Food contamination and adulteration are concerns that need to be dealt with this World Health Day, said district Food Safety Officer Ajith Kumar. He said it is difficult to say which item is more contaminated. It is the short supply of the product in demand that triggers adulteration. Contamination can be of cooked food and raw food. While it is bacterial contamination in cooked food that is more widespread, chemical contamination of raw food cannot be overlooked.
The chemical (mainly pesticide) contamination levels are definitely high but washing with salt water and vinegar does bring it down to a great extent, say food safety experts.
The difficulty in procuring quality vegetables is a concern, which many groups have cashed in on, said Dr. K.V. Beena, district programme manager, National Health Mission. An example is the Haritha project of the Women’s Wing of Indian Medical Association, which encourages vegetable gardening, she added.
Food safety ultimately boils down to the fact that it is best to grow and cook one’s own food, said Dr. Sunny Orathel, president of the IMA, Kochi.
No comments:
Post a Comment