Why Vanaspati Ghee Should Come With A Warning Label

My mom leaves for work at 6am every morning, which means I make my own breakfast (three fried eggs with sautéed vegetables, and a protein shake). I fry my eggs in butter. I know most people would call me crazy, and tell me that I will get fat (I'm still the skinniest guy around!), but trust me, it's safer than vanaspati ghee (partially hydrogenated vegetable oil), and many other commercially available vegetable oils. That's because it isn't packed with trans saturated fatty acids or trans fats.

The consumption of trans fats is one of the world's biggest food safety issues, and even more so in India. If you love your packaged foods, don't forget to read the labels! Manufacturers label trans fats in their products as "edible vegetable fat", "partially hydrogenated vegetable oil", "vegetable shortening", "vanaspati ghee", "margarine", etc.

"The World Health Organisation has recommended limiting one's energy intake from trans fats to just 1%."

According to the National Heart Foundation of Australia, trans fats increase the risk of heart disease by increasing the "bad" LDL cholesterol, while also lowering the "good" HDL cholesterol in the blood.

A paper published in the International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications predicted that by 2015, more than 6 crore Indians will suffer from cardiovascular disease. A 2009 European Journal of Clinical Nutrition article associated a 2% increase in energy intake from trans fats with a 23% increase in heart disease risk. Research has also linked trans fats consumption to poorer memory in younger men.

The World Health Organisation has recommended limiting one's energy intake from trans fats to just 1%, and in June 2015, the US Food & Drug Administration gave the American food industry three years to eliminate trans fats completely from their products.

The trans fats problem in India is huge, and corresponds to an increase in the consumption of packaged foods and eating out, especially in the last decade. Its consumption has been closely linked with cardiovascular disease.

We Indians consume large quantities of trans fats in vanaspati ghee which accounts for about 10% of our total oil consumption. We also consume trans fats through seemingly 'harmless' products like namkeen, biscuits, cakes and pastries, chocolates etc. Many restaurants and street food vendors in India liberally use vanaspati ghee as a cheaper alternative to desi ghee. You may believe that the samosa or kachodi from a street vendor is unsanitary and therefore unhealthy. However, an equally serious health issue could be that it is loaded with toxic trans fats.

"Many restaurants and street food vendors in India liberally use vanaspati ghee as a cheaper alternative to desi ghee."

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has reduced the maximum permitted amount of trans fats in edible oil from 10% to 5%. This is not enough. I believe that like the US FDA, the FSSAI must go the whole way and aim for the complete elimination of trans fats from packaged foods.

I strongly recommend reading labels before purchasing any packaged food products. Read the ingredient list and the fine print. Ask the restaurant, the street food vendor and the neighbourhood bakery if they use vanaspati or margarine in their products and if they do, do not buy or eat their stuff. If you're baking or frying at home, use butter, ghee or coconut oil. Believe it or not, they're the healthier and in most cases, tastier options. Use vegetable oils only for low heat cooking because of the problem of oxidised PUFA; but then that's the subject of another blog post. Eat healthy, stay safe.

HC directs FSSA to look into use of alloxan in refined flour

Chennai, May 2 (PTI) Madras High Court has directed Food Safety and Standard Authority to look into the alleged mixing of a harmful chemical in refined flour and take action if the charge was found to be true.

The directive was given by a bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Justice M M Sundresh while disposing of a PIL which alleged the chemical alloxan was mixed in 'maida' and intake of food made of it killed beta cells of pancreas resulting in diabetics.

The court ordered the FSSA to complete the probe within three months.

Petitioner K Rajendran sought a direction to the authorities to ban use of alloxan in white flour.

He also contended that bleaching of the flour destroys its nutrient values.

Noting that apparently the petitioner had no expertise in the field to canvass for ban on the chemical, the bench, however, said the matter was important.

"...our concern is that the cause does not get damaged because of the petitioner has no expertise in the field," the bench said directing the FSSA to look into it.

Chandigarh: Watch out for artificially ripened fruits

Fruits ripened with calcium carbide or acetylene gas put consumers at a risk of diarrhoea, headache, dizziness, intestinal disruption, mood swings and ulcers on the skin or even cancer when consumed over a long period of time.

