Apr 14, 2016
Check Your Noodles Packet for 'MSG' Label
CHENNAI: The country’s favourite noodles, Maggi, may be back on the shelves after clearing all tests and being certified safe by labs. But you may still have to check for a label while buying packet foods – a label telling you if it contains Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) – a flavour enhancer that gives a unique addictive savoury taste and got Maggi into trouble (and also helped it capture the market).
While MSG is internationally approved as an agent to enhance flavour, its excessive consumption is considered undesirable, though no research has proved any scientific causal link between MSG and health disorders.
The controversy around Maggi simmered down, but the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has now directed all food safety commissioners to conduct checks on the manufacturing premises, as this is the only means to identify if MSG was added deliberately with no proper labeling. “There is no analytical method to determine whether MSG was added to the product during its manufacture or was naturally present in the product. This can be checked through inspection of the manufacturing premises,” said an FSSAI order dated March 31.
MSG is prohibited in selective food products Under Regulations 3.1.11 of the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product standards and Food Additives), Regulations, 2011. It should not be added to any food for use by infants below one year and in a few other selective food items.
MSG will slowly affect vision and also will cause adverse effect in those suffering from cardiac problems, renal problems, high BP and diabetes, warn experts. Meenakshi Bajaj, dietician at the Government Multi Super Speciality Hospital, says people with the ‘Chinese restaurant syndrome’ should not consume food flavoured with MSG. “They may suffer giddiness, palpitation, tightening of the face and itching. Seven grams of MSG intake is allowed per day for a person who weighs 70 kg. Anything above that is harmful,” she said.
Said Kumar Jayant, State Commissioner of Food Safety. “We regularly get complaints about sub-standard food but there is no mechanism to check MSG presence. But if anyone is found guilty, we’ll take action.”
HOW it was found
Glutamic acid was discovered and identified in 1866 by the German chemist Karl Heinrich Ritthausen, who treated wheat gluten (from where its name is derived) with Sulphuric acid.
In 1908, a Japanese professor named Kikunae Ikeda was able to extract glutamate from this broth and determined that glutamate provided the savoury taste to the soup. Ikeda then filed a patent to produce MSG and commercial production started the following year. He called it Umami.
What is MSG?
Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of the common amino acid glutamic acid. Glutamic acid is naturally present in our bodies, and in many foods and additives
How is it made?
MSG occurs naturally in many foods like tomatoes and cheeses. People around the world have eaten glutamate-rich foods throughout history. For instance, a historical dish in the Asian community is a glutamate-rich seaweed broth.
How it is prepared
Today, instead of extracting and crystallising MSG from seaweed broth, MSG is produced by fermentation of starch, sugar beets, sugar cane or molasses. This process is similar to that used to make yogurt, vinegar and wine (Source: Wikipedia and US Food and Drug Administration’s website)
சுகாதாரமின்றி இயங்கி வரும் ஆவின் பால் பண்ணை அதிகாரிகள் ஆய்வில் குட்டு அம்பலம்
சேலம், ஏப்.14:
சேலம் ஆவின் பால் பண்ணை சுகா தா ரம் இன்றி இயங்கி வரு வது உணவு பாது காப்பு அதி கா ரி க ளின் ஆய் வில் தெரி ய வந் துள் ளது.
சேலம் நீதி மன்ற வளா கத் தில் ஆவின் பால கம் செயல் பட்டு வரு கி றது. இங்கு காலா வ தி யான குளிர் பா னங் கள் விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு வ தாக புகார் வந் த தால், மாவட்ட உணவு பாது காப்பு துறை நிய மன அலு வ லர் டாக் டர் அனு ராதா தலை மை யி லான அதி கா ரி கள், நீதி மன்ற வளா கத் தில் உள்ள பால கத் தில் அதி ரடி சோதனை நடத் தி னர். இதில், ஆவி னில் தயா ரிக் கப் பட்ட காலா வ தி யான குளிர் பா னங் கள் விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு வது கண் டு பி டிக் கப் பட்டு, பறி மு தல் செய்து குளிர் பா னங் களை தரை யில் கொட்டி அழித் த னர். இது தொடர் பாக ஆவி னின் உதவி பொது மே லா ள ருக்கு நோட் டீஸ் வழங் கப் பட் டது.
அப் போது, வழக் க றி ஞர் சங்க நிர் வா கி கள் கூறு கை யில் “இங்கு விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டும் குளிர் பா னங் கள் ஆவின் பால் பண் ணை யில் தயா ரிக் கப் பட்டு அங் கி ருந்து தான் எடுத்து வரப் ப டு கி றது. அங் கி ருந்தே காலா வ தி யான குளிர் பா னம் தான் விற் ப னைக்கு வரு கி ற தா? என சோதனை செய்து அவற் றை யும் அழிக்க வேண் டும்’ என அதி கா ரி க ளி டம் கோரிக்கை விடுத் த னர்.
