Adulteration of milk and food safety regulation

Adulteration of milk and food safety regulation

Food Adulteration is Social evil, fight it out…

The conservation of the public health is a duty which is not peculiar alone to the medical profession. Among many factors which have a great influence upon the health of the individual there is none more potent than food. Eating is the chief industry of the human race. In our state of Jammu and Kashmir there are about four million wage earners, drawing about sixty four million Rupees a day. Of this vast sum fully three-fourths are applied to the purchase of food and its preparation. It seems to me therefore that a subject which monopolizes three-fourths of the energies of the human race is one which is well worth of discussion, and especially among a body of physicians, Food Safety Professionals (Food Safety Officers & Designated officers) who have banded themselves together. Not particularly for the curing of disease, but for the more beneficent purpose of conserving the public health.

Food adulteration has become a very common practice in our country particularly in the state of Jammu and Kashmir and we are consuming these foods almost every day, which have numerous harmful effects to our health.

Some common test that can done at home to check quality of milk

S.No Adulterant Method of detection

1. WATER

The presence of water in milk can be detected by putting a drop of milk on a polished slanting surface. The drop of pure milk either or flows slowly leaving a white trail behind it, whereas milk adulterated water will flow immediately without leaving a mark.

2. Starch

Add a few drops of tincture of Iodine or Iodine solution. Formation of blue colour indicates the presence of starch.

Note: Iodine solution is easily available in the medical stores.

3. Urea 

Take a teaspoon of milk in a test tube. Add ½ teaspoon of soybean or arhar powder. Mix up the contents thoroughly by shaking the test tube. After 5 minutes, dip a red litmus paper in it. Remove the paper after ½ a minute. A change in colour from red to blue indicates the presence of urea in the milk

4. Synthetic milk 

Synthetic milk has a bitter after taste, gives a soapy feeling on rubbing between the fingers and turns yellowish on heating

5. Detergent 

Shake 5-10 ml of milk with equal amount of water. Lather indicates presence of detergents

6. Test for Glucose/inverted sugar

Milk does not contain glucose /invert sugar, if test for glucose with urease strip found positive. It means milk is adulterated

Milk is an especially touchy subject at moment with prices more than double than 2008, when a liter cost an average of Rs 16/= compared to Rs 35 /=today. The adulteration of milk and milk products is of greater importance, because milk is consumed from a new born , to a patient at death bed. A glass full of milk a day is healthy for overall health but what if it is adulterated? Milk adulteration is increasing day by day and many people are not even aware that they are having adulterated milk.

Milk is most commonly diluted with water and this common adulterant of milk which is often added to increase the quantity of milk by scrupulous milk dealers to earn easy money. Addition of water to milk reduces the nutritive value of milk but if contaminated, it poses a health risk to consumers. Contaminated water can cause infective diarrhea in children which may hamper their growth and development besides providing them fewer calories. Water used for diluting milk is usually obtained from an unsafe inexpensive source of water supply and can be contaminated with pesticides, heavy metals and other microorganisms. If such samples of milk are consumed as milk, it poses a serious risk to its consumers after affecting their overall health.

The other adulterants used are mainly starch, sodium hydroxide (caustic soda), sugar, urea, hydrated lime, sodium carbonate, formalin, detergent and ammonium sulfate. Adulterated milk is a sweet poison which though does not kill at once but it slowly makes the body a fertile ground for diseases. It proves deadly for pregnant women and patients suffering from conditions of heart ailment and high blood pressure. It is extremely poisonous for small children. Milk adulterants have hazardous health effects. The detergent in milk can cause food poisoning and other gastrointestinal complications. Its high alkaline level can also damage body tissue and destroy proteins. Other synthetic components can cause impairments, heart problems, cancer or even death. While the immediate effect of drinking milk adulterated with urea, caustic soda and formalin is gastroenteritis, the long-term effects are far more serious. Urea can lead to vomiting, nausea and gastritis. Urea is particularly harmful for the kidneys, and caustic soda can be dangerous for people suffering from hypertension and heart ailments. Formalin can cause more severe damage to the body like liver damage. The health impact of drinking milk adulterated with these chemicals is worse for children. Caustic soda harms the mucosa of the food pipe, especially in kids. The chemical which contains sodium, can act as slow poison for those suffering from hypertension and heart ailments.