SUMMERS BRING the most desirable fruits that everyone loves to indulge in but some of these fruits pose serious health hazards due to the artificial ripening techniques used. The most common chemical used to ripen a fruit artificially is calcium carbide, a strong reactive chemical that is sprayed or injected on fruits.

“These days papayas, bananas and mangoes are injected with chemicals to ripen them in a day or two. This can be observed especially in the mangoes. Since most of our stock comes from different places, a lot of times we can’t say if a fruit is chemically treated just by looking at it. We sell what we get,” says a vendor at Sector 26 market.

According to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), calcium carbide, mostly used in the gaseous form, makes the fruit soft and uniformly coloured while it depreciates the taste, nutrition value and shelf life of the fruit. Fruits ripened with calcium carbide or acetylene gas put consumers at a risk of diarrhoea, headache, dizziness, intestinal disruption, mood swings and ulcers on the skin or even cancer when consumed over a long period of time.

About the kind of checks and penalties imposed on the use of a banned substance like calcium carbide, Sukhwinder Singh, designated officer, Food Licensing Authority, says, “To keep a check on such activities, we conduct surprise raids in the vegetable and fruit markets across the city, after which we either take the vendor to task or destroy the chemically treated fruits. Last year, a team including three SDMs, members of Food Supply and Distribution Department and I had conducted a raid at Sector 26 market where we had confiscated tonnes of bananas that were later destroyed.” 

Apart from raids, Sukhwinder says that a vendor selling fruits without a licence are challaned up to Rs 5 lakh along with imprisonment for six months and a vendor found selling fruits and vegetables in unhygienic conditions is challaned Rs 1 lakh. 

While the authorities claim that there are strict provisions to prevent the use of chemicals in fruits during summers, the vendors across the city believe that no action is taken against vendors who sell artificially ripened fruit, which in turn encourages others to increase their daily sales using artificial substances.

Opinion: If Maggi had a problem, is detecting that FSSAI’s job or Amitabh Bachchan’s?

Popular instant noodle Maggi had banned ingredients in it, how were Amitabh Bachchan or Madhuri Dixit or Preity Zinta to know this when they signed on as brand ambassadors?

Social media pressure on cricketer MS Dhoni to step down as the brand ambassador for real estate firm Amrapali Group is one thing, holding him accountable for the alleged defaults by the group is quite another. Similarly, if the food safety regulator FSSAI wasn’t able to discover till only recently – and it turns out, this finding was incorrect, and possibly even fudged by local authorities in a few states – that popular instant noodle Maggi had banned ingredients in it, how were Amitabh Bachchan or Madhuri Dixit or Preity Zinta to know this when they signed on as brand ambassadors? Even if there was a law that prevented celebrities endorsing ‘bad’ products, where was the information that indicated or made it clear Maggi products were harmful?

Which is why, the parliamentary standing committee’s report that wants to penalize brand ambassadors for misleading advertisements is so bizarre and shows just how little the worthies on the committee have applied their mind. The committee has recommended a fine of Rs 10 lakh or imprisonment of up to two years, or both, for what they call a first-time offence, and a fine of Rs 50 lakh and imprisonment of up to five years for the second. For subsequent offences, the penalties will be pegged to the value of sales volumes of such products or service. Instead of insisting on stringent penalties on regulators who fail to detect problems in time or to take action against companies who sell inferior products or default on obligations to customers, the parliamentarians have taken the easy – and populist – way out by holding the brand ambassadors liable. While there is no doubt unscrupulous firms do pay large sums to celebrities to endorse their products – Home Trade got Sachin Tendulkar, Hrithik Roshan and Shah Rukh Khan to endorse it even though it had no great product to offer and later cheated investors of several hundred crore – the solution only lies in the authorities apprehending these crooks. If a celebrity endorses a product with a known problem, such as tobacco or alcohol or a convicted real-estate builder, some kind of action can still be considered, and this too has to be of the social media type that got Dhoni to ditch Amrapali. A much better solution, though, is to simply impose codes such as the ones we have in India that don’t allow such products to be advertised – it is true that alcohol firms manage to get away with surrogate advertising but this is better tackled by taking action against the firms rather than on the celebrities that endorse them; indeed, once action is taken against an alcohol company for advertising club soda, the celebrities will automatically back off.

