Economic Highlights
New Delhi, 6 June 2015
Unsafe Food
MILLION DEATHS, BILLION $ COSTS
By Shivaji Sarkar
The Maggi noodles boiling controversy reiterates the
unsavoury fact that India
is lax in ensuring packaged food safety. Even the US is not that alert. Europe too has had many mishaps. It is surprising that
the world over nobody is concerned over the real junk food being served by the
largest companies across the globe. In terms of treating various ailments
related to these, it costs billions of dollars to the consumers, says the World
Health Organisation (WHO).
Maggie 2-minute noodles problem is not limited to the shores
of this country. Europe and the US
have been debating it for the past many years. Peoples’ lives across the world
are at stake. In many countries there had been occasional hue and cry over the
chemicals injected into food packed or put in deep freezer. Meat, fish and
other sea food across the world are known to be injected with chemicals as
preservatives and to give a fresh look weeks or months later.
The WHO estimates 2 million deaths linked to unsafe food
annually, stated its regional director, Africa,
Dr Matshidiso Moeti, on April 7, 2015. Pregnant women, elderly people and
children are the worst hit. “Everyone has a role to play in making food safe
and I urge food handlers and consumers to be familiar with common food
hazards,” he urged. So it is a global problem. Yes, China
has this problem so has Africa. But action
taken is largely only at times when something appears in the media, sending
authorities into a tizzy.
The UK’s The Telegraph reported on April 9, 2011 that baby foods were found to contain
alarming levels of toxic contaminants including arsenic, lead and cadmium. (China also recently had similar
problems). The findings were made by the US Food Standards Agency and the
European Commission conducting an urgent review to establish new limits for the
long term exposure of these contaminants in food.
The products tested by the researchers were made by major
baby food manufacturers including Hipp, Organix, Nestle and Holle – some of
which are available in British supermarkets. Researchers found feeding infants
twice a day on the shop-bought baby foods such as rice porridge can increase
their exposure to arsenic by up to 50 times when compared to breast feeding
alone.
Exposure to other toxic metals such as cadmium, which is
known to cause neurological and kidney damage, increased by up to 150 times in
some of the foods tested by Swedish scientists, while lead increased by up to
eight times. It gives a distinct impression that globally health
officials are lax in combating the might of large business houses for
ensuring public health.
The Maggie contaminant finding in India was more
an aberration and wasn’t that the national food safety authorities were alert.
A UP food officer in Barabanki, VK Pandey, in a routine check to detect
adulteration of milk and khoya and other similar products during Holi, in March
2015, picked up some other stuff including the Maggie packs. Gorakhpur Public
Analyst laboratory two weeks later found monosodium glutamate (MSG) in the
noodles packs. Then its samples re-tested by Central Food Laboratory, Kolkata reconfirmed
17 parts per million (ppm) lead against the permissible 0.01 ppm. Kolkata lab
virtually says that the product is dangerous for anyone. So rightfully, almost
the entire country is banning its sale.
But this brand of noodle alone may not
be the culprit. There are many other brands in the market. Even many so-called
health drinks, calcium supplements produced by other companies are equally
suspect. Quality of many drinks supposed to be better than milk has never gone
through any test. Advertising blitzkrieg leads to sale of many of such products
to gullible buyers. Even skin whitening or beautifying cosmetics do more harm
than what they promise to enhance.
This developing country is not alone
bearing the brunt of such unethical sales. Further, it’s not
enough that we need to be concerned about what’s in our food—we also have to be
concerned about what our food is in. According to a new study from Europe, food
packaging materials there contain as many as 175 dangerous chemicals. And
neither are things looking any better in the U.S.
The July 2014 study from the US Food Packaging Forum indicates
that more than 170 potentially dangerous materials are used in the packaging of
food—things that have been linked to cancer, infertility, hormone disruption,
and even genital defects. But largely the US has not banned their sales.
Databases of food contact substances included the list of
food additives authorized in the U.S. published by the Pew
Charitable Trusts in 2013 and the European Food and Safety Authority
(EFSA) found plastic food contact substances that are said to interfere with
the hormone system, so called endocrine disruptors.
Red-flagging the rising incidence of food and water
contamination in India, the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said there
is need for strict enforcement of the Food Safety and Standards Act and
strengthening of the food testing laboratory infrastructure and skills.
“Scientific evidence has shown that contamination of food is a serious issue in
India as unchecked microbial activity and the use of pesticides and antibiotics
seriously compromise food safety, while consumption of junk food and other
chemically-laced foods adds to the problem,” said Chandra Bhushan, Deputy
Director General, CSE, in a statement.
Pointing out that in 2013, about 10 per cent of deaths in
India of children below 5 years were due to diarrhoea, Bhushan said the exact
burden of all food-borne illnesses in India has still not been estimated. The
CSE study says that packaged food is laden with chemical additives that make
the food unsafe. Food adulteration, especially milk, is another key challenge,
CSE said, adding that India
can no longer afford to remain in the dilemma of whether it should provide
‘food’ or ‘safe food’ to all.” Yes, Nestle and others sell milk and other milk
products in cans, which have hardly been tested.
Unfortunately, the doctors in this
country are not exactly leading the discussion either, since nutrition is not
currently a focus in medical school. The government agencies either have been
in the awe of big businesses or unconcerned. More junk the companies’ sell more are their profits. Nestle
profits increased from Rs 828 cr in 2010 to Rs1186 cr in 2014. Its
competitors also have increased profits phenomenally.
Using banned ingredients that other
countries have determined unsafe for human consumption has become a pandemic in
this country. India
has now to set standards to discontinue the use of banned ingredients to ensure
food is without toxins. --- INFA
(Copyright, India
News and Feature Alliance)
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