Antibiotic resistance in food-animals growing

Mumbai: India, long associated with the spread of superbug New Delhi metallo-beta lactamase-1 and extensively drug-resistance tuberculosis, has now been identified as one of the global hotspots of rising antibiotic resistance among animals as well.

The other hotspots include China, Pakistan, Vietnam, Turkey, Brazil and South Africa, says a review study jointly done by Princeton University and Delhi-based Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy and published in Science journal on Thursday night.

Antibiotics are added to animal feed to make them healthier. The study said the increasing demand for animal protein in lower middle income countries had led to increased production (rearing of food-animals) using antibiotics liberally.

In May, a local study from Mumbai published in ‘Acta Scientific Microbiology’ journal showed resistance in chicken liver meat and eggs collected from poultry shops across 12 locations in the city.

The Mumbai study by National Facility for Biopharmaceuticals in Khalsa College, Matunga, tested the samples for bacteria salmonella that was resistant to widely used antibiotics such as amoxicillin, azithromycin, ciprofloxacin, ceftriaxone, chloramphenicol, erythromycin, gentamicin, levofloxacin, nitrofurantoin and tetracycline.

Now, the CDDEP study has said antibiotic resistance is seen in several food-animals across the globe. “It is of particular concern that antibiotic resistance is rising in low- and middle-income countries because this is where meat consumption is growing the fastest while access to veterinary antimicrobials remains largely unregulated,” said the study, adding that animals nowadays consume three times as many antibiotics as humans.

The study’s main author Ramanan Laxminarayan of CDDEP said, “The study found the proportion of antimicrobial compounds in food animals that showed resistance higher than 50 % increased overall between 2000 and 2018.”

The highest resistance rates were observed in the most commonly used classes of antimicrobials in animal production: Tetracyclines, sulfonamides, and penicillins. Commonly used human medicine such as ciprofloxacin and erythromycin (20% to 60%), too, showed high resistance while the study found moderate resistance for third- and fourth generation cephalosporins (10 to 40%). The trend is dangerous because increase in antibiotic-resistant infections among animals will finally affect humans as well.

“In developing countries where veterinary antibiotic sales remain unregulated and feed is less nutritious compared to that in high income countries, rates of antibiotic resistance in animals have the potential to increase exponentially,” said the Science study. Although beneficial for short-term mass meat production, overconsumption of antibiotics in food animals has been linked to an increase in antibiotic-resistant infections not only in animals, but also in humans. The authors feared that surveillance systems that track resistance rates among animals currently lack in low- and middle-income countries.

But academicians such as Dr Sujata Baveja, who heads the microbiology department of civic-run LTMG Hospital in Sion, said the Indian Centre for Medical Research has already started a series of programmes to control antibiotic resistance.

She added that has been an international practice for long to give antibiotics to animals to increase production of milk or meat. This also cuts transmission of bacteria from animals to humans. However, there has been no control on the amount or types of antibiotics given to food-animals reared in farms solely for human consumption. “This practice has contributed to rising levels of antimicrobial resistance in the community. Even sewage has resistant bacteria growing these days,” said Dr Baveja.

“People shouldn’t pop antibiotics if they have viral fever. They shouldn’t ask the chemist or non-allopathic doctors to give them antibiotics. Without discipline in the use of antimicrobials, we will see another tuberculosis like horror story,” added Dr Baveja.

TFA ill-effects: Cut down on Vanaspati, bakery items

Keep a check on Vanaspati and bakery items

Hyderabad: Food regulatory authorities have launched concerted efforts to make people aware of the ill-effects of trans-fatty acids (TFA) and also reduce their availability in the food items that are consumed by general public on a daily basis. As part of this initiative, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has in principle decided to bring down the trans-fatty acids (TFA), which are commonly available in Vanaspati, bakery items and margarine, a form of butter, by at least two per cent in a phase manner.

According to FSSAI, the reduction of TFA by at least two per cent would effectively bring the level of TFA to zero level in food in India. Many countries around the world such as Denmark, Chile Norway, Singapore South Africa and Ecuador have already limited TFA in all foods by 2 per cent.

How harmful is TFA?

Trans fats are major concern for various diseases such as cardiovascular diseases. The TFA is not natural and is prepared through an industrial process known as hydrogenation, which in simple terms is hardening or solidifying vegetable oils. TFA also occurs naturally, but at very lower quantities in meat and dairy products from cattle, sheep, goats, and camels.

Doctors and researchers have also found that Vanaspati or TFA causes a rise in LDL Cholesterol levels (Bad cholesterol) and lowers good Cholesterol (HDL). It also increases risk of developing heart disease and stroke and is associated with a higher risk of causing type 2 Diabetes.

How much TFA is safe?

According to Hyderabad-based National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), the daily intake of TFA should not exceed 1 per cent of energy intake. Teh FSSAI says that food products, in which edible oils and fats are used as an ingredient, shall not contain trans fatty acids more than 2 per cent by weight of the total oils or fats present in the product from January, 2022.

Woman cooks Maggi in milk and internet is angry: Are we overreacting?

