May 31, 2017
9 including 8 minors die, 200 fall ill at after-church feast
Shillong, May 30 (PTI) Nine persons, including eight minors, died and nearly 200 people were taken ill after eating rice and pork at an after-church feast in Ri-Bhoi district of Meghalaya, officials said.
"Eight persons, including seven minors, died today due to food poisoning at Nongkya village," district Deputy Commissioner CP Gotmare said.
Another minor died yesterday at Umsning, a senior Health department official said.
Four persons died at the Ganesh Das hospital in the state capital here, one at the Shillong Civil Hospital, one at a private hospital at Nongpoh, two in Nongkya village and one at the Umsning CHC, the official added.
Nearly 200 others from nearby villages fell ill after consuming the food at the Sunday feast, he said.
Of them, 80 were admitted to the Nongpoh Civil Hospital, 33 to the Umsning CHC, 23 to the Bhoilymbong health facility and the rest to the Shillong Civil Hospital, NEIGRIHMS and Ganesh Das Hospital, he added.
Following a preliminary enquiry, Food Safety officials did not rule out that the packed rice and pork served after the church service was stale and unfit for consumption.
Samples of the food were collected today and sent to the Guwahati-based Public Health Laboratory, Joint Commissioner, Food Safety, SN Sangma said.
The victims are residents of 10 adjoining villages.
Nestle reduces salt, adds iron to make Maggi noodles healthy
Nestle’s move to cut salt content and increase iron content in Maggi noodles is a response to consumer and FSSAI push to make instant noodles healthy
The new, fortified Maggi noodles will be available over the next few weeks across the 3.5 million retail outlets in India where Nestle products are sold.
New Delhi: Nestle India Ltd, the local unit of Swiss packaged foods maker Nestle SA, is adding iron and cutting salt content in one of its most successful brands—Maggi noodles. The company is responding to a consumer and government push for healthier products, said Nestle India, which will also reduce salt content in other Maggi-branded products such as soups and seasonings.
The new, fortified Maggi masala noodles will be available over the next few weeks across the 3.5 million retail outlets in India where Nestle products are sold, and the non-fortified versions will be phased out. Pricing will not change.
The plan to reduce salt content in Maggi noodles is part of Nestle’s global strategy to cut sodium, saturated fats and sugar in its products. By 2020, Nestle wants to reduce salt content across all Maggi-branded products by 10%, and add more vegetables and other nutrient-rich ingredients. The company claims that it has brought down the sodium content in its Maggi products by 32.7% in the past 10 years.
“It is a step where we want to introduce products which offer healthier choices to our consumers as we simplify our ingredients and encourage home cooking. At the forefront of this drive is the commitment to reshape Maggi brand’s products to emphasize the use of familiar and common ingredients that people know and use for home cooking, from their own kitchen cupboard,” said Suresh Narayanan, chairman and managing director, Nestle India, in a statement.
In India, Nestle is starting by adding iron to Maggi masala noodles, aiming to provide about 15% of the recommended dietary allowance for consumers of the product. Nestle claims to sell about 2.5 billion portions of Maggi masala noodles, its single largest revenue earner in India, every year.
“Given the scale and popularity, Maggi masala noodles offer a powerful platform to address iron deficiency through the iron-fortified variant,” the company statement said.
Nestle’s move comes within four months of the country’s food regulator Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) setting up a scientific panel on “food fortification and nutrition”.
The panel is to come up with guidelines to fight malnutrition in the country by making supply of fortified food mandatory for government-backed schemes such as mid-day meals at schools, integrated child development services and the public distribution system.
FSSAI will implement these guidelines in collaboration with the Union ministry of women and child development.
Multinational food and beverage companies such as Mondelez International Inc., Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. and Unilever Plc. have announced plans to reinforce their product portfolios with healthier products globally. Some governments have already started levying sugar taxes and putting a cap on sodium levels in food items.
In India, consumers have been opting for more healthy packaged foods, including organic food products.
In 2016, food companies refurbished about 180,000 products globally, according to a joint survey by consulting firm Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd and industry body The Consumer Goods Forum. The number was about 23,000 in 2014.
“This is a general trend worldwide. This is more of how companies are responding to changing consumer demand triggered by health consciousness. This is completely market driven. Almost all companies in the food sector are looking to continuously innovate and they’ll do such things where there is scope. And consumers get healthier products at the same cost, thus better value,” said Dhanraj Bhagat, partner, Grant Thornton India Llp.
Does your breakfast cereal lie to you?
New Delhi [India], May 31 : Breakfast cereal is a food item made from processed grains and consumed as the first meal of the day.
It involves processing of the grains into fine flour before cooking. The flour may be mixed with water, sugar or chocolate. This is followed by a process known as extrusion, which shapes the cereal at high temperatures using a special machine. The cereals are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. They may be flaked, shredded or puffed during processing.
They can be coated with chocolate or frosted with sugar before drying and packaging, says Dr Saurabh Arora, founder of Food Safety Helpline.com.
What nutrients does your breakfast cereal contain?
It is said that our breakfast is the most important meal of the day. This is indeed true, as consuming a wholesome breakfast packed with nutrients in the morning boosts our energy and keeps us pepped-up till lunchtime.