From the view point of protecting the health of the consumer, the Government of India promulgated the ‘Food Safety& Standards Act 2006 & Rules/regulation 2011’. The Act came into force from 5th August 2011. It prohibits the manufacture, sale and distribution of not only adulterated foods but also foods contaminated with toxicants.

Under Section 29 of the FSSA 2006, Commissioner Food safety, designated officers and Food Safety Officers are responsible for the enforcement of the Act. The Act under section 40 & 42 empowers the purchaser to get food sample analyzed from public health laboratory Kashmir /Jammu and in case the sample founded adulterated , the purchaser is entitled refund of the testing fee and designated officer/Food Safety Officers are duty bound to initiate the legal action as warranted under the Act against the violators.

The Food Safety & Standards Act under section 51 and 59 provide the quantum of penalty /punishment for supplying sub-standards and unsafe milk to the consumers.

Section 51: Penalty for Sub-Standard Food.

Any person who whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes any article of food for human consumption which is sub-standard, shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to five lakh rupees

Section 59: Punishment for unsafe food.

Any person who, whether by himself or by any other person on his behalf, manufactures for sale or stores or sells or distributes any article of food for human consumption which is unsafe, shall be punishable,– shall be liable to a penalty which may extend to ten lakh rupees and life imprisonment in case of death.

The authorities of Jammu and Kashmir Government particularly Gazanffar Husain (IAS) Commissioner Food Safety Jammu and Kashmir is very much proactive in curbing the menace of food adulteration in the state of Jammu & Kashmir and have initiated a process to establish Jammu and Kashmir Food Safety organization which is demand of circumstances. The recent de-notification of Health officers and their replacement by more technical persons of the relevant field is the basic mandate of the Act. To covers the technical aspects of the public health, Food Safety & Standards Act 2006 & rules/ Regulations thereunder provide the qualifications for all the statutory authorities and the Act mandates the establishment of vibrant food safety organization. To treat a disease is different but to understand the complex matrix of food is more technical and enforcement of laws regulating the foods is best implements by person with technical expertise in the field than a doctor.

Reduction test for synthetic milk

Boil some milk on a slow heat while moving it with a spoon till it becomes solid (khoya). Take it off the heat and wait for 2-3 hours. If the produced solid is oily, the milk is of good quality; if it's not, it means the milk is synthetic.

வாழைத்தாரில் ரசாயன மருந்து தெளித்து பழுக்க வைக்கும் விபரீதம் அதிகாரிகள் கண்காணிப்பு அவசியம்

