basically, it helps freeze them faster, keeps them frozen and preserved while handling and keeps them from turning black. If you buy shrimp, peel the shell and wash them well! --wife of a fisherman
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anon213825
Post 28 |
Has anyone checked out sodium nitrates or nitrites? These chemicals are in bacon, sausage, ham, and most all processed and cured meats. They are killing us! |
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anon207744
Post 27 |
The problem is when the fish comes from the China or Thailand, we donot know "the dose". It could be saturated with STPP. Who is checking it? I have a severe migraine right now from an overdose of STPP laden shrimp. This is also a way to cheat the consumer as makes the fish or shrimp absorb water and you end up paying for water weight. It can also make a bad quality product appear to be fine. |
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thomsonmeats
Post 26 |
People really do not read all the information given, do they? STPP is safe when mixed in foods and is in small quantities. It is not meant for you to eat it or snort it but to help manufacturers in processing a product. Salt is also used to help whiten clothes in the wash so don't eat any more of that and you put it directly on your food and in your mouth. You will die more from all the fats in foods than from chemicals, and just so you know, in case no one ever told you, but you are going to die some day. You will not live forever and if you don't believe me, go to the cemetary and see if it's empty. |
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anon175883
Post 25 |
Look at all the people going off the deep end. Sheesh! A little knowledge in the wrong hands is a dangerous thing. Next up, Dr. Mercola will have a page up about this and will be selling gullible people some kind of seaweed detox remedy to rid the body of it. |
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anon174559
Post 24 |
Did you know that this is also in Kraft Macaroni and Cheese? Our kids eat this stuff! |
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anon165038
Post 23 |
There are other things you need to be aware of, like Triclosan. It's a toxic pesticide and effects the human thyroid gland, and possibly other internal organs. Triclosan is found in antibacterial soap and colgate toothpaste for sensitive teeth. |
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anon159874
Post 22 |
Let's see. Government took out the sulfa drugs as preservatives. Sulfa drugs, like BHA and BHT stopped cholera, dysentery, IBS, etc. Now they put in STPP! Ever hear of spontaneous human combustion? It is caused by the uncontrolled cascading breakdown of phosphate in the body. Why would the FDA allow STPP in foods? Causes digestive problems, blood problems, and whatever else than can be caused by chemicals that burn the skin! Insanity! |
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anon156370
Post 21 |
Caffeine is really 1,3,7-trimethylxanthine. Bet you can't pronounce that while drinking your tea and coffee. The MSDS states "do not ingest." Get over your chemophobia. You are made of chemicals for heaven's sake. |
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anon155193
Post 20 |
My wife had a Banquet turkey pot pie. She developed a red face, itching, fast heart rate, and noticed an extremely strong salty taste. Strange. |
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anon151782
Post 19 |
I bought wild caught salmon from Wal-Mart. It has STPP to retain moisture. This stuff is also used to make detergents for your clothes and dishes because it is a cleaning chemical. Then they want us to eat it too. What's up with that? |
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anon148443
Post 18 |
I ate some Wolf brand chili noticed afterward a trip to the bathroom and a head ache like migraines my stomach don't feel quite settle yet a few hours later I looked on the can to read the ingredients to learn of the Sodium Tripolyphosphate no more I will do from scratch with the chili Please pass this information along. This is not good. |
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anon144378
Post 17 |
This is all new to me! Last night I ate some basa fillets from super store, and this morning I awoke with large hive-like welts all over my neck, ears, and upper body! Checking the label, I read basa, salt, sodium tripolyphosphate. I checked to see if this could be the culprit, and am finding many sites where people report a reaction to this chemical. why is this not included in the labeling? I am presently taking an antihistamine, but the rash is still spreading! |
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anon141507
Post 16 |
I'm allergic to it. I get huge hives whenever I eat it. |
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anon139212
Post 14 |
Also, STPP is a registered pesticide. |
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anon139211
Post 13 |
STPP sure ruins shrimp taste and texture and is not at all necessary. Face it, we are systematically being made sick by the big food corporations that control the FDA and the USDA. Ya think? |
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anon137186
Post 12 |
To those complaining of toxicity, remember it is the dose that makes a poison. Virtually everything is toxic at high enough doses, including DHMO. But at safe levels these chemicals save lives. |
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anon132703
Post 11 |
Because advertisers and corporations run the world and prey on uneducated consumers.
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anon111926
Post 10 |
I found it in AquaStar Cooked Prawns, product of Thailand, sold as frozen food at The Real Canadian Superstore. Ingredients: prawns, salt, sodium tripolyphosphate (for moisture retention). Sounds innocuous. Most shrimp in the supermarkets are full of toxins nowadays. We're killing ourselves. |
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anon111471
Post 9 |
Yeah, that DHMO, I can't believe they allow that stuff on the market at all! Someone aspirated only a tiny amount in my office just yesterday and they had to spend 10 minutes in the bathroom just to regain their composure- I never allow the stuff in the house. |
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anon101374
Post 8 |
what is the alternative to STPP in soap making? |
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anon94437
Post 7 |
Some of these comments only make me realize how easy it is for people to take information out of context and then panic without reason. Many chemicals serve both food-related and industrial purposes. Sodium Tripolyphosphate is listed as an FDA direct food additive (21 CFR 173.310) and is GRAS, meaning generally recognized as safe. Another one to really worry about would be Dihydrogen Monoxide (DHMO)! Seriously. Look it up. You and your children have unwittingly been exposed to this powerful chemical for years! My goodness, we are just surrounded by these awful, awful chemicals, aren't we? |
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anon92219
Post 6 |
Many preservatives have never been tested for the effects on humans. STPP is a suspected neurotoxin from what little research has been conducted. Just passing along what I know |
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anon90709
Post 5 |
I am appalled by the definition of this STPP. I was reading the ingredients in Gorton's Fish Sticks, before I fed them to my eight year old son, and found this ingredient. I have learned over the years, if you can't pronounce it you probably shouldn't ingest it, so i looked up the step. I cannot believe that it says "not intended to be ingested or indirectly inhaled by human beings or animals". Why the heck would it be in the food we feed our children? I would love an explanation. |
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anon89079
Post 4 |
It's the dose that makes the poison. In our modern chemical training we have forgotten that. Chlorine, for example, can be used to gas soldiers or to kill bacteria in your drinking water. STPP can be used quite safely in the right dose in the right place. You have to read all the instructions, not just pick out hazard statements out-of-context. |
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anon84775
Post 3 |
I read this article, and am as aghast as you are! My roommate bought wild caught salmon that was prepackaged and it has this junk in it! The more I read about STPP, the more ticked off I become. All I taste is soap; I can't even tell I'm eating fish. |
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anon81790
Post 2 |
"STPP is not intended to be ingested or directly inhaled either by human beings or by animals." Then why is it in our food? |
