The fast food and packaged foods are here to stay. But it is up to us to decide what we eat and what we drink, say medical and food safety experts.
A. Bhadran, former Government Analyst who is working with the Council for Food Research and Development, Konni, says that the body requires a variety of foods to get the balanced diet. What the body does not manufacture, it needs to be supplemented through food.
Essential amino acids, fatty acids, minerals and vitamins are among the things that body gets from food. Only natural food supplements can be metabolised by the body.
When supplemented with artificial sweetener saccharine in place of sugar, the body gets no energy.
Heavy metals found in food additives like colours get accumulated in our body in various glands and bone marrow, says Mr. Bhadran. It is hard to cleanse the body of them.
Fast foods and aerated drinks have high calories and little nutritional value, according to oncologist K. Pavithran. Increasing cases of obesity and other non-communicable diseases are a result of the changes in our daily food habits.
“Earlier people used to eat ice-creams once a month. Now they eat daily. Biscuits were once eaten once or twice a week. People snack on them daily these days,” says former Food Safety Officer Abdul Jelil.
Even if the food additive in a packaged food is found within permissible or even less than permissible limits, the daily intake of these foods could actually have a cumulative effect on the body.
Mr. Bhadran says that one kilogram of saccharine can replace 550 kilograms of sugar in its sweetness.
The flavour enhancers manage to provide the same taste in a pinch against the larger quantity of the natural flavour required. Hence the food additives are very much part of manufacturing practices.
While the packaged foods do mention what is added in the food, there are no regulations followed in the local market, say Dr. Pavithran. There are innumerable food additives that are below standards and not categorised as safe.
Who tests the foods available in the local market, asks Dr. Pavithran.
One of the best practices is to keep the packaged food as a standby, says Mr. Jelil. One cannot avoid packaged food while travelling. And there is no harm if people indulge in their favourite confectionery or sweet or ice-cream or a drink once in a while.
Food additives found in packaged food or hotel food become harmful only when taken on a daily basis, he adds.
Reporting by
Shyama Rajagopal
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