As per the data published by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), a 100 g serving of a typical breakfast cereal provides nearly a fifth of the daily calorie intake (based on a daily diet of 2000 calories). The nutrient content of breakfast cereals is briefly discussed below:
- Fats: Total fat contained is 7 g which is 10 percent of the daily intake. The levels of mono and polyunsaturated fats are double that of saturated fats, making it a healthy option, coupled with the fact that there is no cholesterol.
- Carbohydrates: It is high in carbs, accounting for 22 percent of the daily intake. Sugar content can be high in some cereals due to chocolate coating or sugar frosting.
- Dietary Fiber: It is rich in dietary fibre that takes care of 40 percent of the daily needs.
- Protein: Approximately 26 percent of the daily protein needs are met by a typical breakfast cereal.
- Vitamins and Minerals: Regarding vitamins and minerals, it is rich in iron and magnesium, moderate in calcium and vitamin B6, and low in sodium and potassium. It does not contain vitamins A, C, D and B12.
Is your breakfast cereal as healthy as claimed - or does it lie?
It should be noted that many cereals are high in sugar and refined carbs. Added sugar is a bad component of our modern diet. Importantly, most of the sugar coming in our diet reaches through processed foods, of which breakfast cereals contain relatively higher amounts of sugar.
This can lead to Type 2 diabetes mellitus, heart disease and even cancer.
Processed food is essentially any food that has been modified from its normal state, mainly for convenience to the consumer. That is why these are also dubbed as 'convenience foods.'
Breakfast cereals are an ideal example of this type of food. Artificial processing of cereals by frosting with sugar or chocolate-coating, leads to over-consumption of sugar than the recommended dietary allowance. The fact that many young children are becoming over-weight or even obese, indicates that the problem of over-consumption is very real, especially among the economically upwardly mobile classes in India. Moreover, the manufacturers are also producing breakfast cereals as per the consumer's preference, but at the cost of their health.
There are also instances of misleading labelling of the cereal boxes, intended to coax the consumer to buy the product. The cereal package often highlights the presence of 'whole grains,' but on further scrutiny, these are usually in low amounts compared to other unhealthy components.
The consumer should keep in mind that actual healthy foods do not require any health claims. This warrants further studies to ascertain whether the health claims are correct or misleading. Moreover, the manufacturers often adopt shrewd business tactics by displaying cartoon characters, superheroes etc. on the cereal box, thereby attracting the attention of unassuming children, in a bid to increase sales. Sadly, their tactics seem to be actually working. Therefore, breakfast cereals can actually lie to you if you are not careful.
What Can You Do to Overcome These Health Hurdles?
It is important to be aware that your average breakfast cereal doesn't just contain the nutrients discussed above. There are many other artificial chemicals that are used during processing of the cereal. These broadly include the following:
- Binders
- Carriers
- Emulsifiers
- Stabilizers
- Raising agents
- Texturizers
- Fillers
- Colors
- Flavors
While these components can enhance your breakfast experience, they can also be harmful if not added within the maximum recommended levels. For this reason, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), as per the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011 has suggested food additives like Erythritol (max. limit as per GMP) and Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) (max. limit of 50 ppm) for breakfast cereals.
Therefore, arming yourself with the right information about breakfast cereals will help you choose wisely. Keeping yourself and your family healthy should be your first priority. Therefore, be on the lookout for wild health claims displayed on the cereal packages. Always read the display panel carefully. Pay attention to the following details:
- Nature and amounts of ingredients: Avoid cereals high in sugar and carbs.
- Nutritional information on the label: Ensure that all the nutritional information is displayed on the label; this information will ensure if the product is wholesome and nutritious.
- 'Best before' date or 'expiry' date: Never buy expired food items.
- Vegetarian / non-vegetarian logo: Breakfast cereals should ideally be vegetarian in origin.
- FSSAI logo and license no: This will ensure the high quality of the product.
- Quality of the packaging: Do not buy damaged or torn packages; ensure that the inner lining (primary packaging) is intact and the food is properly sealed.
From the foregoing discussion, it is evident that by-and-large, whole grain breakfast cereals are a healthy option. However, you should keep your eyes peeled and be alert while buying these products. Go for natural, wholesome cereals than artificially processed ones.
This will be a healthy option, with lots of dietary fibers, minus the unwanted components like sugars, thereby ensuring a nutritious breakfast for you and your entire family.
Food safety officers inspect fish centres
IMPHAL | May 30
A team of food safety officers led by Y Satyajeet inspected the fish centres in the markets of Imphal West and took the samples of the fishes today.
The inspection was carried out as part of the 100 days programme of Directorate of Health Service, Government of Manipur of and the team was comprised with food safety officers Dr M Dinesh, Dr Nonglei Pebem, Dr S Purnali and other staffs.
The samples were picked up being in suspicion of containing harmful chemical formaldehyde in the fishes which are brought in from other states.
The officers advised the fish shops to have a proper license for selling fish and to be aware of the food safety acts, and further stated that legal action will be taken up as per law against the supplier of the fishes if the harmful chemical is found in the fishes.
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