01/4Love for Maggi is matchless

We love Maggi so much that it has ceased to exist as a brand for us. It is part of our childhood memories and a comfort food that we go back to, again and again. We are so possessive about it that when three years ago, in 2015, food safety regulators from Barabanki, Uttar Pradesh, reported that several samples of Maggi were found to have unexpectedly high levels of monosodium glutamate (which was actually 17 times the permissible limit), we were heartbroken, angry and incredulous! And when there was a nationwide ban on Maggi, we were not ready to believe that our ‘ideal’ comfort food could ever ditch us and that it all was a ‘conspiracy’. Maggi was eulogised in verses, celebrated in memories and talked about on social media as a love lost! This incident interestingly doubled up the popularity of Maggi. 

02/4Maggi in milk? Internet is puking!

We do not love, but we worship Maggi and no wonder when the video of sweet Maggi got viral, people took it personally and got offended. Internet was flooded with comments that were sometimes hilarious and even menacing and people were ready to puke on this Maggi made with milk and sugar. Originally posted on YouTube by Hemanshi’s World, this video became viral when it was tweeted by Desi Gooner on September 12. In the video, blocks of Maggi were broken into a simmering pan of milk to which water, condensed milk and rose petals were added. The final dish was somewhat like seviyan kheer and the YouTuber claims that this dish is a family favourite. 

03/4Everyone has a unique Maggi recipe

Are we too harsh on judging the YouTuber for putting milk in the noodles when we all have our own ways to make Maggi? Yes, she did add milk and it looked overtly unique, but there are so many of us who put whatever we like in our Maggi. We spoke to a number of Maggi lovers and this is what we found!

Kalpana Sharma, a journalist by profession, says she loves Maggi Pakora and also loves it when her cook adds Maggi to Sambhar. Gunjan Verma, an interior designer by profession says she likes to stuff Maggi and Eggs in capsicum and tomatoes. Fashion blogger Ankita Shukla says she likes to load Maggi with cheese and then fill it up in sandwiches. According to Navya Anand, a chef by profession, she deep fries Maggi and prepares Maggi Bhel and also Maggi Bonda. Other favourites that we found out from our readers were-Tadka Maggi, Dahi Maggi Chaat, Anda Maggi, Maggi Dosa, Maggi Pancake, Maggi Curry, Maggi Kadhi and even Maggi Bhajia!

04/4Rightfully angry, are we?

Adding milk and sugar was actually taking the experiment to far, but we do that in case of ‘Meri Maggi’, don’t we? We add our own favourites to it, the blogger added her own. Taste is a very personal thing and she has a right to prepare her Maggi the way she wants. We do add milk to our Soups, Sugar to our Dals and Curries and Garam Masala to our Chai! We even go gaga over experimental stuffs like Turmeric Latter, Butter Coffee, Tamatar ka Halwa and even Garlic Kheer. So why not let someone try Maggi kheer too?

‘Meri Maggi’ is an appellative we have taken too seriously and no wonder we are up in arms when we see any ruffle in our scheme of loving our very own Maggi. Our love is blind when it comes to Maggi but although the spurt of internet messages were hilarious, but were at the cost of the YouTuber who shared her personal recipe. Lets not judge her and lets not stop experimenting, after all our ‘Meri Maggi’ is hers too!

Picking the right food

In a bid to make consumers aware about whether or not a restaurant complies with hygiene regulations, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced a new measure. The government agency will soon ask restaurants and hotels to display their hygiene ratings on their doors or entrances. This comes against the backdrop of an increased number of diners wanting to go out and eat across cities in India. Eating out or meeting friends or family over meals in restaurants is a trend that has caught on now like never before, especially after an increasing number of signups on food aggregators.

There will also be food supervisors to check the safety of what is served, for which the regulator intends to train around 170,000 people. The FSSAI is in the process of forming guidelines to implement the rating system.

If implemented diligently, the programme would be in the interest of the customer and could raise the quality of food served. Ratings will give restaurant owners an incentive to improve their standards and will likely filter out food joints that pose a health risk. That extra costs borne to maintain quality may raise menu prices, too. The additional costs of raising food quality and maintaining it may also result in an increase in food prices. In cases where restaurants are found to be flouting rules of food safety, FSSAI will reportedly send notices. This move is part of a series of changes that the FSSAI is bringing as a part of its 'Eat Right Campaign'. The campaign involves measures aimed at preventive healthcare through checks and regulations, as well as awareness efforts and moves for food building capacity for restaurants. In general, few can object to such an idea.

However, any system that requires an external assessment of quality could be abused. As those in the hospitality business would testify, state-directed scrutiny tends to descend all too easily into an “inspector raj", with officials determined to give them a hard time, unless given some reason—pecuniary or otherwise—not to. As a way to guard against this, the criteria for hygiene ratings will need to be clear-cut and uniformly applicable, with no scope for subjectivity. A lot of well-intended initiatives end up hurting a market simply because their execution is faulty.

The move appears to be a well-intended and timely one, given an increasing interest in dine-in restaurants and thousands of new restaurants cropping up around the country week after week. However, it remains to be seen how it will be implemented.