Watch before you eat

FARMERS in urban outskirts mostly rely on wastewater for growing vegetables. The level of air pollutants like aerosols is also high in these areas. Scientists have found that both these factors have a cumulative effect on the quality of the vegetables.

Centre bans gutkha

The government of India has banned the sale of gutkha and other chewing tobacco products across the country. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) issued new regulations on August 1, prohibiting the use of tobacco and nicotine in any edible product. Health experts and civil society groups have cautiously welcomed the ban. After all, the gutkha industry has circumvented several such ban orders issued by states and the Centre earlier.

Ban likely on junk food in schools

CARBONATED drinks and junk food may soon be off the shelves of school and college canteens. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said this in a counter-affidavit filed in the Delhi High Court on July 18.

Contest for pesticide

Cap energy drinks

A youth enters a south Delhi bar, greets the bartender and orders “the usual”. The drink, it turns out, is Red Bull plus vodka. Prod him a little and Manoj Joshi, a law student, says there is no better drink on the menu. It tastes great, he says, and will see him through the night at the club.

Pesticide-rich food

THE country’s regulators have failed to check the flow of pesticides into the food chain, suggests a monitoring report of the Department of Agriculture and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, the country’s premier institute. Fruits, vegetables, poultry and milk are all laced with high pesticide residues —much above the maximum residue limits (MRL) set by the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954. Samples of Amul milk collected from Ahmedabad, for instance, had the highest traces of chlorpyriphos, a known carcinogen that can also cause neural disorders.

Red Bull untamed

THE energy drink that promises to give you wings is soaring high despite attempts by authorities to ground it. Red Bull has been pulled up on a couple of occasions for exceeding the prescribed caffeine limit in recent years.

No to natural sweetener

It is a natural sweetener and calorie free. But soft drinks makers don’t use it in beverages. The reason is the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is focussed on artificial sweeteners and does not recognise other sugar substitutes.

Natural and pure?

The one kg jar of honey on Sangeeta Das’s kitchen shelf has many uses. Every morning she takes out a small quantity and puts it on the breakfast table. Her husband, Indranil, a media executive, likes a little bit of honey on his toast and the couple’s three-year-old son has spoonfuls. In the evenings, Sangeeta stirs a spoonful of honey into a glass of lukewarm water mixed with lemon juice and drinks it for weight control. She also uses honey in combination with basil (tulsi) and ginger juice as cough remedy. Sangeeta’s fondness for honey holds true for most Indians who regard it as a health food that can rejuvenate the elderly and boost immunity of infants.

India’s honey regulators

The National Bee Board, under national horticulture mission, is mandated to promote best practices. All beekeepers ought to be registered with the board to ensure honey can be traced from the fork to the farm. Very few are registered. Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Agency (APEDA), under the ministry of commerce, provides financial assistance and subsidies to honey exporters. Between 2005 and 2008, the agency was monitoring and testing honey for exports.