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Photo: Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

How cautious are we? Not all foods that we eat are safe

We know what ingredients go into a home-cooked meal and how much of salt, turmeric or chilli powder is used in it. But throw a glance at the label of the contents on a packaged food product and you’ll be surprised to find incomplete information that gives you no clue about the constituents of your soon-to-be-ready dish.

Unlike in many other countries where the labelling of packaged food or a drink gives a clear picture, food manufacturers here are apparently allowed to have their way when it comes to violation of norms.

“Laws on packaging and labelling of foods are not followed stringently here. Take for instance, a packet of Good Day biscuits or Kurkure, which my children pick up whenever we visit a supermarket, the information on the packets is far from adequate,” says Madhurima, a worried mother of two teenaged daughters.

Mention of the amount and type of fatty acids (even trans-fat), their calorific value and the amount of proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals should be mandatory. Companies should not be allowed to make hollow claims about their product being enriched, feels the general public.

As of now, only a few companies are following rules. It is for the user of these products to exercise extra caution until food labelling is regularised.

Flaunting her knowledge on saturated and hydrogenated fat, Manjula, a budding nutritionist says one must keep in mind these key factors while selecting their menu.

A big danger zone with processed food is trans-fat. Trans-fats are formed by chemically changing oil through a process called hydrogenation to increase the product’s shelf life and flavour. A diet high in trans-fats has shown to increase risk of heart disease. “Ideally, a person should not have more than five grams or a teaspoon of trans-fat in a day. If a food has the words ‘partially hydrogenated oil’ on the label, it contains trans-fat,” says Kezia, nutritionist at the Talwalkars’ fitness centre. Just because the label on a tin of Bournvita says it’s protein-enriched, doesn’t mean it’s really so,” observes Soujanya health-conscious mother.

Srinath purchased a packets of ready-to-serve dal and curry from the neighbourhood grocer, thinking that the products were genuine and therefore, safe to eat. But the packet had no label and neither was there any mention of the ingredients used. The ‘best before’ use date was also missing besides absence of the date of manufacture. Solvent residues may find their way into food as a result of their use in extraction processes like the use of trichloroethylene and ethylene chloride in decaffeinating of coffee. In addition, poor hygiene, storage, and preparation may also lead to food contamination by various microbes and ova or cysts of nematodes. The problem of food contamination can be overcome to a great extent by regular surveillance and monitoring programmes and strict implementation of the Food and Adulteration Act.

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