Sandeep Mishra
Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, June 9: In the wake of nationwide outrage over the presence of MSG and lead content in Maggi noodles, the state health department has woken up from slumber and banned sale of the product Monday.
Ironically, the state does not have a laboratory to test heavy metal content in processed food. However, the ban on the noodles is based on a report of a state laboratory that found profuse use of Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) in Maggi noodles.
What came as a shocker was that the state government was apparently not very keen on bringing similar brands or non-branded noodles or packaged food available in the market under the purview of the lab tests. Several street food eateries and vendors using similar products might be serving toxic elements like lead or other harmful chemicals.
“Food items, whether packed or loose needs to be checked regularly for their quality and other needful aspect that could harm human health. It is the duty of the food inspectors and commissioner at large to timely checks those items,” said Pranendu Mallik, a pediatrician here.
The state has also sent some noodle samples to a laboratory in Pune, the results of which are expected next week. “We do not have facilities to test hard metal here. Despite the ban, we are awaiting the report of the Pune lab which is expected here June 16,” said Arti Ahuja, principal secretary, health department.
Health department sources informed Orissa POST food inspectors have the power to check food items at any point of time. ‘‘However, at the time of jaundice, cholera, diarrhoea, food poisoning and other such situations, food inspectors collect and send items to labs in Orissa,” added the sources.
Harmful effects
Not only noodles, all artificially processed food is harmful and may cause health hazards. Such food stuff contains chemicals including flavorants, texturants, colorants and other preservatives. The printed ingredients on the packaged food do not give the exact clues to the content.
According to Nestle officials, MSG is a fifth taste enhancer after sweet, salt, sour and bitter taste. The food experts, however, found that MSG is the real culprit responsible for the adverse health effects.
The ingredients listed on the labels are not necessarily food items. They are artificially flavoured material containing chemicals that supplement taste and help preserve the content. Most of the chemicals have allegedly been tested for safety, but the fact speaks otherwise.
Another problem of these processed food is the addictive value that helps the investors rather than the customer in popularising the product.
Instant noodles
Noodles are essentially prepared out of ‘maida’ (refined wheat flour) unless it is stated specifically that whole wheat flour has been used. Maida is wheat flour stripped of all nutrients.
The so-called atta noodles are also not prepared out of real wheat. Although the noodles including pasta do have some wheat, test findings have shown that these are not genuine wheat that we use at our homes.
What the manufacturers often do is mix atta and maida, or add a small quantity of wheat fibre to maida. According to food safety norms, we do not have specifications or ratio as to how much atta should be present in the food to qualify as a ‘whole wheat’ product.
Many companies fool the consumers by telling them the product is prepared from ‘whole-wheat’.
Branded History
Nestle drew flak all over the country after the Uttar Pradesh government, during a random check, found lead beyond permissible limits in a batch of Maggi noodles. Other states including Maharashtra, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Delhi and now Orissa followed suit.
“The amino acid L-Glutamate is one of the most important amino acids available in proteins such as cheese, milk, mushrooms, meat, fish, and vegetables. Monosodium glutamate or MSG was discovered a century ago by Japan which gave this taste enhancer a unique name “umami”. MSG is produced by a natural fermentation process that has been in use for centuries to make beer, vinegar and yogurt,” Nestle stated in its defence.
