I know how gross it is to find hair in your perfect food. That spoils your entire mood of eating, right?
Now, Don’t freak out. Seriously, don’t. You know what?
It’s not as unsafe (still, yeah gross!) as you think.
Hair is made of a protein called keratin (same stuff as your fingernails), and keratin is chemically inactive in your hair. That means it isn’t going to set off digestive issues.
According to Maria Colavincenzo, a famous dermatologist-
it’s feasible for a few staph bacteria to piggyback on a hair or two. Even still, the amount of staph a few strands could carry probably isn’t enough to cause you gastrointestinal problems. The FDA hasn’t received reports of anyone getting sick from ingesting hair found in food. According to Colavincenzo, you’d have to eat a full head’s worth of hair to cause digestive issues. So, hopefully, that means you’re safe.
By the way, There are industries that use L-cysteine (L-Cys), an
amino acid in keratin, to stabilize dough and perk up the taste buds
that detect salty, savoury flavours. While some prefer duck feather or a
cow horn, apparently, human hair yields more L-Cys.
Well, at least
thanks for serving them clean. The manufacturers who use human hair boil
it in hydrochloric acid to extract the L-cysteine from the keratin.
However, the hair, by far is the worst thing that can be seen in your food!
