Our daily dose of poison

Carbide, formalin, plastic.... toxic substances added to the food we eat are killing us one meal, one snack at a time :

by Carol Aloysius

Food borne illness from agro chemicals and other avoidable toxins have taken a giant leap forwards in recent years. So serious is this public health problem, it has prompted the World Health Organisation to appeal to its member countries to address the issue immediately. Worse still, if one goes by sheer numbers, it is set to overtake all other avoidable diseases in the future. This is hardly surprising if you consider how rapidly toxic the worldwide food industry has become.

All of us are victims gripped within its toxic net. No matter how hard we try to break free, the ugly truth is that from farm to table, the food chain is literally seeped with poisonous agents likely to send us to an early death.

Take the fruits you love to eat. In the past our parents simply plucked them off their trees and ate them without fear. Can we do the same today? The same goes for our vegetables. Grown in increasingly polluted environments, and heavily laced with pesticides and herbicides as well as carbide, they account for the increased number of patients being hospitalised for food poisoning in the country.

Carbide, widely used in the Indian subcontinent, which labelled 'carbide hub of the world', is now increasingly being used by Lankan farmers. To quicken the ripening of their harvest, farmers apply carbide directly on them even soaking the fruits for a long period, so that the poison seeps into the fruit. "No amount of scrubbing or washing with soap and running water can get rid of the poison inside the fruits and vegetables that have pesticides and carbide sprayed on them," says Director, National Poisons Information Centre, National Hospital, Dr Waruna Gunathilaka, explaining that the only way to minimise this danger is to wash them with running water, peel their outer skins and in the case of vegetables, cook thoroughly instead of eating them raw.

Equally dangerous is the current practice by farmers to use pesticide on their crops during the pre-harvest period, so that yams like manioc and bathala come out easily and without breaking. If you do eat these yams boil them well after removing their outer skins, Dr. Gunathilaka advises.

Threat

In short, almost every food we eat today, poses a serious threat to our lives. And that goes for food that is cooked, or processed and packed as well. For, along with agro chemicals new toxins have entered our food chain compounding an already grave problem.

Formalin, which it not a food ingredient is one example. Used widely in India and Bangladesh, has prompted serious research.

According to The Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry (ATSDR), formalin in food and water can rapidly enter the body via the digestive tract and body. The research warns that once inside the body, it is rapidly broken down into new chemicals, which can affect the gastrointestinal tract.... with children and women being more vulnerable.

A study in 2014 published in the Journal of Environment Science, Toxicology & Food Technology, drawing on outcomes of experiments on mice claimed, "In Bangladesh formalin has alarmingly increased, especially in fish, fruits and other foods, exposing the population to severe health risks, that could affect the kidney and liver tissues and cause degeneration of tissue and congestion of renal glomerulus, along with renal tissue damage."

Based on these findings, the researchers ' strongly recommended that formalin be banned from use in any food by the food industry".

Dr Gunathilaka fully endorses this stand on grounds there is mounting evidence that formalin has indeed entered our food chain, and is being used with ascetic acid in preparation of milk foods like curd.

Adulterated oil and refried snacks

Senior Food Inspector CMC Lal Kumara said food inspectors had found most city food outlets to be selling short eats that were re-fried with the same oil over and over again. "Re-frying can increase the fat content and cause cholesterol and other diseases", Dr Gunethilaka warned.

Vegetable oils especially palm oil mixed with coconut oil is also being increasingly sold in food outlets according to the CAA and CMC. According to CAA spokesperson Thilakeratne, at least 30-40 percent of coconut oil in the market is adulterated with vegetable oil - mostly palm oil. The CAA has urged the Health Ministry to make it compulsory for bulk oil, which is the main culprit here, to be packeted and sealed with addresses and expiry dates, as a solution.

Commenting on the health impact of ingesting food with such oil, Dr Gunethilaka said palm oil in food can adversely affect the lipid profile. "Those who ingest these foods can rapidly develop high fat composition of the blood and high triglyceride levels which can lead to ischemic heart diseases (heart attacks).

What we are seeing now is an increasing number of people being exposed to this danger because both young and old are now into spicy, salty foods like parata, kottu roti, papadam, fried rice and pastries, which use this oil," he said, adding what was worse was that the vendors often re-use this oil several times during the day, which causes a dangerous chemical formation.

"These newly formed chemicals are injurious to human health. They need to get rid of the oil after using it once," he stressed, pointing out that road side food vendors also use cracked eggs for the food they cook, which cost half the price of an ordinary egg. "Consumers can get salmonella by eating these eggs if the shells are infected," he warned.

Discarded chemical/ pesticide containers

He said reliable information had been received that vendors of bulk coconut oil were using large discarded chemical and pesticide containers. "This is dangerous as the chemicals leech to the oil. The country should have a system to regulate the use of empty chemical containers and prevent them from being re-cycled for storing oil," he urged

Lead

Another increasingly common and dangerous practice is the use of newspapers to wrap cooked food and even meat. Lead in food can lead to kidney damage, affect the neurological development (nerve), cause abnormal thinking and rationalising, delay in menstruation in young girls, and aggravate anaemia. "If a person has anaemia, lead absorption is enhanced in the body system. Children with anaemia and pregnant women are more vulnerable to this risk," Dr Gunathilaka said.

Although there is a minimum lead content regulation in the country of 0.3%, and most of our products have tested for much less levels of this amount, he was of the opinion that no lead should be allowed in any of the food through artificial means, as heavy metals such as lead could damage the body's organs.

Preservatives in food

Flavours and preservatives are increasingly being used in cooked foods to make them look and taste good and last longer. But are they necessary? "No" said a health Spokesperson, suggesting we use natural spices used in traditional cuisine like turmeric, cumin, cardamom and pepper instead to give them their flavour.

MSG

One of the main flavour enhancers used in most processed and packaged food is mono sodium glutamate (MSG). Added to noodles, fried rice and other foods many however are unaware of the dangers that lurk inside these seemingly innocent little packets.

"MSG is highly addictive. It is an excite toxin in the brain and leads to the production of excessive amounts of dopamine, a chemical in the brain that helps brain cells to communicate with each other.

An excess creates a drug like effect that provides a brief sensation of well being, besides causing headaches, flushing of the face, allergic reactions and gastro intestinal disturbances," pointed out Dr Gunethilaka.

Although not banned, this particular flavour enhancer does have to comply with certain regulations regarding its use, the latest being an extraordinary gazette notification issued in February 2013, under the direction of the Health Ministry, where several other food enhancers were also included.

Laying down certain regulations regarding the use of flavour enhancers in food, the new regulations made under section 32 of the Food Act No 26 of 1980, specifically mentioned noodles and pasta (dry products) in which such flavour enhancers were prohibited.

Yet products from the Middle east and China with no proper labels and codes keep appearing on supermarket shop shelves.

The BIG question is why expose the public to the adverse impacts of these toxins at all especially if our body does not need them?

More awareness raising programmes, to help food processors to recognise mechanisms of avoiding the entry of chemical contaminated raw materials to the food chain and minimise microbial contamination of foods starting from sources of micro-organisms for stakeholders in the food industry will pave the way for improved food safety in the future, a senior Health Ministry official said.