வாழப் பாடி, நவ.15:
வாழப் பா டி யில் ஏலத் திற் காக கொண்டு வரப் ப டும் வாழைத் தார் க ளில், ரசா யன மருந்து தெளித்து செயற் கை யாக பழுக்க வைக் கும் விப ரீ தம் தொடர் க தை யாக உள் ளது. இதனை தடுக்க அதி கா ரி கள் கண் கா ணிப்பு பணியை முடுக்கி விட வேண் டு மென சமூ க நல ஆர் வ லர் கள் கோரிக்கை விடுத் துள் ள னர்.
வாழப் பாடி மற் றும் சுற் றுப் ப கு தி க ளில் பர வ லாக வாழை சாகு படி செய் யப் பட் டுள் ளது. தோட் டங் க ளில் விளைச் ச லுக்கு வரும் வாழைத் தார் களை வெட்டி எடுத்து, மொத் த மாக வாழப் பா டிக்கு கொண்டு வரு கின் ற னர். பின் னர், அங் குள்ள தனி யார் மண் டி க ளில் ஏலத் தின் மூலம் விற் பனை செய் கின் ற னர். இவ் வாறு கொண்டு வரப் ப டும் தேன் வாழை, பூவாழை குலை களை ஏலத் தில் எடுப் ப வர் கள், அதனை சில் லரை கடை க ளுக் கும் மற் றும் பல் வேறு நிகழ்ச் சி க ளுக் கும் மொத் த மாக அனுப்பி வைக் கின் ற னர்.
அப் போது, வாழைக் கு லை க ளில் உள்ள காய் கள் விரை வாக பழுக்க வேண் டும் என் ப தற் காக ஒரு வித ரசா யன கல வையை தெளிக் கின் ற னர். அப் படி செய் தால், அந்த தார் உரிய இடத் திற்கு சென்று சேரும் போது காய் கள் அனைத் தும் நன் றாக பழுத்து விடு வ தாக தெரி விக் கின் ற னர். அந்த ரசா யன கல வை யின் பெயர் என் ன? எங் கி ருந்து கிடைக் கி ற து? என விசா ரித் தால் தக வல் தெரி விக்க மறுத்து விடு கின் ற னர். இந்த ரசா யன கல வை யால் அவர் க ளுக்கு நல்ல வரு மா னம் கிடைத் தா லும், அப் பாவி பொது மக் க ளின் உடல் ந ல னில் விளை யாடி வரு வ தாக குற் றச் சாட்டு எழுந் துள் ளது.
இது கு றித்து பொது மக் கள் கூறி ய தா வது:
ஏலத் திற் காக கொண்டு வரப் ப டும் பெரும் பா லான வாழைத் தார் க ளின் இந்த ரசா யன கல வையை தெளித்து விடு கின் ற னர். இதன் மூ லம் ஒரே நா ளில் பழுக்க வைக் கப் பட்ட பழங் களை சாப் பிட் டால், பல் வேறு உடல் உபா தை கள் ஏற் ப டு கி றது. வாந்தி, மயக் கம், குமட் டல், வயிறு உப் பு சம் உள் ளிட்ட பாதிப் பு க ளால் அவ திக் குள் ளாகி வரு கி றோம். சேலம், வாழப் பாடி, ஆத் தூர், தலை வா சல் உள் ளிட்ட பகு தி க ளி ருந்து வரு ப வர் க ளும், உள் ளூ ரைச் சேர்ந் த வர் கள் இந்த வாழைத் தார் களை ஏலத் தில் எடுத்து விற் பனை செய்து வரு கின் ற னர்.
இது பற்றி அறி யாத சில் லரை வியா பா ரி க ளும் கடை க ளில் வைத்து விற் கின் ற னர். அந்த பழங் களை அப் பாவி மக் கள் வாங்கி உண் ப தால் அவ திக் குள் ளாகி வரு கின் ற னர். எனவே, சம் பந் தப் பட்ட அதி கா ரி கள் கண் கா ணித்து உடல் ந லத் திற்கு கேடு விளை விக் கும் வகை யில் செயற்கை முறை யில் பழங் களை பழுக்க வைக் கும் முறையை கட் டுப் ப டுத்த நட வ டிக்கை எடுக்க வேண் டும்.
இவ் வாறு அவர் கள் கூறி னர்.

Sago units at Puduchatram inspected

Officials of the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department carried out inspection in sago units in Puduchatram areas and took away samples of the products here recently.
A team led by District Food Safety Officer T. Tamil Selvan along with officials from Sagoserve, Commercial Taxes department inspected three units in the area while the other nine units were closed. Samples were taken from these units and 101 bags of sago were kept in rooms and locked. Officials said that the samples would be sent to Government Food Laboratory in Salem and after obtaining the results, further action will be taken. The owners of the units were also informed not to sell or use the bags until the laboratory results confirm that the products were not adulterated.

Lesson abound from Nestle’s Maggi crisis

Packets of Maggi noodles hang on display at a roadside stall, in Ahmedabad. Maggi noodles are back on shelves five months after the popular snack was found to contain lead above permissible limits.

