Dec 18, 2019
Junk food monster: Communicating diseases
A lab study by the Centre for Science and Environment has found extremely high levels of salt, fat and trans fat in junk foods responsible for obesity and non-communicable diseases like hypertension, diabetes and heart ailments.
Think before you open the next pack of Haldiram's Classic Nut Crackers or dig into a regular Non Veg Supreme Pizza from Domino’s. Only 35 grams of the scrumptious nut crackers would finish up around 35 per cent of your daily permissible salt intake and 26 per cent of the allowed fat consumption. And four slices of that cheesy pizza would make you consume 99.9 per cent of the day’s allowed salt and 72.8 per cent of fats.
Consumption of these junk foods, that are high in salt, fats and trans fats can have deadly impacts. Doctors say they are an open invitation to non-communicable diseases like diabetes, hypertension, heart ailments and even cancer.
“These diseases are difficult to manage if manifested early in life,” says Ambrish Mithal, head of the endocrinology and diabetes division, Medanta Hospital, Gurugram, Haryana. A 2016 report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) shows a worrying trend — disease burden due to unhealthy diet, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol and being overweight has increased from 10 per cent to 25 per cent since 1990. And the victims, many a time, were ill-informed and unsuspecting consumers.
It never bothered Manjeet Singh, an advocate in Delhi, that her 11-year-old son gorged on packaged and fast foods every day. It kept him full and happy, and saved her a lot of time and trouble. Not until the boy started complaining of double vision and headaches. Manjeet was shocked when doctors said he had high blood pressure. “They strictly advised him to reduce weight, not eat junk food and adopt a low-salt diet, else he would be under the risk of cardiac problems and diabetes,” she says. Manjeet could have helped her son had she known, upfront, what was inside those ultra-processed food packs.
The fine print declaring the amount of nutrients is not of much help. “With my vision, I would be spending the entire day buying food if I start reading them,” says Ashok Gulati, a 64-year-old retired professional. It’s impossible for 22-year-old Parvesh Sinha, a departmental store worker who never went to school, to know what he eats.
The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a Delhi-based research and advocacy non-profit, had shaken up the country in 2012 when it found high amounts of salt, fat, trans fat and carbohydrate in foods people love to eat. Seven years later, where exactly do we stand?
To understand this, between July and October 2019, CSE’s Environment Monitoring Laboratory again tested their content in 33 popular packaged and fast foods marketed by Indian and multi-national companies and available across the country.
The samples were collected from grocery stores and fast food outlets in Delhi. The lab used internationally accepted testing methods listed by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). Carbohydrate in these foods was tested by the widely used colorimetry method.
The lab results were used to understand how much of each nutrient contributes to the recommended dietary intake for the Indian population. It corelated the results with the serving size or weight of the products to understand the actual intake. The results, to say the least, were shocking.
Chips and namkeens had way more salt and fat than one should consume in a snack. Instant noodles and soups had too much salt.
The analysis was based on the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA), derived after reviewing the recommendations of World Health Organization (WHO), National Institute of Nutrition-India, ICMR and the scientific expert groups of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
The RDA for salt was reached at 5g, 60 g fat and 300 g carbohydrate for one person in a day. The trans fat limit was 2.2 g. The calculations were made taking into account the accepted 2,000 kilocalorie that a healthy person requires in a day.
Considering we have three meals in a day and two snacks, our mealtime consumption of these nutrients should not be more than 25 per cent of RDA, and the two main snacks of the day must not add more than 10 per cent of RDA. Now take a look at what the CSE lab tests found.
Chips and namkeens
What’s advertised by Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli as a healthy and “Smart option for smart snacker” is, in fact, unhealthiest in terms of salt. Of all the chips packets tested, Too Yumm Multigrain Chips had the maximum salt — 1 g in 30 g of chips.
In other words, 30 g of this gives double the day’s allowance of salt from a snack. And even a healthy green vegetable or a leafy salad becomes a source of extra salt. So think again before grabbing on the second snack of the day if you have already munched on Too Yumm Multigrain Chips.
