A four-member expert committee of senior education and health officials headed by BMC’s director of medical education and research, Dr Suhasini Nagda has undertaken numerous field visits to chikki manufacturers and suppliers in Mumbai and Lonavla, before formulating a standardised recipe that appeals to the children.

Two weeks ago, BMC officials visited the manufacturing unit of ‘Gudness’ bar at Lonavla, which is the brainchild of 25-year-old Rajvi Mehta, a Mumbai-bred girl who is studying medicine at Duke University in the US.

A ‘gudness’ bar weighs 40gms and contains nachani, jaggery, white and black sesame seeds, flax seeds and vanilla.

“Our officials visited the plant to study the process in which nutrition bars are manufactured. It is probably the only plant where mechanised processes are in place. We also visited a few other set-ups including Maganlals, the biggest chikki manufacturers in Lonavla. However, chikki there is rolled out by hands,” said a member from the expert committee. “We want a technology through which the manufacturing will have very less human touch and double-packing to nullify the risk of contamination.”

The expert committee is in the process of designing specifications of chikki production before floating the tender.

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Initial Washroom Hygiene, a British Company conducted a new study that showed a woman’s handbag or purse carries more germs than toilet seats and flushes.

Tests were conducted on a section of office workers bags and the items within it that included make-up, mobiles, keys, money as well as eateries that women generally kept inside their bags.

Peter Barratt, the technical manager at Initial Hygiene said, “Handbags come into regular contact with our hands and a variety of surfaces, so the risk of transferring different germs onto them is very high, especially as bags are rarely cleaned”.

“Once these germs get on the bags, they can easily be transferred via hands onto other surfaces. Regular hand sanitization is essential to prevent the presence of bacteria in the first place and thorough cleaning of bags is recommended to prevent the build-up of contamination”, he added.

According to the study, leather handbags with spongy interiors particularly carried more germs and bacteria than other handbags. The most dirtiest item in a handbag is hand cream and a little better than them are lipsticks and mascara since they contained a little less bacteria.

The study also shows that women generally never clean their handbags which create more favourable conditions for germs.

Dr. Sorana Segal-Maurer, an infectious disease specialist with New York Hospital-Queens, told CBS Net York that handbags should never be placed on the bathroom floor. Also, one must never carry a fruit in one’s purse.

Segal said, “Number one, you’re probably not going to wash your hands before you go reaching for it, and number two, it’s floating around next to all the other stuff in your bag and then you want to put it in your mouth — it’s not a good idea.”

Another research conducted by Initial Washroom Hygiene suggested that other that handbags; computer keyboards, kitchen work tops as well as handles of shared fridge-freezers contained high levels of bacteria.

Despite organic foods being 30-40 percent more expensive than traditional foods, parents were more concerned about their children’s health and a safe diet, the survey revealed. The organic food options were led by vegetables (68 percent), fruits (52), fruit juices and pulses (51), foodgrains (50) and milk (45), besides packaged foods, tea and beverages.

Organic farming is still in a transition phase in India resulting in high costs, Rawat said. But as farmers continue with it, the costs are expected to reduce, making India one of the most important producers of organic foods. In the wake of the bad publicity and alarms over poor diet, junk food and rising obesity levels, the boom in organic food sector provides welcome relief to the country’s food industry, Rawat pointed out. The central government is also promoting organic crops, fruits and vegetables through various schemes like National Horticulture Mission, Horticulture Mission for North East & Himalayan States, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and various schemes of the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

Cadbury ordered to pay Rs.30,000

“A man purchased a Cadbury chocolate on Dec 16, 2011, for his three-year-old daughter and found an iron pin inside the bar when the girl tried to eat it. Subsequently, he filed a complaint before a consumer forum,” a food department official told reporters in Agartala.

“After conducting a hearing, the west Tripura district consumer disputes redressal forum last week ordered Cadbury India Ltd to pay a compensation of Rs.30, 000 to the complainant within a month.”
The forum, which in its judgment said the chocolate was hazardous, also asked the chocolate company to pay Rs.1, 000 to the complainant towards the cost of litigation.

These could then be commercialized and promoted for consumption he said at a discussion on the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity on Wednesday.

The discussion on biodiversity for food and nutritional security also underscored cultivation of millets for income generation, nutrition and other livelihood benefits for local communities. “These are hardy and resilient crops and can be cultivated in adverse climatic conditions,” said Israel Oliver King, scientist at MSSRF.

He pointed out the example of Koli Hills in Nammakal district where through the intervention of MSSRF and other agencies, a n organisation of farmers and Self Help Group’s were able to successfully cultivate millet and find suitable markets for its sale.

V Arivudai Nambi, director, biodiversity, at MSSRF said that Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs), set up Biodiversity Act 2002, which operate at the local level are responsible for preparation of People’s Biodiversity Registers (PBRs) together with identification and notification of Biodiversity Heritage Sites (BHS). He detailed the case studies from Kolli hills, Namakkal, Ramanathpuram and Cuddalore districts where the foundation helped in training and capacity building of the local level institutions.