Multinational corporations are no saints deserving of hagiography. Corporate history is littered with instances of blunders, misrepresentations and violations by MNCs in markets across the world.
Some of these are harmless, titter-inducing bloopers such as when US package delivery company UPS expanded into Germany in the mid-1970s and realised that the colour of its staff uniforms had to be changed because, er, brown shirts were not really popular in that country after World War II.
And Coors beer found to its chagrin that when its slogan ‘Turn it loose’ was translated into Spanish, it could mean ‘Get diarrhoea’. Or when a British-licensed Iranian razor brand tried to market its shaving products in Qatar and found that its brandname in Arabic slang meant ‘buttocks’.
But MNCs also get embroiled in not so harmless controversies. In India, in recent memory, one such roiled Cadbury when worms emerged from its chocolates; and Pepsi and Coca Cola, traditional archrivals, were both at the receiving end of accusations that their beverages contained very high levels of pesticides.
In the end, all three, Cadbury, Pepsi and Coke, paid dearly for what had happened, losing out with their consumers, slipping in the marketplace, and taking hefty financial hits. But sometimes such hits can be uncalled for. As in the case of Switzerland’s Nestlé, the world’s largest food company measured in terms of revenue. This Diwali, Nestlé re-launched its instant noodle brand Maggi five months after it was forced to withdraw the popular product from the Indian market when tests by various states found lead in the product beyond permissible limits.
The Maggi controversy began in March 2014 when a district food inspector in Uttar Pradesh routinely sent samples of the noodles to a state food-testing lab. The lab found presence of monosodium glutamate (MSG), which enhances the flavour of food by adding an umami taste. MSG was not listed as an ingredient on Maggi packs and Nestlé was served a notice.
After the company appealed, samples were sent for testing to the Central Food Laboratory in Kolkata where the analysis not only confirmed the presence of MSG but also lead in quantities that surpassed “safe” levels.
That’s when things started falling over like a row of dominoes, at least for Nestlé: This summer, various states started testing Maggi, some giving it a clean chit but others blacklisting it and asking for a ban on its sales.
In early June, based on reports from various states, India’s apex food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) banned Maggi and ordered Nestlé to stop making, selling or exporting the product and all its variants.
The company withdrew Maggi and had to burn 30,000 tonnes of the noodles. Nestlé took a hit of Rs 450 crore; its quarterly profits fell 60%; sales 32%; and it went to court insisting that its noodles were safe, but so did India’s food ministry, which filed a class action suit against Nestlé on behalf of consumers, seeking damages of nearly Rs 640 crore. Two months ago, the Bombay High Court lifted the ban on Maggi noodles. And, after mandatory re-testing, Maggi is now on the way back to shop shelves.
The Maggi case has created ripples. And raised questions: Did the Indian food regulator act in haste when it ordered the ban? How good are India’s food labs, several of which blacklisted Maggi even though food regulators in Britain, Canada and Singapore tested and found Indian samples of Maggi to be fit for consumption?
And, what about the curious instance of a government department filing a class action suit, which is normally filed by consumers seeking damages? Answers to these questions could provide important lessons from the Maggi imbroglio.
As Nestlé readies to re-introduce its popular noodles in India and launch an accompanying marketing blitz that will try and rebuild Maggi’s brand equity, the fate of the class action suit — the first of its kind in India — that is in court will be watched keenly.
Besides, Maggi’s may become a celebrated affair: The Harvard Business School is believed to be working on a case study — one that they may like to name (and I borrow liberally from Lemony Snicket), A Series of Unfortunate Events.
Sanjoy Narayan is Editor-in-chief, Hindustan Times.

What we can learn from #MaggiWapsi

General public is so callous or gullible that they will believe anything that those in authority say.

1. Bullying works – shout out with or without shoddy reports and you can ban what you want in this country.
2. You might be right and the world may say so but you will still have to go around proving that you are right. If anyone raises a doubt.
3. Be prepared to spend time, money energy, and suffer loss of reputation if even a few individuals scream out against y
4. India is about “Bhed chaal”, if one says no, the others will surely follow. So one state says no to Maggi, other states, where it even tested OK, decided to ban it. The typical “I-Do-Too” syndrome.
5. People pulling you down have other intentions than what meets the eye.
6. We love to pull down a success. Be it a brand or a person. We are most happy when somebody finds fault with a successful product, even if we have trusted it for a good 30 years.
7. Trust is easily lost. Time spent with a tradition, habit or culture is meaningless then. So a shoddy report and false rumour can break trust even if you have lived with a tradition for centuries and used a product for three decades. In this country, co-existence even for ages together does not count!
8. General public is so callous or gullible that they will believe anything that those in authority say and be happy to criticise what they’ve trusted all along. The public seldom takes a stand because the public is fickle minded! Mind use is rather taxing and asking questions bothersome!
9. Polluted air is fine. Let’s breathe it because the government does nothing to change our environment for the better. Untreated water causing illness to fellow countrymen is fine because the government turns a blind eye to it. But hell, no, how do we allow a foreign company to continue when faced with a mere doubt! Mischief-makers stay away! Desi dhoka is better than videshi vishwas!
10. Sub-standard ad hoc testing methods are better to continue with rather than raise the bar to meet international standards.
11. Lungpower tops! Democracies must depend on who shouts the loudest and the longest!
12. If you stand your ground the bullies will relent.
13. If you know you are right then stand by it and prove it to the world that you are right.
14. You can’t keep a good thing down and out for too long.
15. Secret ballot is people’s strength. Power is found in numbers. People will go all out to support products when the choice appears. So Maggi is flying off shelves ever since it reappeared in our daily lives!
Baba Ramdev can wait longer to provide us with his version of healthier and happier Maggi as he had promised. For now, we are celebrating Nestle’s big bang comeback! Maggi’s ghar wapsi is a Diwali cracker to cheer for!