In fact, all the chips tested either had high salt or high fat, or both. Lay’s India’s Magic Masala, Uncle Chipps Spicy Treat and Haldiram’s Chips Pudina Treat exceeded 10 per cent RDA of both salt and fat. One-fifth of the day’s fat RDA gets blown away if one consumes one serve of Haldiram’s Chips Pudina Treat.
Worse, there are chips packets that mention 30 g as the serving size — the amount allowed for consumption — but are not available in that size only. For instance, the Rs 20 pack of Lay’s American Style Cream and Onion that weighs 52 g, mentions 30 g as its serving size.
In effect, it offers more chips than one can consume in one go. So before relaxing on the sofa with a packet of chips, read the fine print and do the mental math to know exactly how many can be enjoyed without getting worried about health.
Haldiram’s Chips Pudina Treat does not even mention the serving size. In fact, it attracts consumers by offering them extra chips. Too Yumm Multigrain Chips gives vague information on the serving size. It says: “Image is a pictorial reference of serving suggestion”. While the picture shows only four-five chips, that's definitely not how much children stop with.
Eating chips frequently results in dental problems, a common ailment otherwise left ignored. “Chips are sticky and remain in the oral cavity for long hours. Soon, they start to ferment resulting in tooth decay and cavities,” says Praveen Chaudhary, senior dentist and head of the department at Jaypee Hospital in Noida, Uttar Pradesh.
CSE’s lab tested four varieties of namkeens. All but one had high salt and fat content, but Haldiram’s Classic Nut Cracker had criminally high salt, exhausting almost 35 per cent of RDA — much higher than one should consume in one full meal. It mentions the 35-g serving size only on its website. Checking this online before tearing the pack open is a difficult proposition.
Haldiram’s Aloo Bhujia exhausts more than 21 per cent of the salt RDA. But there’s no way consumers can know how much salt they consume from these namkeens and chips.
Of the 14 packed foods CSE tested, 10 declare sodium in their products, not salt, which leaves the consumer misinformed. Three don't declare sodium or salt. Only one declares salt. Manjeet, for instance, carefully read the nutritional information of the chips her son regularly munches on, but could not tell how much salt he consumes.
Clearly, food companies are complicating facts. One should consume not more than 2 g sodium in a day, but companies give the information in mg. Now do the mental math one more time.
Instant noodles and soup
Akshat, a 13-year-old school student, eats Nestle Maggi Masala instant noodles twice or thrice a week. It’s easily available in his school canteen. But a 70-g pack of this puts 2.6 g salt into our body.
Patanjali, which promotes its Atta Noodles Chatpata with the punchline ‘Jhatpat Banao, Befikr Khao’, contains 2.4 g salt in one pack. Remember, 5 g is all that is allowed through the day.
Ching’s Secret Schezwan goes a step further. It labels less than half the amount of what it actually contains, according to CSE’s lab results.
Similarly, instant soup is popular in winters, but is definitely not a healthy option. Just one serve of Knorr Classic Thick Tomato soup can exhaust over one-fourth of the daily salt limit.
And people love to have it as a starter before meals. So, even a healthy meal afterwards can shoot up your daily salt intake, that too within a short period. As consumers misconstrue these as fresh food for the cooking it involves, the industry makes hay.
Burgers and fries
Advertisements affect people’s senses and stimulate responses such as craving to eat. In the long run, this becomes a habit, says Uday Sinha, a professor at the Institute of Human Behaviour & Allied Sciences, Delhi.
In a recent full-page newspaper advertisement, McDonald’s made a disparaging comment on freshly cooked home food. It said: “Stuck with Ghiya-Tori again? Make the 1+1 combo you love.” Even FSSAI called it an irresponsible advertisement as it was against the national efforts to promote the right eating habits, especially among children. Read along to know how healthy McDonald’s combo is.
