NEW DELHI: The list of packed diet brands the food regulators have classified as harmful for kids includes ready to eat noodles, pizzas, burgers, chips, fried foods, French fries, carbonated beverages and confectionary items. Badal Chaterjee, also known as ‘Singham’ in Uttar Pradesh, had ordered his food inspectors to ‘go after big brands’ after a tip-off from an insider in September 2014, that several products were being manufactured containing monosodium glutamate (MSG), a flavour enhancer, which may cause brain damage. He said children below the age of 12 years are not supposed to have MSG exposure.
MNCs GREED: Popular burger brand McDonald has two sets of disclosures for US and India about presence of nutrients and other ingredients in the burgers. Browsing McDonald’s US website, an elaborate disclosure about the nutritional value and ingredients in the popular ‘McChicken’ including information about materials used to make them are available, whereas on its Indian website only the nutritional information is divulged. A similar difference was spotted on the KFC website. Most fast food items are mass produced, processed and contain preservatives, artificial flavours, colours and unhealthy fats. Health risks are extra calories, insulin resistance, high blood pressure, bloating and puffiness, shortness of breath, depression, dental problems, increased blood sugar, obesity, high cholesterol, headache and acne. What the fast food chains will not inform you that the obesity gained from a McBurger or a Dominos pepperoni pizza may contribute to sleep apnea and asthma. In a study conducted by All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), show that roughly 20 per cent of school-going children in India are obese. A recent study found that children who eat fast food at least three times a week are exposed to an increased risk of asthma and rhinitis. In India, between 10 to 15 per cent in 5-11 year old children are asthmatic. Dietary triggers of headaches found in fast food include salt, processed meats, nitrates and MSG. A study showed a higher risk of eczema among children who eat a lot of fast food.
“We need law and political will to clean the food industry. During my stint last year, pressure was put on me when I started raids. Manufacturers must be asked to disclose all the details related to a particular product,” Chaterjee said. He also noted that the water bottle industry in India may potentially do more damage in coming years. “Last year I had sealed a mineral water plant after I found tap water in one of the bottles put to lab testing,” Chaterjee added.
COLA KARMA: The Centre for Science & Environment which first exposed pesticides in colas, reveals the double standards of the MNCs. Caffeine free colas contain the sweetener sodium cyclamate and acesulfame potassium, banned in Europe and South America because it is suspected to cause bladder cancer and neurological disorders. The Center for Environmental Health, US said that Pepsi was using 4-methylimidazole—a colouring additive that contains a chemical linked to cancer—in its colas. Coca-Cola had removed it already. A 2012 Food Safety and Standards Authority of India survey found that two thirds of milk samples in India were contaminated with additives such as detergent and fertiliser, most diluted with water or sweeteners, fat, inedible solids, glucose and skimmed milk powder to increase volume.
UNMAKING INDIA: “There is no mandatory set of standards as per international requirements for the quality of processed and packaged food in developing countries, especially in India,” said InSLAR’s Prof Mahdi.“A large amount of processed and packaged food exported by developing countries have been banned in developed countries, in many instances, for the lack of required quality, which means the food was dangerous, but similar products are still available for consumption in India,” he added.
According to a white paper issued by the InSLAR and shared with The Sunday Standard, all processed agricultural, horticultural, animal and aquatic products should be checked as per the norms laid down by international agencies through an accreditation system, which is not happening at the moment. It further said that third party laboratory accreditation status is not available, except in a couple of places in a few developing countries. Besides, lack of training of food inspection staff and shortage of inspectors in the states is another issue the successive governments failed to resolve.
Moreover, the government, while formulating the laws related to faulty packaged foods, failed to put stringent measures and unlike in the western world, the system of recalling sub-standard products in India is voluntary and the regulators step in only in rare cases like Maggi. There is also lack of good indicators and facilities for quality assurances and checks in India. “Although, state food department functions independently, there needs to be coordination between agencies for enforcement. At present there are only 82 food testing laboratories across the country, which is far less in comparison to the size of population and products available. We lack both the infrastructure and modern lab equipment to monitor this industry,” Chaterjee noted.
THE FAST FEAR SCAPE: India has a sweet tooth. Refined sugar and sweetened foods are health hazards that are causing an obesity epidemic among children, in addition to depression, hypertension and even cancer. Foods with high fructose and regular corn syrups made in the West are available freely in grocery stores and on supermarket shelves. Packaged juices consumed by millions of children each day contain high levels of antimony, which can cause cancer. More than 3,000 food chemicals are purposely added to processed foods. Around 26 million Indians suffer from osteoporosis, because artificial chemicals in processed foods acidify the body’s pH, which speeds up bone loss. Chocolates like Cadbury could cause acne, because the carbs increase blood sugar levels, triggerring acne. The sales of the brand dipped after larvae were detected in the chocolates.