'Oil' is not well with Patanjali Ayurved

The advertisement is unnecessarily misleading the consumer and also derogatory and denigrating to the oil industry, SEA said

Edible oil industry body SEA has filed complaints with food regulator FSSAI and advertising industry watchdog ASCI against Patanjali Ayurved for alleged misleading ads for mustard oil and sought action against the yoga guru Ramdev-promoted firm.

The Solvent Extractors Association of India (SEA) has written to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) requesting regulators to "take action" against Patanjali, alleging that the company's recent advertisement for 'Kacchi Ghani Mustard Oil' was not in good taste.

"We would like to bring to your notice the content mentioned in Patanjali Ayurved Ltd advertisement is totally incorrect and misleading the consumers," SEA said in a letter to the FSSAI and the ASCI.

The advertisement is unnecessarily misleading the consumer and also derogatory and denigrating to the oil industry, SEA said, adding that the vegetable oil industry was a responsible industry and such unfounded communications negate the image of the industry.

"This advertisement willfully wants to create panic in the minds of consumers against solvent extracted oils and refined oils. The advertisements contravene numerous ASCI codes. We therefore kindly request you to look into our complaints and direct Patanjali Ayurved to withdraw these misleading advertisements," SEA said in its letter.

Patanjali has, however, insisted that its commercial was "based on facts, findings and research. We do not intend or mislead any one".

The association said it had sent a detailed memorandum with documentary evidence to Patanjali Ayurved, drawing their attention and requested to withdraw the misleading statements made in the advertisement against solvent extracted oils.

"Unfortunately, Patanjali continued the advertisement both in print and electronic media and therefore the Association has approached FSSAI as well as Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) to direct the Patanjali to withdraw the said advertisement with misleading facts/statements," SEA said in a statement.

தகிக்கும் வெயிலை தணிக்க பாக்கெட் தண்ணீரை பயன்படுத்தாதீங்க...!

பழநி, மே 2:

கோடை வெயில் கொளுத்தி வரு வ தால் மக் கள் பாக் கெட் தண் ணீரை அதி க ளவு பயன் ப டுத்த துவங் கி யுள் ள னர். ஆனால் இந்த தண் ணீரை குடித் தால் பல் வேறு பாதிப் பு கள் ஏற் ப டும் என டாக் டர் கள் எச் ச ரிக் கின் ற னர்.

திண் டுக் கல் மாவட் டம், பழநி நக ரில் முரு கன் கோயில் இருப் ப தால் கோடை விடு மு றை யின் கார ண மாக தற் போது தமி ழ கத் தின் பல் வேறு பகு தி க ளில் இருந் தும், வெளி மாநி லங் க ளில் இருந் தும் ஏரா ள மான பக் தர் கள் வரு கின் ற னர். தற் போது கோடை வெயில் கொளுத் து வ தால் பழநி நக ரின் பல் வேறு பகு தி க ளில் தற் கா லி க மாக குளிர் பா னக் கடை கள், பெட் டிக் கடை கள் ஏற் ப டுத் தப் பட் டுள் ளன. இங்கு அடிப் ப டைத் தேவை க ளில் ஒன் றான குடி நீ ரும் விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு கி றது. ஒரு தண் ணீர் பாக் கெட் விலை ரூ.5 ஆகும். பாட் டில் விலை ரூ.20 முதல் ரூ.30 வரை விற் பனை செய் யப் ப டு கின் றன. இத னால் பக் தர் கள் பாட் டில் தண் ணீ ருக்கு பதி லாக பாக் கெட் தண் ணீ ரையே அதி க ளவு பயன் ப டுத் து கின் ற னர்.

