Carcino what? Our FDA tested breads for colour, sugar

Loaf out loud: As Delhi tests on breads trigger a national scare, Maharashtra remains clueless

Maharashtra FDA says tests to check whether your bread contains carcinogens will be conducted only if the state government so orders

Hours after a study revealed chemicals “hazardous to public health“ in most of Delhi's popular bread brands, triggering a national scare about the breakfast staple, Maharashtra's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner HS Kamble said the state did not have the lab equipment to carry out such sophisticated tests.

While the FDA is authorised to send samples out to other labs, it will only do so under direct instructions from the government.

Results from an independent investigation released by the Centre for Science and Environment in Delhi yesterday found that 84 per cent of commonly consumed brands of bread were compromised. The tests covered the whole dough spectrum ­ whole grain, multi-grain, pav, bun, pizza base, pita, even artisanal bakes such as Granex or atta bread ­ and found that 32 of the 38 varieties tested had one potentially cancerous chemical and one that has been linked to thyroid disorders.

The two chemicals ­ potassium bromate and potassium iodate ­ are routinely used as flour treatment agents in India but are banned in many countries, including the European Union, Brazil, Canada, and South Korea.

When Mirror asked whether our wholesome morning slice also had a whole host of unsavoury chemicals, FDA officials simply said that the basic safety checks are in place. Food inspectors across Maharashtra collect random samples of branded breads of all types, as well as breads from local bakeries, but what they're looking for are the obvious violations of the Food Safety and Standards Regulations­that the bread is basically free from dirt, insect and insect fragments, larvae, rodent hairs.

A standardised food item as per the Food Safety and Standards Regulations bread is also tested for the presence of artificial colours and sweeteners, but not much more. “We carry out standardised tests at our FDA laboratory in Bandra. The tests we carry out have not revealed anything worrisome,“ said FDA Joint Commissioner Suresh Annapure. However, New Delhi's scary results also emerged from outside the ambit of routine tests, and the study released yesterday has spurred the Union Health Ministry to order a probe. Chandra Bhushan, deputy director general, CSE said, “Our study confirms the widespread use of potassium bromate or iodate as well as presence of bromate or iodate residues in the final product.“

The results were checked and rechecked and verified through external third-party labs, as well as by industry experts and scientists.

Kamble's predecessor at the FDA Mahesh Zagade was quite a pioneer pushing for new tests that would check for such unexpected and harmful additives, but his practices seem to have since languished. “He told the staff that if we are testing milk samples for urea and other basic compounds and suddenly one day there is cyanide poisoning, we are obviously never going to detect it. Therefore randomly detecting these chemicals is important,“ said an FDA official. Under his aegis, a machine worth over Rs 30 lakh was purchased to conduct chemical testing but since only standardised tests are now authorised, it is lying underutilised.

The two culprit chemicals will not show up on any routine test. Potassium bromate is a very powerful oxidiser which strengthens dough and helps bread rise ­ if it is not entirely used up in the baking process, the residual can be toxic.It is classified as a category 2B carcinogen (possibly carcinogenic to humans). Potassium iodate is also an oxidising agent and studies indicate that it could trigger thyroid disorders.

Reacting to the CSE report, Union Health Minister J P Nadda has asked the general public not to panic and ordered that a thorough report be completed swiftly.