About one year ago, my level of concern over Formaldehyde exposure went from "never thinks about it" to "disturbing thoughts" after an unusual incident. It happened after I bought an air quality sensor to monitor CO2 levels in the basement. It had other measures too, but they were of secondary importance to me - that is, until...<p>One night I was in this basement room having some leftover fried rice when I happened to glance at this air quality meter. It's formaldehyde readings were normally zero, but suddenly they were reading very high. I was astonished. Attempting to try and figure out what was causing this, I noticed the formaldehyde levels were affected by how close the meter was to the fried rice dish.<p>This fried rice came from a local restaurant that's quality has always seemed good. This particular fried rice was Cantonese style salted fish fried rice[0]. The fish in this case is salted, aged, and a little fermented[1]. It's definitely an acquired taste that me and a handful of people in my life really enjoy.<p>After some googling I found a few stories about how this type of salted fish had been found to contain formaldehyde[2][3][4]. Apparently the additive helps the meat firm up into a more rubbery texture, which is something I did notice about this particular fish chunks in this rice dish. Ever since then, I have not returned to this restaurant and I don't order that item off menus anymore.<p>[0] <a href="https://10best.usatoday.com/interests/food-culture/why-salted-fish-fried-rice-has-a-cult-following-in-hong-kong/" rel="nofollow">https://10best.usatoday.com/interests/food-culture/why-salte...</a><p>[1] <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304384/" rel="nofollow">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK304384/</a><p>[2] <a href="https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/formaldehyde-detected-in-supermarket-fish-imported-from-asia/" rel="nofollow">https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2013/09/formaldehyde-detected...</a><p>[3] <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/is-formalin-present-in-your-fish-heres-how-to-buy-unadulterated-seafood/article24431555.ece" rel="nofollow">https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/is-formalin-pre...</a><p>[4] <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/is-formalin-present-in-your-fish-heres-how-to-buy-unadulterated-seafood/article24431555.ece" rel="nofollow">https://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/food/is-formalin-pre...</a>