The advertiser’s promise that packaged foods are healthy is misleading. These mostly contain fillers, preservatives and other ingredients. The crackdown on breakfast cereals like Kellogg’s is because it may contain Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT), High Fructose Corn Syrup(HFCS) and Yellow #5. BHT is used in rubber petroleum products, transformer oil and embalming fluid. The ingredients in some products like Kellogg’s Smart Start Strong Heart Antioxidants contain BHT, listed by the National Toxicology Program (NTP) as ‘reasonably anticipated to be a human carcinogen’. It can also cause liver damage. HFCS can trigger tissue damage that can lead to obesity, diabetes, and also heart disease. Studies have recently revealed that nearly half of tested samples of HFCS contain mercury. You might think muesli brands like Saffola Muesli are the best breakfast for your child but the various syrups in it make your kid’s blood sugar levels race. The soy lecithin in most packaged muesli products cause weight imbalances, loss of appetite, nausea, dizziness, vomiting and confusion.
BABIES IN DANGER: According to a report by the US Centre for Science and Public Interest, it was found that commercial baby food companies routinely dilute the nutritional content and value of baby foods with starches and water. Companies like Heinz dilute many second and third-stage fruits and vegetables with water and starchy fillers and sweeten them with sugars. The fillers include flour, corn syrup, corn, sugar or chemically modified tapioca. Most of these fillers are potential allergens. Corn and wheat can potentially cause long term allergic reactions in children.
DIET DANGERS: Vegetarians beware when ordering a low fat veggie burger at any fast food outlet—its main ingredient is Monosodium Glutamate (MSG). Those on a virtuous salad high should be worried when buying imported Kraft’s creamy Italian dressing. It contains propylene glycol alginate, a food thickener, stabiliser and emulsifier used in automotive antifreezes and airport runway de-icers. The trick in selling the attractive packaged foods, colas and juices is the appealing colour factor. Almost all food colouring is derived from coal tar and contains lead and arsenic, which can potentially cause cancer. Biscuits are centuries-old favourites but the packaged ones have been found to contain killer ingredients such as refined wheat flour, sugar, edible vegetable oil, milk solids, invert syrup, raising agents, salts, emulsifiers, vitamins and dough conditioner. Invert syrup makes you feel full, but only increases the craving for more sugar. Medical experts say milk solids can cause schizophrenia, autism, depression and multiple sclerosis.
SKIRTING LAWS: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) maintains that the law mandates printed or inseparable labelling on all products. Several containers of packaged food products such as imported chocolates, crispies, gourmet cheese, olive oil, biscuits, noodles, pasta, jams, honey, oats and sauces have been disallowed to enter the country at various ports and airports. Many manufacturers trick the consumer by concealing the identity of harmful enzymes and chemicals. Buyers don’t like the chemical-sounding names on the ingredients list. Companies invented the Clean Label concept, which replaces the names of additives and chemicals with better sounding names like “carrot concentrate” or “orange pulp” instead of “colouring”. Since competition is eating into profits, companies are adding additives like, for example, the taste of butter to fat instead of the real stuff.
Euromonitor puts the global consumer food-service business, which includes cafés, fast-food chains and restaurants at $1.85 trillion. India’s food processing industry is one of the largest industries in the country— it is ranked fifth in terms of production, consumption, export and expected growth. The Indian food industry is estimated to be worth over $200 billion and is expected to grow to $310 billion this year. The Indian food processing industry is estimated at $70 billion and had a share of six per cent in the total industrial production and employs 1.6 million workers directly.
Aliments for Body Ailments
Hard to resist fast foods with too many calories and too little nutrition cause serious health issues
From the digestive to the cardiovascular system, respiratory to the central nervous system, there is not a single part of the body that is immune to the adverse affect of fast foods. Among the many culprits in fast foods, high level of carbohydrates, perhaps, is the main reason behind deteriorating health. Intake of high amount of carbohydrates causes a spike in blood sugar, which can alter the normal insulin response. Frequent spikes in blood sugar may be a contributing factor in insulin resistance and Type 2 diabetes. Transfats found in fast food are known to raise LDL cholesterol (bad cholesterol) levels while it lowers HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), which is a potent combination for cardiovascular diseases. High sodium in fast food helps to retain water, leading to bloating and puffiness, high blood pressure, kidney disease and stomach cancer. Processed meats, nitrates and MSG in fast food hits the central nervous system. A study published in the journal Public Health Nutrition showed that eating commercially baked goods (doughnuts, croissants, cake) and fast food (pizza, hamburgers, hot dogs) may be linked to depression. Even teeth and skin suffer due to excess carbohydrates in the form of sugar.