Eat one Chicken Maharaja Mac and your daily permissible salt intake is almost over in one go. It has 4.6 g salt, leaving only 10 per cent, or 0.4 g more for the entire day. The fat content is over half the prescribed daily limit for a meal.
A medium McDonald’s fries accounts for almost one-fifth of the daily fat need. The combo has an astounding 103 per cent salt, 72 per cent fat, 13 per cent trans fat and 33 per cent carbohydrate.
Unsuspecting vegetarians are not any luckier. A vegetarian Cheese Whopper from Burger King will leave you with just over a fourth of the daily salt quota and less than half of that for fat. As its regular fries accounts for almost one-fifth of the daily fat need, adding it to a combo meal, stuffs you with just too much nutrients.
Burger, fries and fried chicken from KFC’s 5-in-1 classic zinger box would give 20 per cent more fat than the day’s quota along with very high levels of salt and trans fat.
“Food companies know that India is a naive market for junk food. A large population is unaware of nutrition and good food. Junk food is being made and sold in a manner that it is addictive,” says Vandana Prasad, a community paediatrician. So think twice before you choose that combo meal over home-cooked food.
Smaller burgers are cheap and attract people. But their contribution to RDA is big. KFC’s Veg Zinger with cheese can exhaust up to three-fourths of the daily salt brink and 45 per cent of the fat limit. Its Chicken Classic Zinger with cheese finishes over 80 per cent of fat and over 60 per cent of salt threshold. Burgers with cheese have more trans fats.
Pizza, sandwich and wrap
Pizza is considered a healthy fast food meal option because of the vegetables it comes with, but CSE lab results found it is loaded with salt and fat, and has high levels of trans fat.
It tested vegetarian and non-vegetarian pizzas from Domino’s and Pizza Hut along with one sachet of oregano seasoning it comes with. These were regular or personal pizzas meant to be consumed by one person.
Domino’s Non Veg Supreme has about 5 g salt, while Peppy Paneer cheese burst has only slightly less. So, no more space for salt from any other food, if these pizzas are consumed.
Non-veg Supreme also exhausts about three-fourths of the permissible fat. This also provides high levels of unhealthy trans fat — about one-third of the limit. Pizza Hut’s Chicken Supreme has more salt than one needs for the day.
Even the humble Classic Tomato Margherita from Pizza Hut can add over 50 per cent of the daily salt intake, 25 per cent of fat and about one-fourth of the trans fat limit. Excessive trans fat content in all pizzas that were tested is a cause for concern.
CSE lab tests also examined sandwiches, often perceived as healthy food for the raw vegetables it uses. But the result was disturbing. Salt, fat and trans fat content in sandwiches are as high as in pizzas.
6-inch Subway Chicken Seekh Kabab sandwich has about 5 g salt, 39 g fat and 0.62 g trans fat. This is not just the amount of salt one can have in an entire day but also adds up to 65 per cent of the recommended fat levels and 28 per cent of trans fats.
Its vegetarian option, the Paneer Tikka sandwich, is not any healthier and exhausts over three-fourths of salt and fat limits, and one-fourth of trans fat limit. McDonald's Big Spicy Paneer Wrap will give you about 4 g of salt and 45 g of fat.
Facts on trans fats
Trans fats are deadly. Their intake must be avoided to prevent heart diseases. CSE found that most food companies either do not disclose or give more than the amount they declare.
Haldiram’s Classic Nut Cracker, for instance, had 4.6 times trans fat it claims to have. Fast food companies Domino’s and Subway do not mention trans fats at all on their website.
But all four of their samples that CSE tested had high trans fats. Burger King and KFC mention 0 g, suggesting no trans fats. That's not the case. Trans fats found in two pizza samples of Pizza Hut were higher than what the company declared.
“A diet high in trans fat can increase the risk of heart disease,” says Mithal of Medanta Hospital.
Clearly, companies are not bothered.
