Colour me deadly

Pesticides, synthetic dyes and flavours in the food we eat are poisoning us on a daily basis:

by Carol Aloysius

It’s an explosion of a different kind. Heavily laced with preservatives, agro chemicals, synthetic dyes and artificial toxic elements, the food we eat has now become our biggest threat to healthy living. With or without our knowledge, these myriad poisons, have invaded our food chain and are continuing to do so with a vengeance, with no signs of an end to them in the near future.

This toxic chain of food is not something that happened overnight. Starting with the germination of a seed in the soil and travelling on its long journey, it could take days, months, and years to reach its final destination: the human body, where it devours most of the organs after reaching the highest point of toxicity.

Chemicals

Mostly chemical, the number of toxic elements that enter our food chain could go up to a daunting 800 or more a recent study in the US has revealed. The results of ingesting them are both wide ranging and terrifying, leaving behind a trail of daunting health impacts that range from premature death, congenital heart and liver failure, brain damage, lowered mental faculties, severe anaemia, blindness to a host of terrifying illnesses they could last a life time, depriving victims of their inherent right to a healthy life.

Food chain

How do these poisons enter our food chain? By deliberate action? Or are they part of the natural production process?

“Both,” says Head of the National Poisons Information Centre, Dr Waruna Gunathilaka. “They could enter the food chain intentionally (deliberately) through pesticides and other agro chemicals introduced by unscrupulous vendors. Or artificial flavours and colours intended to titillate the appetite of the fussiest eater. Or, to increase the volume and weight of the product in question.

“On the other hand, they could occur during the production process itself. Myriad contaminants can pollute the vegetables and fruits we eat, even when before they are harvested. Heavy metals, sand, dust, stones, colour contaminants could enter at any stage of this process. This could occur when they are still growing, or when or before they are harvested. “Pollutants can contaminate these foods while they are being readied for transport, or even while transporting them to the market. Or by the manner in which they are packed and stored at super markets before the consumer finally buys them for the table. The end result is bio accumulation and bio magnification of the toxic levels, which originates in a mild form at plant level and accumulates high toxicity by the time we consume it.”

Impact

“The effects have the same rippling impact as the pollutants. They affect all living things – flora, fauna, fish, and water. The multi systems in our bodies are adversely affected since they have short term and long term effects, depending on the chemicals used.”

So who are those most at risk?

“Pregnant women and children and even the unborn foetus. They can cause intra uterine death, growth retardation and congenital problems in children. It has haematological effects that can cause bone marrow failure leading to high anaemia and reduced blood counts,” he warns.

Colours

Colours play a significant role in food appeal. In Sri Lanka, recent raids have uncovered a large number of food items sold in wayside eateries, restaurants and even star class hotels using colours which have been listed as banned items in this country on grounds of being carcinogenic and causing other serious illnesses. To stem this steady flood of poisonous colours entering our food, new Regulations amending the Food (colouring Substances) Regulation 2006 were framed and gazetted on January 14, 2011.In our note given elsewhere details of the regulations with reference to the use of synthetic dyes that have been banned, and those that are permitted to be used as colouring substances in food stuff, have been boxed for our readers benefit.

Why use synthetic dyes when the law allows permitted dyes?

Chief Food Inspector, Colombo Municipal Council Lal Kumara explains that certain dyes are permitted to be used for cakes, sweets and other confectionaries. “But these are very expensive. To save money, most vendors resort to using all sorts of harmful dyes especially cloth dyes which cost quarter the amount of money, even though they know they could cause serious health impacts,” he says, adding, “We have got an increasing number of complaints with regard to this matter. We urge the public to contact us on 2676161 and inform us if they have any suspicion on any kind of sweet food they have eaten.”

Dr Gunathilaka is of the view that before an ordinary consumer is able to detect a non permitted colour or know if a permitted colour has exceeded its level, he/she must first be ‘Consumer label literate’. “By this I mean he/she must be able to read the labels on food items especially packaged items, correctly,” he explains.

But what if the labels don’t carry the actual ingredients in detail? “They must look for the E numbers, which are the specific colourings /flavourings international identification code. There is a certain cut off point which they should not exceed. So taken over a period of time even in small quantities, these synthetic flavours and colourings could be carcinogenic and also cause other illnesses.”

On food colourings per se, he says, “This is only one aspect of our food chain. To get the broader picture, you need to take into consideration all other factors especially pesticides which are still the number one poisoning agent here, that continue to enter our food chain daily”.

Bright and Green

While we don’t have the lab facilities to do proper chemical analysis of chemical particles in our food, there are ways of finding out if they do exist in certain food items

As Dr Gunathilaka says, some of the most common vegetables that are heavily laced with agro chemicals include green leafy vegetables as well as underground vegetables like cabbages, and beans, brinjals, tomatoes, apples and grapes.

“If they are bright red or bright green or yellow and are packed and ready for sale, avoid buying them. Check their expiry dates. If the time duration for them to be eaten is fairly long, don’t buy them.” Why?

“Because they have been liberally sprayed with pesticides or other chemicals to make them last for a longer time. We have complaints from witnesses who have seen farmers spraying their vegetables even when they are being packed for transport and even after they have been put into the lorries, to keep them fresh on arrival and for a period after that.

“If ‘kos’ and ‘polos’ packed in boxes for sale look fresh, take another look. If they don’t show any signs of discolouration and indentation, they are obviously sprayed with some weedicide or chemical to keep them that way. Instead of cut fruits buy the whole fruit. Manioc is another yam that we have increasing reports of being contaminated with weedicides. We have found out this happens even before it is harvested in the Pre harvesting period so that the yam comes out of the ground without breaking up.”

Vegetables, sugary foods and drinks are not the only foods that are being poisoned without our knowledge. “Manufacturers are now adding ascetic acid and alu hunu (lime) and even formalin as a preservative. These are carcinogenic and toxic and cause blood abnormalities, cough, shortness of breath, abnormal blood clotting, and burning of the throat and oesophagus,” Dr Gunathilaka warns.

Pictures courtesy:

Macquirelatory.com, foodsafetymonth