இதை ய டுத்து நேற்று முன் தி னம் டாக் டர் அனு ராதா மற் றும் அதி கா ரி கள், சேலம் இரும் பாலை பகு தி யில் உள்ள ஆவின் பால் பண் ணை யில் அதி ரடி சோதனை நடத் தி னர். அப் போது, காலா வ தி யான பொருட் கள் எது வும் கண் டு பி டிக் கப் ப ட வில்லை. ஆனால் பண்ணை சுகா தா ர மற்ற முறை யில் இருந் தது தெரி ய வந் தது. இது கு றித் து ஆ வின் பொது மே லா ளர் சாந் தி யி டம் கேட்ட போது, “ஆட் கள் பற் றாக் குறை கார ண மாக சுகா தார பணி களை முழு மை யாக செய்ய முடி ய வில் லை” என் றார். மேலும் காலா வதி குளிர் பா னத்தை விற் ப னைக்கு கொண்டு சென்ற ஆ வின் கண் கா ணிப் பா ள ரி டம் விளக் கம் கேட்டு நோட் டீஸ் அளித் துள் ளோம்” என் றார்.அடுத்த முறை சோதனை செய் யும் போது, முறை யாக சுகா தா ரம் பேணப் ப ட வில்லை என் றால், கடும் நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டும் என அதி கா ரி கள் எச் ச ரிக்கை விடுத்து சென் ற னர்.
Trader arrested for selling fake mango juice
Hyderabad: A team of Task Force, along with Food Safety Officers (GHMC) conducted a raid on illegal manufacturing unit of mango juice located at Ramnagar on Wednesday and apprehended the owner of Sweety Traders, Bachu Vijay Bhaskar.
According to Task Force officials, the accused illegally manufactured adulterated juice under the name Sweety Mango Juice. He used mango essence, sugar and water to prepare the juice. He also deployed workers to produce huge quantity of the juice.
Later, he sold the packaged bottles to retail businesses for sales. The officials seized huge quantity of bottles from the manufacturing unit.
The manufacturing unit was operating without any valid license or permission from the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC). “Vijay Bhaskar cheated the public by claiming that he was selling original mango juice, endangering health of consumers with noxious drink,” said N Koti Reddy, Additional DCP, Task Force.
‘Food inspector’ who charged restaurants in Malad Rs 3,000 for tests held
MUMBAI: An 'engineer' who posed as an officer with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and knocked out money from restaurant managements on the pretext of taking samples for testing was arrested at Malad on Wednesday. Dhaval Bhansali, the accused, was carrying a fake FSSAI identity card, besides a bogus Aadhaar card and driving licence. He has duped the managements of six Malad restaurants in the past fortnight.
Bhansali, a Borivali resident, would visit restaurants and introduce himself as food and health inspector Anil Rathod, working under the central government. He would tell the management that he needed to take samples of spices used for preparing food. He charged each restaurant Rs 3000 for sending these samples for tests. If they refused to pay the money, Bhansali would threaten to lodge a complaint.
"Bhansali never carried containers or vials to take the samples. This made restaurant managements suspicious. Those restaurateurs who had been conned decided to alert their friends in the same industry. On a WhatsApp group formed by suburban restaurateurs, a description of the conman was uploaded.
On Wednesday, Bhansali walked into Aditi restaurant on Malad SV Road and tried the same trick. The alert manager distracted him and informed the local police. Bhansali was hauled to the Malad police station where he was frisked. Several bank cards, business cards and cash was found on him. He was booked on charges of cheating based on a complaint filed by the management of Aditi restaurant. The police suspect Bhansali may have duped many other establishments in this manner.
Cause Célèbre
Punishing celebs for misleading advertisements is unreasonable
Though A Parliamentary Standing Committee has recommended that celebrity endorsers be punished—with up to five years imprisonment and up to Rs 50 lakh fine—if claims made in advertisements featuring them turn out to be false, the government should take a nuanced stand. While celebrities must be careful about what their associations, it is unreasonable to hold them culpable for misleading advertising
As per the Hindu Business Line, the committee is of the view that the existing punishment is not enough of a deterrent. However, for food product ads, Section 24 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 states, that no person should provide misleading representation concerning the “standard, quality, quantity or grade-composition” and “the need for, or the usefulness” of a food product or make any statement which “gives to the public any guarantee of the (product’s) efficacy that is not based on an adequate or scientific justification thereof”; Section 53 prescribes a penalty for such violations. While it is desirable that celebrities have a genuine experience of the product/service they are endorsing—US Federal Trade Commission stresses this strongly—the onus of determining whether a claim is false or true lies with the regulator. Claims made about a health drink are to be tested by the FSSAI. The interest of the Indian consumer would perhaps be better served with a Malaysia-like model, where the Code of Advertising Practice distinguishes between different consumer classes, and thereby imposes standards commensurate to the class’s vulnerability—”persons, characters or groups” held to have achieved celebrity status with children have to be very careful of their endorsements. However, they are not held liable for any misrepresentation. That is the advertiser’s onus—any violation is met with “withholding of advertising space from advertisers and the withdrawal of trading privileges from advertisers/ advertising agencies”.
KMC informs on Maggi noodles
Kohima Municipal Council (KMC) has informed the responsible business community and the general public to adhere to the Bombay High Court ruling that lifted ban on Maggi noodles imposed by Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI).
In a circular, KMC administrator Kovi Meyase also informed the public to check “packaged level” properly before purchase.
The circular stated that FSSAI has filed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) before the Supreme Court of India against the Bombay High Court order and until any relief was obtained from the Supreme Court, the authorities have to adhere to the Bombay High Court judgement dated September 4, 2015 in letter and spirit.
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