(Names of consumers have been changed to protect their identity)
Study by Mrinal Mallik, Arvind Singh Sengar and Rakesh Kumar Sondhiya Analysis by Amit Khurana and Sonal Dhingra
Fast food safe? Take it with pinch of salt
Samples of some food products, including chips, snacks and fries, contain amounts of transfat — a type of fat with detrimental health effects and not essential in diet — higher than their labelled values, the CSE also claimed.
Many packaged snacks and fast food products sold across the country have salt and fat levels higher than thresholds proposed by India’s food safety regulator, the non-government Centre for Science and Environment claimed on Tuesday, calling for red warning labels on them.
The CSE, which released its findings of salt and fat content in limited samples of several products, including burgers, French fries and noodles, has also alleged that the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has diluted labelling rules to favour the industry.
Samples of some food products, including chips, snacks and fries, contain amounts of transfat — a type of fat with detrimental health effects and not essential in diet — higher than their labelled values, the CSE also claimed.
“We have found dangerously high levels of salt and fat in the samples of packaged and fast food we tested,” Sunita Narain, the CSE’s director-general, said in a media release. “Consumers have a right to know what is contained in the package, but the FSSAI is dragging its feet and has not notified its own draft labelling regulation.”
The analysis, which tested 14 samples of packaged food and 19 samples of fast food, for instance, has found that salt levels in chips ranged from roughly two to five times the FSSAI’s proposed threshold of 0.25g per 100g. Samples of other packaged products tested contained two times to seven times the salt threshold.
Samples of burgers contained up to 1.5 times salt levels while fat levels ranged from 1.1 to 2.4 times the threshold value of 8g per 100g. A paneer tikka sandwich tested had 1.6 times salt and 2.3 times fat thresholds.
The CSE has claimed that the FSSAI, which had released draft regulations for food labelling in July 2018, has since then diluted labelling rules in fresh draft regulations released earlier this year.
The FSSAI did not immediately respond to a query from The Telegraph seeking reactions to the CSE’s claims.
The new draft regulations have replaced salt with sodium, total fat with saturated fat, and total sugar with added sugar. The CSE said salt was easier to understand than sodium, saturated fat addresses only one part of the problem, and added sugar made the threshold weaker.
“We’ve been waiting for the FSSAI to notify the regulations — it’s over 18 months since the 2018 draft,” said Amit Khurana, director for food safety at the CSE. It has also pointed out that the draft regulations do not specify the size and placement of the warning labels.
The CSE has called on the FSSAI to introduce red warning labels in line with “global best practices” on such snacks and fast food products whose salt or fat levels exceed the threshold values.
Fast food putting you at risk of heart attack
New Delhi: Most of the snacks, noodles and fast food items sold in the market contain higher than permissible limit of salt. In some cases, a study conducted by the Centre for Science and Environment showed, the salt content is three to five times the threshold set by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India.
High salt intake, experts said, is a known cause for high blood pressure, which causes 57% of heart attack and 40% of stroke cases. “A small amount of salt on a daily basis — WHO recommends less than 5 grams per day per person — is essential for nerve and muscle function. But it is seen in India that people consume eight to nine grams of salt daily,” said an expert.
FSSAI norms — drafted recently, but not notified yet — permit 0.25 gram of sodium per 100 grams of savoury snacks and instant noodles. For soups and fast foods, the threshold of salt is 0.35 gram per 100 grams.
CSE said tests showed one of the popular chips brands had 1 gram of salt content in 30 gram of chips. Among namkeens, one brand had salt content seven times the recommended threshold. Dr Sunita Narain, director of CSE, said they tested salt, fat, transfats and carbohydrates in 33 popular junk foods, which included 14 samples of chips, namkeen, instant noodles and soups and 19 samples of burgers, fries, fried chicken, pizza, sandwich and wraps.
