BOGDAN-CATALIN SERBAN, OCTAVIAN BUIU, MARIUS BUMBAC, CRISTINA-MIHAELA NICOLESCU, CORNEL COBIANU
Even though the Internet is an enormous online library, discrimination between the accurate, scientific data and misleading information can be a serious issue even for a well- trained person. Unfortunately, a plethora of false information related to the chemical compounds with major impact on our lives is distributed on online environment. The main purpose of this paper is to review a few of the most encountered urban myths related to the “dangerous, carcinogenic, toxic” substances or, on the contrary, “panacea compounds”. Thus, the paper does analyze the popular (unconfirmed) facts and statements versus scientific evidence covering hot topics such as parabens, monosodium glutamate (MSG), Saccharin, amygdalin and Laetril, resveratrol, and rheosmin (raspberry ketone). Furthermore, the paper emphasizes the role of the high – school teachers in ensuring that students do access the most relevant and valid sources of information, while providing specific tools to discriminate between accurate, scientific data and false and dangerous statements with negative consequences from the educational perspective and beyond. Last but not least, the paper highlights the importance of using reliable sources of information from well-established institutions such as the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority, www.efsa.europa.eu), EMA (European Medicine Agency, http://www.ema.europa.eu), FDA (Food and Drug Administration, www.fda.gov), the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency, www.epa.gov), the IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer, www.iarc.fr), the ANM (National Medicines Agency, http://www.anpm.ro), WHO (World Health Organization, www.who.int), EMA (European Medicine Agency), Mayo Clinic.
Internet, monosodium glutamate, Laetril, FDA, IARC
739-752