ஆனால் இவற் றில் பெரும் பா லா னவை முறை யான அனு மதி பெறா மல், சுகா தா ர மற்ற முறை யில் தயா ரிக் கப் பட்ட பாக் கெட் தண் ணீ ரா கவே உள் ளது என் பது தான் அதிர்ச் சி யூட் டும் தக வல்.

இந்த பாக் கெட் டு க ளில் உற் பத்தி செய் யப் பட்ட தேதிக் கான இடம் பூர்த்தி செய் யப் ப டா மல் எப் போ தும் காலி யா கவே உள் ளது. இத னால் இதன் உற் பத்தி காலத்தை அரிய முடி வ தில்லை. இது த விர, இந்த பாக் கெட் டு க ளில் உள்ள தண் ணீர் ஒரு வித துர் வா டை யு டன் உள் ளது. இது போன்ற சுகா தா ர மற்ற குடி நீரை உப யோ கிப் ப தால் பொது மக் க ளுக்கு பல் வேறு பாதிப் பு கள் ஏற் ப டு கின் றன.

இது கு றித்து மருத் து வர் கள் கூறு கை யில், ‘‘பாக் கெட் தண் ணீர் சுகா தா ர மற்ற முறை யில் தயா ரிக் கப் ப டு வ தால் சளி, இரு மல், காய்ச் ச லில் தொடங்கி சிக் குன் கு னியா, டையே ரியா முதல் மஞ் சள் கா மாலை வரை நோய் கள் ஏற் பட வாய்ப் புள் ளது. கிணற் று நீர், ஆற் று நீர் மற் றும் போர் வெல் தண் ணீ ரையே பாக் கெட் செய்து விற் ப னைக்கு கொண்டு வந்து விடு கின் ற னர். இந்த தண் ணீர் பாக் கெட் டு கள், கோடை சீசனை கணக் கில் கொண்டு, நீண்ட நாட் க ளுக்கு முன் ன தா கவே தயா ரிக் கப் பட்டு இருப்பு வைத்து கொள் கின் ற னர். இத னால் நோய் தாக் கு வது தவிர்க்க முடி யா த தாகி விடு கி ற து ’’ என் ற னர்.

இது கு றித்து பழநி நக ராட்சி சுகா தார ஆய் வா ள ரி டம் கேட் ட போது கூறி ய தா வது,

‘‘கடை க ளில் ஆய்வு செய் யப் பட்டு, இது போன்ற தண் ணீர் பாக் கெட் விற் பனை செய் வது கண் டு பி டிக் கப் பட் டால், அந்த பாக் கெட் டு கள் பறி மு தல் செய் வது மட் டு மின்றி விற் ப னை யா ளர் மீதும் கடும் நட வ டிக்கை எடுக் கப் ப டும். பொது மக் க ளும் இது போன்ற தண் ணீர் பாக் கெட் டு களை பயன் ப டுத் து வதை தவிர்க்க வேண் டும். இவ் வாறு அவர் கூறி னார்.

Mass Food Poisoning Kills 33 Including 5 Children In Pakistan's Multan

MULTAN: Some 33 people including five children have now died in central Pakistan after eating sweets accidentally tainted with insecticide, officials said Sunday.

The mass poisoning occurred in the Karor Lal Esan area of Punjab province last month.

"The death toll from poisonous sweets has risen to 33 and 13 other victims are still in hospital," district police chief Muhammad Ali Zia told AFP.

Local resident Umar Hayat bought the baked confectionery on April 17 to distribute among friends and family to celebrate the birth of his grandson.

But their jubilation was short-lived when ten people died on the same day.

Police investigator Haji Mohammad Akhtar told AFP that two sweet shop owners and one worker who were arrested after the incident would be brought before a court on Monday.

Akhtar said a chemical examination had indicated the presence of agriculture pesticides in the sweets, which had been consumed by 52 people.

Police were investigating how the chemicals were introduced into the sweets preparation process, he said.

Police last week said the worker may have inadvertently added pesticide to the sweet mix since there was a pesticide shop close by which was being renovated, and the owner had left his products at the bakery for safe keeping.

Officials said the dead included the baby boy's father and six of his uncles and one aunt.

Pakistan has poor food safety standards and hygiene laws are rarely implemented.