Artificial colours back in snacks

COIMBATORE: Do not trust the Murukku, Omapudi and boondi that sport a bright yellow color. The Food Safety Department has found at least four samples of South Indian savouries collected from bakeries and restaurants in the district to be 'unsafe' and 'not conforming to food safety standards'. However, many restaurants and sweet shop manufacturers say they find it hard to convince their customers about food safety.

The samples found unsafe include a packet of potato chips in a bakery in Annur area, a few Murukkus from a leading bakery chain in the city, Bhajji Bonda served at a shop in Pollachi and some savouries from another bakery on Mettupalayam Road. "All of them were found adding artificial colour to their food," said R Kathiravan, designated food safety officer. "We have issued notices to all of them and have filed a case too," he said.

The Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 clearly states that 'unsafe food' is an article in which there is 'presence of any colouring matter or preservatives other than that specified for its category' or if the 'article is being coloured to make it appear better than it really is'. "This point was included in the Act because long-term consumption of such artificial colours is harmful to health, because they often contain colours made of chemicals," said Kathiravan. While colour is permitted to be added to ice-creams, lolly pops, jelly crystal and North Indian sweets, it is banned in South Indian sweets and savouries. "However, in some cases, approved artificial colour is allowed," he clarified.

Though food makers admit that colours do not play a part in the taste, they find it hard to change the public's mindset. "They are used to seeing specific foods in specific colours," said Vivekanand Natraj of Moti Mahal Delux. "So we have tried to work around this by using Kashmiri Chilli which gives the red colour but is not as spicy as our local chillies. We use beetroot to add colour to vinegar soaked onion, so the difference is just 10%," he said. "Even after all this we have irate customers upset over the colour of food served or purchased," said a staff member at Nellai Muthu Vilas Sweets.

Reasons you should go organic

We all have a decision to make about what we choose to eat, whether it's conventional, chemically grown food or natural, organic produce. There are lots of reasons to choose organic, but here are five of the best:
For your health: No chemical fertilizers, pesticides or other toxic substances are used in organic farming or during handling, storage, and processing, which means organic food is safe to eat from the moment you buy it. Many chemicals used in Indian farming are banned globally, and due to uncontrolled usage, are applied to crops at levels far over safe or legal limits. These are known to cause serious health problems, including cancers, neurological disorders, autoimmune diseases, autism, especially for infants and children.
For the soil: We don't think about it very often, but the dirt where we grow our food is its own world of nutrients, organisms, and crops working closely together. Conventional farming throws this world out of sync by overloading it with a few basic chemicals, destroying the soil's health. Organic farming uses only natural, local nutrient for fertilizer, keeping the soil, and everything growing in it, healthy. For long-term food security, it is crucial that we take care of our soil, which is depleting at an alarming rate.
For Farmers: Since chemical fertilizers and pesticides destroy soil health, farmers who rely on them need more and more every year to grow the same amount of crops. These rising costs can trap farmers in inescapable debt. Ironically, farmers buy in retail and sell in wholesale! Various research studies have linked the resulting debt from industrial agriculture practices directly to farmer suicides. Organic farmers rely directly on their own land and make their own inputs, and hence don't need to buy new chemicals and fertilizers every year. This makes organic farming economically sustainable as well.
For the environment: Organic farming isn't just good for farmers and their land, it's better for the earth. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides run off into local water systems, threatening people's health and destroying plant and animal life. These toxins, which have become omnipresent in the environmental ecosystem, are inevitably making their way into our bodies as well. Conventional agriculture along with its allied activities is the single largest contributor to carbon emissions. Going organic is a major way to help reduce global warming, and ensuring long-term health for our planet and it's inhabitants.
For biodiversity: Large agribusinesses usually own the rights to certain types of seeds that are resistant to their own brands of pesticides. This can lead to the extinction of thousands of natural varieties of different fruits and veggies that make food more delicious, more exciting, and more unique. Organic farmers help preserve unique local varieties of fruits and veggies for the rest of us to enjoy.
By Ashmeet Kapoor, CEO/Founder - I Say Organic.