The CSE director general said consumers have a right to know what is contained in the package, but FSSAI has not notified its own draft labelling regulation. Her comment refers to the delay in notifying the draft Food Safety Standards, (Labelling and Display) Regulations, which has been in preparation since 2013.
“The recommended dietary allowance of salt and fat is five grams and 60 grams respectively daily. However, we found that eating one burger sold by major brands exhaust anywhere between 62% to 82% of the recommended salt intake for the day and 82% to 120% of the recommended fat intake,” said Amit Khurana, programme director, food safety and toxins at CSE.
FSSAI said in a statement that it has been taking up the junk food regulations seriously and has already put up the draft notifications in public for comments.
Packaged foods breach safe limits of salt, fat: CSE study
Agency tested salt, fat, trans-fat and carbohydrates in 33 popular ‘junk foods’
An array of packaged snacks and fast foods breach safe limits of salt and fat content, says a laboratory analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment.
The agency tested salt, fat, trans-fat and carbohydrates in 33 popular “junk foods”, which consisted of 14 samples of chips, salted snacks, instant noodles and instant soup, and 19 samples of burgers, fries, fried chicken, pizzas, sandwiches and wraps. The samples were collected from grocery stores and fast food outlets in the city.
Daily ceiling
To calculate how unsafe the foods tested were, the organisation relied on the concept of the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) — a daily ceiling on the amount of salt, fat, carbohydrates and transfats. The RDA is based on scientific consensus and has been agreed upon by expert bodies such as the World Health Organisation, and the National Institute of Nutrition in India. It says that, ideally, no more than 5 gm of salt, 60 gm of fat, 300 gm carbohydrate and 2.2 gm of transfat should be consumed by an adult every day. Further, the RDA from each breakfast, lunch and dinner should be no more than 25%, and that from snacks no more than 10%.
The CSE found that given the size of the servings and the amount of nutrients per 100 gm, a single packet of packaged nuts, soup or noodles ended up having these salts and fats well over the recommended limits. For instance, Haldiram Aloo Bhujia, a popular savoury snack, with a serve size of 231 gm, had the equivalent of 7 gm of salt and 99 gm of total (saturated and unsaturated) fat. A single serving of the Nestle’s Maggi Masala (70 gm) exhausted 50% of the composite RDA for a snack, and a serving of Haldiram’s nut cracker exhausted 35% of the salt RDA and 26% of the fat RDA, the CSE analysis found.
Need to declare
According to the proposed draft Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, packaged food companies will need to declare nutritional information such as calories (energy), saturated fat, trans-fat, added sugar and sodium per serve on the front of the pack. The food labels are also required to declare, per serve percentage contribution to RDA on the front of the pack. Though under discussions since 2015 and several drafts — the latest one came out in in July — these rules have yet to become law, and to be operationalised.
‘Red Octagon’
The CSE took the values prescribed in the drafts for their calculations and concluded that all of the popular snacks and fast foods ought to be displaying a ‘Red Octagon’, a warning symbol employed in packaged foods in Chile and Peru. The Red Octagon, which should be printed on the front of the pack, has a number and the name of the food component within that indicates how widely off the RDA a particular ingredient is. Thus a Red “3.1, Salt” on a pack of Lay’s India’s Magic Masala by PepsiCo indicates that the salt it contains is 3.1 times the RDA for snacks.
“What we have seen is that all of the packaged foods of the various brands we tested would be in the red. This is why the powerful food industry is opposing the notification,” said Sunita Narain, director general of CSE, at a press conference. The regulations, as they now stand, don’t apply to fast foods such as burgers and pizzas, even though they were included in the CSE analysis.
Packaged water bottles without expiry dates seized
Trichy: Food safety department staff seized four packaged drinking water cans that were found without expiry date in Pudukottai district on Tuesday.
Al-Hajee Aqua, a Pudukottai-based packaged drinking water company, which was supplying the cans, was booked under food safety and standards Act, 2006, for not registering their vehicle with the food safety department.
