Sep 10, 2017
Contamination of eggs in India and egg standards
New Delhi [India], Sep 09 (ANI): According to a research study, Indian poultry farms lack the technical knowhow of European nations and also follow poor rearing practices.
There are chances that they could be using contaminated feeds or using feed ingredients without any knowledge of their nutritive value which can effect egg production.
Also, unhygienic rearing practices and lack of quality control measures can easily lead to egg contamination. It is not just the poultry farmers but traders, exporters and even consumers are unaware of the health risks of egg contamination.
Developed countries take measures to sterilise the egg surface from contamination especially from Salmonella enteritidis. In India, no such measures are taken and risk of egg contamination increases.
India has become a leading poultry producer but the potential to reach the global markets is not very bright as the quality of the products does not meet international standards. Indian eggs are often rejected for export because of the presence of chemical residues on egg shells.
Recently, a number of eggs in the domestic market, in retail shops were collected and tested and were found to contain large amounts of salmonella both on the shell and inside the egg.
However, fresh eggs collected from farms indicated less salmonella contamination. Since most consumers buy eggs from retail outlets, the chances of contracting salmonella infection increases. Lack of food safety procedures, improper storage facilities and poor transportation are some of the other causes of deterioration in eggs.
The FSSAI has proposed standards for fresh eggs in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Amendment Regulations, 2017. These standards will come into force once they are approved. The FSSAI has laid down parameters which state that the eggshells must be free of blood rings, must not be soiled or have faecal matter and they must not be cracked or leaking.
FSSAI has laid down the amount of water, protein, fats and carbohydrates that eggs must contain as also the hygienic parameters and hygienic controls, like time and temperature, that must be observed during production, processing and handling which includes sorting, grading, washing, drying, treatment, packing, storage and distribution to point of consumption.
FSSAI has laid emphasis on the storage conditions like moisture and temperature so as to reduce microbial contamination as microbial pathogens are a risk to human health.
Healthy add-ons: How fortified food is making up for missing nutrients
Data suggests that as much as 70% of Indians suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, consuming less than 50% of the recommended dietary allowance.
There could be something missing on your plate, and chances are you would never even know it.
Most Indians are not getting enough micronutrients — those vitamins and minerals that we need in really small, trace amounts, in order to remain healthy.
As diets shift towards processed and ‘refined’ foods, which are stripped of many of their nutrients, data is suggesting that as much as 70% of Indians suffer from micronutrient deficiencies, consuming less than 50% of the recommended dietary allowance (RDA).
In response, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) in November launched a large-scale drive to encourage certain foods to be fortified.
These will include milk, edible oil, wheat flour, rice and salt, to be fortified with iron, folic acid, Vitamin B12, A and D, zinc and other micrountrients.
“The campaign will focus on spreading awareness among food suppliers. We are looking at mid-day meal schemes and the Public Distribution System too, since those would benefit large numbers of people,” says Pawan Agrawal, CEO of the FSSAI.
One early success story is Mother Dairy, one of the largest milk suppliers in Delhi-NCR.
“We used to have our milk fortified with Vitamin A but we have added Vitamin D this year, following FSSAI recommendations,” says TSR Murli, chief R&D officer at Mother Dairy.
Independently of the FSSAI initiative, companies are finding takers for fortified food products.
ITC Foods, which already had such biscuits and noodles, launched a fortified chakki atta in Delhi a month ago, enriched with iron, folic acid and Vitamin B12.
This new atta variant is in line with the FSSAI mandate of reaching out to the masses with basic fortified foods,” says Hemant Malik, divisional chief executive for foods at ITC.
As awareness grows, consumers are responding too.
“I always try to get milk and milk products that are fortified with Vitamin D as vegetarians otherwise miss out on this important nutrition,” says businesswoman Dashma Wadhwani, 38.
“I made slight alterations in my shopping choices after a consultation with my dietitian, who spoke in favour of fortified foods.”
Experts do warn, however, against consuming such products in excess.
“People often think that if it’s vitamin-fortified juice, they can have as much as they want, forgetting that they are still taking in a lot of sugar or unhealthy preservatives, for instance,” says Richa Anand, chief dietician at Mumbai’s Hiranandani Hospital. “Also, everyone doesn’t need every fortified food out there. If you are not deficient in a certain vitamin, you may as well not pay extra for enriched juice.”
Marketing executive Kishor Varma, 40, switched to fortified biscuits and bread when he decided to improve his lifestyle in an erratic and hectic work schedule but has stopped now.
“My dietician advised against consuming too many biscuits even if they are fortified as one also consumes a lot of processed grain along with it. Now, I have a vitamin-fortified granola bar when I get hunger pangs,” he says.
The ideal, Dr Anand adds, is to focus on consuming as much unprocessed food as possible — and the best way to do that is return to the basics and eat a bowl each of raw fruits and veggies every day.
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