Newspapers as food packing material banned

Use of newspapers for wrapping, packing and serving food is a common practice in India. However, this is a food safety hazard. Wrapping food in newspapers is an unhealthy practice and the consumption of such food is injurious to health, even if the food has been cooked hygienically.

Indians are being slowly poisoned due to newspaper being widely used as food packaging material by small hotels, vendors and also in homes in lieu of absorbent paper.

Foods contaminated by newspaper ink raise serious health concerns since the ink contains multiple bioactive materials with known negative health effects. Printing inks may also contain harmful colours, pigments, binders, additives and preservatives. Besides chemical contaminants, presence of pathogenic microorganisms in used newspapers, also pose potential risks to human health.

Newspapers and even paper/cardboard boxes made of recycled paper may be contaminated with metallic contaminants, mineral oils and harmful chemicals such as phthalates which can cause digestive problems and also lead to severe toxicity. Older people, teenagers, children and people with compromised vital organs and immune systems are at a greater risk of acquiring cancer-related health complications, if they are exposed to food packed in such material.

In view of the above, the Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) Goa , consequent to the communication received from the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, New Delhi, hereby advised all the food business operators, including street food vendors, kiosks/fast food outlets, etc., as well as consumers and the general public, that newspapers should not be used to wrap, cover and serve food, or to absorb excess oil from fried food, and should refrain/discourage the use of newspapers, in this regard, for food items.