Madurai: The use of silver foil to garnish sweets will be a thing of the past as the food safety officials are planning to enforce a ban on its usage from November this year. As the sweet preparation is expected to begin soon to meet the demand for the Diwali festival, which falls on November 6, it is imperative on part of the bakers to stay away from using silver foil, which is manufactured using animal parts.
Food Safety and Standards (food products standards and food additives) Fifth Amendment regulations 2016, brought in new regulations on the use of silver foils to address various issues prevailing in its production.
It was widely manufactured by hammering silver placed between sheets of intestine of animals such as cow and buffalo for hours together to get the required thinness.
There were also complaints of adulteration by using aluminium, a heavy metal which can cause health problems, instead of silver. The regulation has addressed it by mandating the weight of silver foil up to 2.8 gram per square metre. Aluminium cannot be beaten as thin as silver.
An official from the department said it may still contain the pieces of the animal, which can cause heath problem. Moreover, it cannot still be called as a vegetarian food. Although advanced methods to prepare the foil using machinery can be done, it is hard to distinguish between the two, he said.
Some of the bakers in the city have given up the usage of silver foils voluntarily. They say that they have done it to maintain the standard and to give the best to the consumers. “We have stopped using silver foils a few years back voluntarily since its production involves animal intestine. We could not able to differentiate the ones produced safely,” said M Jayakumar of Jayaram Bakery said.
The regulation could not be implemented since the Delhi high court had stayed the proceeding, considering the large workforce involved in the job.
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