Crunchy toast could give you cancer, FSA warns

New study finds high level of cancer-causing chemical in home cooked roast potatoes, chips and toast
A new study has warned that eating crunchy toast could increase your risk of cancer
 

Beware the crispy roast potato and the crunchy slice of toast. Both contain worryingly high levels of a cancer-causing chemical.
A new study by the Food Standards Agency (FSA), the Government’s food safety watchdog, measured the amount of acrylamide - a cancer-causing toxin - in roast potatoes, chips and toast cooked in the home.
The FSA’s chief scientific adviser said the new research showed the need for roast potatoes and chips to be cooked to only “a light golden colour” and that bread should be toasted to “the lightest colour acceptable”.
Researchers with the FSA discovered that the crispier the roast potato or chip, the higher the levels of acrylamide they contained. The same went for toast.
The chemical, which is a proven carcinogen, is formed from a reaction between amino acids and the sugars and water found in potatoes and bread when they are subjected to temperatures above 120C.
The problem is the roast potatoes and chips that appeared the most mouth-watering - which were darkest in colour and crispiest in texture - contained the highest levels of acrylamide.
The official research, published last week, showed huge variations in levels of acrylamide depending on how long the potatoes or bread was cooked for.
In a batch of chips cooked for longest, scientists recorded 1,052 microgrammes of acrylamide per kilogramme - 50 times higher than in the batch with the lowest levels of the chemical.
In roast potatoes, the FSA recorded 490 micro grammes of acrylamide per kg in the crispiest and most cooked batch - 80 times higher than the levels contained in the palest batch of roast potatoes cooked.
The same was true of toast. The palest, least cooked toast contained just 9 microgrammes per kg while the crispiest toast contained 167 microgrammes - almost 19 times more.
Professor Guy Poppy, the FSA’s Chief Scientific Adviser, said in a report accompanying the study: “The risk assessment indicates that at the levels we are exposed to from food, acrylamide could be increasing the risk of cancer.”

Prof Poppy added: “We do not advise people to stop eating particular foods but... when making chips at home, they are cooked to a light golden colour.”
He said that “bread should be toasted to the lightest colour acceptable”.
Scientists are still unclear about what constitutes a safe level of acrylamide and the European Commission is currently considering introducing maximum levels.
There is a regulatory limit of just 0.1 microgrammes per litre for the amount of acrylamide that can be present in drinking water in the EU - a quantity far lower than found in cooked potatoes, toast or other substances including coffee.
The FSA study took samples of cooked potatoes and toast from 50 households, bagging up the samples and then measuring the levels of acrylamide in the laboratory.
Researchers found that none of the householders were aware of the possible dangers of acrylamide lurking in cooked potatoes or toast - and had no idea that prolonged cooking caused the chemical to be produced in higher volumes.
The researchers gave a series of tips on how to reduce the amount of acrylamide in roast potatoes and chips.
Researchers recommended:
Parboiling potatoes first before roasting them - considered the best method for producing crispy ‘roasties’ anyway - because the process reduces the free sugars that generate acrylamides
Storing potatoes in a cupboard rather than fridge. Low temperatures can increase the amount of sugar and sweetness in the potato , leading to more acrylamide when cooked
Cooks should not ‘fluff up’ parboiled potatoes before roasting them because in doing so it increases the surface area which in turn increases levels of acrylamide
The official recommendation to avoid ‘fluffing’ up parboiled potatoes - usually by shaking them in the pan before roasting - will appal professional and amateur cooks alike.
It is widely recognised that the best roast potatoes involve ‘fluffing’ before roasting.
But the report states: “For roast potatoes, the deliberate fluffing up (shaking parboiled potatoes in a pan) that was witnessed on a few occasions is a deliberate attempt to increase surface area. Participants’ aim for this process is for cooked potatoes to be crispier (i.e. through more oil or fat being absorbed). The increased surface area may lead to greater acrylamide generation.”