Even though an argument could be made for the relaxing summer season to have a holiday all its own, the origins and meaning of Memorial Day are steeped in tradition that proud Americans carry out each and every year.

According to Wikipedia, the day was first known as Decoration Day. A Northern general thought that if Americans could decorate the graves to honor the casualties of the recent Civil War, it might be a way to heal the wounds between the still divided North and South. A day in May was chosen because it was not the anniversary of any particular Civil War battle, which might dredge up animosity, and flowers were likely to be blooming all across the country in May. Over the years, the name evolved into Memorial Day and is now set aside to honor all the soldiers who have died in service to the United States, not just those during the Civil War. The holiday was permanently renamed Memorial Day by Congress in 1971, and the observation date was moved to the last Monday in May.

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It’s important to remember that oral health and overall health are interlinked. Gum disease for example is capable of affecting other body organs through infection through the bloodstream. Sadly in India, only 2% of the population actually visits dentists and many of them don’t ever find out about their poor oral health. While any dentist worth his or her salt will tell you that a person should brush at least twice a day and floss daily and visit the dentist regularly. Unfortunately, that’s not possible in our daily life and hence the need for on-the-go oral care. This is where chewing gum can make a difference.

Chewing gum immediately after eating is a portable and convenient supplement to your oral care routine which helps fight cavities. It also helps relieve your mouth of dryness. Regularly chewing gum actually helps increase the production of saliva by 10 times. Additionally, research has shown that chewing sugar-free gum for 20 minutes after eating or drinking can help reduce tooth decay risk by up to 40%, which, along with regular dental visits, can promote a healthier and happier mouth.

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Coriander or dhanya as it is called in India is an essential herb that is added to a lot of Indian dishes and also used for garnishing.

Apart from its sweet, tangy and a slightly citrus flavour, this herb has a number of health benefits to offer. So read ahead and try adding a pinch of coriander leaves or coriander powder to your dishes as often as possible.

Health benefits of coriander

It lowers blood sugar levels

Coriander helps in digestion; helps settle an upset stomach and prevent flatulence

Coriander shields you against the Salmonella bacteria

Coriander being an anti- inflammatory helps in easing symptoms of arthritis

It protects against urinary tract infections

Coriander avoids nausea

Coriander alleviates intestinal gas

Coriander lowers bad cholesterol (LDL) and raises good cholesterol (HDL)

It is a great source of dietary fibre, iron and magnesium

Coriander is rich in phytonutrients and flavonoids

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Though the investigation was based on complaints  from Delhi the study will cover  other parts of the country too as similar complaints  are come from everywhere. The FSSAI proposes to  ask state food departments to collect samples from the sources from where water is drawn, check the quality of the water sold and look into the procedure being adopted to purify water. The complaints  have mostly been about  contamination and the high level of chemicals found in the water. These chemicals are used to purify water but they themselves become a health hazard. Studies conducted  some years ago had found that  bottled water in many parts of the country was contaminated and had an unacceptable level of harmful bacteria. The situation may not be very different now.

Bottled water is a largely unregulated business in the county with multinationals and small water bottling units existing side by side. There are thousands of bottling units which operate without a licence.  Many of them do not have a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark.  Some of them misuse the ISI mark or use fake marks. Most  do not employ a microbiologist and do not have a laboratory which is necessary to test and certify the quality of  water. These are all known to authorities but the packaging units have continued with their unhealthy mode of operations. The bottled water business is worth Rs 2500 crore and it is increasing at the rate of  20 per cent every year. While the volume is increasing there is a possibility that quality might further go down.

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Deliberating on the sweetener at the Fourth Stevia Global Summit India, which took place at New Delhi’s PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Sunday, Prassad said NMPB has decided to boost stevia cultivation in India. He added, “Under the current provisions, 20 per cent of the cost of production, which is set at Rs 3,12,500 per hectare, is subsidised by the board. But the minimum requirement would be five farmers and two hectare of land.”

But there continued to be questions about the species of stevia that must be incorporated, because the plant has approximately 400 varieties. Dr Silvamurthy, former food scientist, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), said, “Stevia has several medicinal properties, which could be helpful in preventing several lifestyle diseases like obesity. Moreover, farmers could avail carbon credits by growing stevia.”

FSSAI’s P Chakravarthy informed that the Indian regulator took the decision to approve stevia as an artificial sweetening additive followed approvals by the United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) and the European Union (EU). He added, “FSSAI’s scientific panel has already approved it, and a gazette notification has been issued in this regard after a detailed study.”

He said, “However, stevia (currently usable as steviol glycoside) can only be used in the form of tablets with a prescribed formulation,” adding that discussions are currently underway to get it approved for all forms of oral use, including liquid dosages and powder. Separate nods are needed to be able to use the product as a food ingredient and as medicine.

Sourabh Agrawal, chief executive officer, India Stevia Association, New Delhi, and chairman and managing director, Stevia Biotech; S S Aggarwal, director general, Amity Institute of Pharmacy, Amity University, Noida; Amarender Singh Bawa, former director, DRDO food laboratory, Mysore, and Ashok Chauhan, founder president, Amity Group of Institutions, were also present at the summit.

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