Milk, Or White Poison?

When I was growing up, my mom used to make me drink a glass of milk every morning. Millions of mothers all over the country follow this practice, and with good reason. Milk is, after all, considered to be a super-food. The problem is that a large amount of the milk in India is adulterated with substances from water to urea and detergent. While some adulterants just reduce the nutritional value, others can do some serious damage to people's health.
The Department of Biochemistry, Bhavan's Vivekananda College, Secunderabad, conducted a study on the different adulterants present in milk in Hyderabad. The study found that samples tested positive for sucrose, skim milk powder, neutralizers, salt, urea, formalin, hydrogen peroxide and detergents.
By allowing milk to be so easily contaminated, we endanger the lives and well being of hundreds of millions of children.
A 2011 study conducted by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) found that of the samples tested, 565 conformed to its standards, while a whopping 1226 failed to do so. The study also noted that samples taken from rural areas tended to fare better than those taken from urban areas, with non-compliance levels at 31% and 68.9% respectively. The study revealed that water is the most common adulterant.
The effects of the various adulterants used can vary from relatively mild, such as reducing the nutritional value of milk, to potentially fatal, like cancer. For example, milk adulterated with water would naturally be less nutritious than unadulterated milk. However, the potential side effects of ingesting urea include indigestion, diarrhoea, acidity, malfunctioning of kidneys, damage to the intestinal tract and digestive system, ulcers and impaired vision. Formalin is a solution made up of water and formaldehyde. Formaldehyde, incidentally, is chemical widely used to embalm human and animal remains. Formalin is added to prolong the shelf life of milk. Side effects of drinking milk adulterated with formalin include mood and balance alteration, liver and kidney damage, and abdominal pain, among others.
Detergents may also be added to milk diluted with water. This is done to mimic the foamy appearance of unadulterated milk. (Note: detergents may also end up in milk as a result of not properly washing the vessels and containers in which milk is stored.) Possible side effects of consuming milk laced with detergents include gastro-intestinal complications, hypotension, respiratory irritation and cancers.
Another common adulterant added to milk is urea, which is added to improve the whiteness of milk, and to improve its consistency. However, urea overburdens the kidneys as they have to filter out more urea content from the body.
Given the fact that milk is one of the most consumed food products in the country, it is essential to ensure that milk adulteration is eliminated. The dairy industry must be subject to stringent quality tests. I believe that every locality should have an authorized food inspector, who ensures that the provisions of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act are properly implemented, and milk quality is up to the mark. By allowing milk to be so easily contaminated, we endanger the lives and well being of hundreds of millions of children in this country. We need to act now. There is no tomorrow when it comes to the health of our children.

One more coconut oil brand banned

Thiruvananthapuram: The food safety department has banned manufacturing and sale of coconut oil brand, Pavan, after samples of it was found to be adulterated. With this, the number of coconut oil brands banned by the department has touched 14.
Food safety department in a test in July last year has found that 'Pavan' did not conform to the standards prescribed for coconut oil. However, the manufacturer P M Subair of Ansar Oil industries requested the department to forward samples to referral lab in Kolkata. The Kolkata lab too said that the samples were substandard and unsafe for human consumption.

Direct Selling Industry welcomes FSSAI directive on state food safety offices

The Direct Selling Industry welcomed the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directive to restrict enforcement activities by the state Food Safety Offices recently.
"The recent directive from the FSSAI has pumped a breath of life into the Direct Selling Industry, which has been facing issues in different jurisdiction due to lack of clarity," said Secretary General IDSA, Amit Chadha.
"In spite of complying all that is necessary, our member companies kept facing enforcement actions in various jurisdictions across the country. We are thankful to FSSAI to have come up with this directive, which will do a world of good to Direct Selling Industry," added Amit Chadha.
Some of the IDSA member companies deal in the category of food such as specialised nutritional products, health supplements, edible oils etc, hence come under the purview of Food Safety and Standards Act.
These products are pre-packaged food items and sold in a sealed condition to the direct sellers who further sell the same to the consumer.
As per the new Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) directive, till the time the Standards of Nutraceuticals, Food Supplements, and Health supplements gets notified, the enforcement activities against such FBO's should be restricted to test of Nutraceuticals, Food Supplements and Health Supplements with respect to requirements as mentioned in the 9th September draft notification.
Secretary General, IDSA also added that the Direct Selling Industry will stand immensely benefitted by the recent FSSAI directive as it will make it easier for the independent business owners to sell their products and transact business in the meantime till the specific regulation is notified.
"All our distributors will be encouraged by this positive move by the FSSAI, which in the interest of the consumers as well for the Direct Selling business," added Amit Chadha.
It is pertinent to mention that most of the Direct Selling distributors are also the primary consumers of the products.

Excess ash content found in ‘sub-standard’ Patanjali Atta noodles, and here's why it’s bad

The prescribed limit for ash content according is 1%.

After Swiss consumer giant Nestle landed in trouble last year after its popular instant noodle Maggi was banned in India for containing excessive quantities of lead, an desi brand could perhaps be staring at a similar problem now.
Tests carried out by a team of Food Safety and Drugs Administration (FSDA) in Meerut has found a Patanjali Atta Noodles sample "sub-standard", The Times of India reported.
The team also found ash content in the noodle's tastemaker more than the prescribed limits by nearly three times, higher than Maggi samples.
The tests were conducted on three brands of instant noodles- Maggi, Patanjali and Yippee. The samples were collected from Meerut onFebruary 5 and the results came out on Saturday. The ash content was found to be higher than permissible limits in all three samples, all of which failed the test, adds the report.
The prescribed limit for ash content according is 1%.
Ash in food products
According to Livestrong.com, "Ash refers to any inorganic material, such as minerals, present in food. It's called ash because it's residue that remains after heating removes water and organic material such as fat and protein". Ash can include essential minerals like calcium, sodium and potassium and also toxic elements like mercury.
Ash content represents the total mineral content in foods. While natural foods have less than 5% ash content, processed food on the other hand can have over 10% of ash content. Flour is one common ingredient that is associated with ash.
Analysing ash content
"The analysis of ash content in foods is simply the burning away of organic content, leaving inorganic minerals. This helps determine the amount and type of minerals in food; important because the amount of minerals can determine physiochemical properties of foods, as well as retard the growth of microorganisms. Therefore, mineral content is a vital component in a food’s nutrition, quality and, like water, microbial viability," states Dairy.com.