Every vehicle used for transporting foods material need to be registered with the food safety department. Officials from the food safety department intercepted the vehicle when they were supplying drinking water in the collector office premises on Tuesday. Designated officer from food safety department, Pudukkottai R Ramesh Babu said that the vehicle was summoned to the food safety office after it was found to be having cans without expiry dates.
“A total of four bubble top can with a capacity of 20liters were found without expiry dates. We have taken legal samples from those cans. A case was booked under section 58 of food safety and standards act, 2006 for registering the vehicle with food safety department,” he said.
Action will be initiated against the company if the water quality was not found within safety standards, he added.
Banned tobacco products, rotten fruits seized
Officials of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) conducted surprise checks in shops at Singanallur and seized banned tobacco products, rotten fruits and artificially coloured food products worth around ₹ 1.89 lakh late on Monday.
K. Tamilselvan, Designated Officer of FSSAI in Coimbatore, and food safety officers conducted simultaneous checks in 67 shops.
According to food safety officials, banned tobacco products of 100.5 kg were found in six shops during the raids. Notices were served on the owners of the shops.
The officials said that 16 out of the 67 shops inspected had not obtained the licence or the registration certificate from the food regulator.
Around 120 kg of rotten fruits, artificially coloured food products, expired packaged food products and banned plastic products worth ₹ 74,000 in total were also seized from the shops during the raids.
Warning
FSSAI warned that stringent action would be taken against those selling banned tobacco products in the vicinity of schools and colleges.
Licence and registration certificates of shops that were found selling or stocking banned tobacco products would also be suspended, the officials added.
Crackdown on shops selling unsafe food
Coimbatore: Food safety department officials on Monday seized expired and spoilt food from 16 eateries in the Singanallur bus stand. They also found six shops selling banned tobacco products.
The officials had checked petty shops, bakeries and restaurants located in and around the bus stand following the collector’s order. They seized 100.5kg banned tobacco products, including chewable tobacco, worth Rs 1,15,000 from six shops.
“We also checked the quality of food sold by the eateries. We checked the use of plastic, artificial colouring agents and whether they were selling or using expired products,” said designated food safety officer K Tamilselvan.
The team found 16 shops flouting food safety norms. “Some shops were found selling chilli chicken that had banned colouring agents. Some were selling rotting fruits, artificially-ripened fruits including banana, spoilt halwa and chips. A few were found using plastic bags and straws,” Tamilselvan said.
The officials issued notices to the shops and warned of cancelling licenses if they repeat the offence.
The district administration will cancel the license of shops found selling tobacco products within 100 yards of educational institutions, sources added.
Awareness programme for food business operators held
‘There are around 6,000 licensed food operators in Madurai’
MADURAI
Food Safety Department organised a programme to create awareness of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2011, among food business operators (FBOs), here on Tuesday.
M. Somasundaram, Designated Officer for Food Safety, Madurai district, addressed the FBOs on the importance and ways of procuring a licence under the Act. “Currently, there are around 6,000 licensed food operators in the city. Through such programmes we are sensitising them that obtaining licences for their businesses is mandatory under the Act,” he said.
Over 100 FBOs from across various sectors took part in the programme. There was widespread use of used cooking oil by hotels and eateries across the district and this issue had to be addressed, said Mr. Somasundaram. The department had launched an initiative, Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO), to recover used oil from vendors and the food industry. The department was also paying ₹25 for every litre of used oil. The oil purchased this way will be used for the production of biodiesel,” he said.
He also said that edible oil, which was not packed, was prohibited for sale under the Act. Packing toys or gifts with food products for infants was also not permissible.
“The cold press oil produced in the city has not been meeting the standards prescribed under the Act. So, the manufacturers must collectively petition the Chief Executive Officer in the department for a solution,” he said.
During an interaction with the Designated Officer, the participants discussed their problems. “Most of the FBOs in the district don’t understand the Act and are unconsciously violating the law. These programmes provide a platform to address this issue,’ he said.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)