MistraSk Food Testing offers insights for consumers to gain freedom from common misconceptions on daily food
Announces a consumer awareness campaign on social media
Mumbai, August 23,
2021…MitraSK Food
Testing is a leading integrated, food testing and quality enhancing
organization in India serving the nation since last 80 years. Today this
August, on the occasion of Independence Day and the forthcoming festive season,
MitraSK launches a consumer awareness social media campaign called Freedom from Common Misconceptions on Daily
Food & Purchase that aims to offer specific expert led details on 3 of
the most common conditions when it comes to Indian households and family food
purchase.
Dr. Soumyadeep Mukhopadhyay, Laboratory-In-Charge at MitraSK Food
Testing Services explains topics covering 3 areas where consumers can reduce the
harmful elements in the food and thus buy and eat healthier by some simple
adjustments in daily lives & being more aware & free of health hazards.
These topics include –
1. Is cooking oil reusable after one frying cycle?
2.
Fruits and veggies are coated with a layer of
wax to preserve their shine. Is this wax coating harmful?
3. How to read labels on a food product and make the best buying decision?
Is cooking oil
reusable after one frying cycle -
Even though fried
food is so popular, very few people are aware of the harmful effects of reusing
the oil use to fry food. In a common Indian household, it is also considered as
an area of saving the oil consumption. While that is also important it should
be reused beyond a certain way or time.
Oil heated to
high temperatures releases toxic fumes. Fumes are given off even before the
smoke point is reached, but increases dramatically when the temperature goes
above smoke point. Each time oil is heated, its fat molecules break down a
little bit. This causes it to reach its “smoke point,” the temperature at which it
literally starts to smoke and give off a bad odour, more quickly each time it
is used. When this happens, unhealthy
substances are released both into the air and into the food being cooked.
Dr. Soumyadeep Mukhopadhyay, Laboratory-In-Charge at MitraSK Food
Testing Services, explains, “These substances are grouped under total polar compounds
and their toxicity may cause lipid deposition, oxidative stress, hypertension,
atherosclerosis, etc. The Food Safety and Standards of India (FSSAI) has fixed
the maximum limit of Total Polar compounds at 25%. We at MSK ensure that the
cooking oil adheres to the set codes of FSSAI.”
Here is the link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGEfG4bMrHA
Fruits and veggies are coated with
a layer of wax to preserve their shine. Is this wax coating harmful?
Fruits
and vegetables have a natural wax coating that retains moisture because they
are composed of 80 to 95 percent water. However, for the purpose of packaging
they are profusely washed and thus the coating wears off. Artificial waxes are
then applied to replace the natural ones that wear off. This wax is applied on
products to improve the appearance and increase shelf-life. But are these waxes really safe? Whether the wax coats are safe to
digest depends on the type of coating used. Most of the coatings involve
morpholine that is tremendously harmful and can cause liver or kidney
dysfunctions.
Dr. Soumyadeep Mukhopadhyay, Laboratory-In-Charge at MitraSK Food
Testing Services, explains, “In India, natural waxes
like Candelilla wax, Beeswax and carnauba wax are the only permissible food
waxes on different fruits and vegetables. In order to determine whether the wax
coating is made of natural or petroleum based waxes, the physical and chemical
properties need to be known. All natural waxes have the esters group which are
not present in petroleum waxes as they are made of alkanes of various carbons.
This is tested using FT-IR Spectroscopy.”
The Food Safety
and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) permits only natural waxes on produce.
Therefore, the FT-IR tested wax coatings applied on products are not considered
harmful when ingested.
Here is the link
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCooSVXegT0
How to read labels on
a food product and make the best buying decision
FSSAI has laid
down labelling guidelines which every food manufacturer must follow |
The label must
include name of food, list of ingredients, nutritional info, veg/non veg,
food additives, net quantity, health claim if any |
|
Other points to
note on a label are batch number, FSSAI license number, address and contact
of manufacturer, country of origin etc. Here is the
link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GX4FwGdOT6c&t=41s MitraSK (MSK) Food Testing Services is a part of MitraSK (MSK) Pvt. Ltd., a global independent
quality assurance and analysis agency which undertakes testing,
inspection and analysis of various commodities pertaining to the power,
infrastructure, shipping, cement, iron and steel industries. Their expertise
and knowledge accrued over more than 8 decades of selfless service has made
them a trusted name in the B2B service industry. MSK's Food Testing Services
are executed in their state-of-the-art laboratory in Kolkata which bears
national and international accreditations like NABL, ISO 9001:2015, BIS and
adheres to guidelines set by regulatory bodies like FSSAI and APEDA. For more
information: Shalini Gupta –
9870950099/ Arunaday Das - 9870102119 |
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