Oct 28, 2017
Child safety: 80% of baby food contains dangerous chemicals
According to a report in the Independent, the test was carried out by The Clean Label Project, a non-profit organisation that advocates consumer transparency
According to a report in the Independent, the test was carried out by The Clean Label Project, a non-profit organisation that advocates consumer transparency
A new study found that a large amount of baby food products contain dangerous chemicals.
According to a report in the Independent, the test was carried out by The Clean Label Project, a non-profit organisation that advocates consumer transparency. It revealed that chemicals like lead, cadmium and acrylamide were found in the products.
Researchers used 530 different snacks, cereals, formulas and drinks that had been purchased in the last five months for the test. Researchers found that 65 % infant products contained arsenic, 58 % contained cadmium, 36 % contained lead and 10 % contained acrylamide out of the products analysed.
80 % of infant formula samples were also found to contain arsenic, a toxin which the World Health Organisation associates with a slew of health issues such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer. While the amounts of each chemical varied with each product, some contained up to 600 parts of arsenic per billion.
Many of these were rice-based products such as crisps and ‘puffs’. The findings also suggested that baby foods today had 70 % more acrylamide than the average French fry, a chemical which has been linked to brain damage and reproductive challenges. They also found that 60 % of products with “BPA free” labels in fact tested positive for bisphenol A, an industrial chemical which is used to make plastic. They concluded their findings by identifying the top and bottom five cereals, formulas, snacks, drinks and jar meals in terms of dangerous chemical contents.
334 food samples found poor
Food Business Operators submit applications to obtain license in Salem on Thursday.
Food safety officials register cases against sellers
Of the 859 food samples takes from various establishments in the district till September, 334 food samples were found to be ‘sub-standard’ and cases were registered against the sellers.
District Collector Rohini R. Bhajibhakare on Thursday inaugurated a special camp for food business operators to enable them register with the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department and also obtain license. She said that there are 20,353 private food business operators in the district of which only 6,189 operators or 30% of the traders had obtained license. She said that Food Safety and Standards Act make it mandatory for operators to register themselves with the competent authority and operate. She asked all the operators to follow the law or face action.
The Collector said that officials of the department were inspecting establishments in the district and collecting samples to ensure that standard products are sold to the consumers. She said that 106 cases were disposed off and operators were fined to the tune of ₹49.36 lakh.
Hence, she warned operators not to sell sub-standard or unsafe products to the consumers and follow the guidelines as per the act. Mariyappan, District Designated Officer and officials were present.
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