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Importance of safe and clean foods

Contaminated and adulterated foods are major causes for several food-borne illnesses in the country

  • Safe and good-quality foods are essential for maintaining good health
  • Naturally-occurring toxins, environmental contaminants and adulterants in foods constitute a health hazard.
  • Consumption of unsafe foods can lead to food-borne diseases.
  • Buy food items from reliable sources after careful examination.
  • Wash vegetables and fruits thoroughly before use.
  • Store the raw and cooked foods properly and prevent microbial, rodent and insect invasion.
  • Refrigerate perishable food items.
  • Maintain good personal hygiene and keep the cooking and food storage areas clean and safe.
  • Always use throughly cleaned utensils for cooking/ eating.

What makes food unsafe?

Microbes (bacteria and moulds) and their products are responsible for food spoilage. Natural enzymes present in food also lead to its deterioration. Besides, insects, rodents, adulterants, natural toxins and various chemical residues beyond permissible levels, make the food unwholesome. In addition to moisture and environmental conditions like temperature, storage time also influence the quality of the food.

How do we select safe food?

Selection of the right food is the first step to ensure safe and good quality diet. Food items purchased from reliable sources having a high turnover ensure their freshness. Some foods carry certification mark assuring good quality. For example AGMARK for honey and ghee; FPO (Fruit Products Order) for fruit and vegetable products (jams, squashes, etc); ISI (Bureau of Indian Standards) for food colours and essences. While purchasing packaged food always look for ‘best before’ or ‘date of expiry’.

Food grains purchased should be free from infestation and foreign matter (rodent excreta and insect remains). They should be of uniform size and should not be shrivelled, shrunken or mouldy. Foodstuffs should be free from artificial colors. There is a risk of adulteration when fats/oils are purchased loose from unsealed containers. Therefore, it is always safer to purchase reputed brand products in sealed sachets/containers. It is necessary to buy pasteurized milk in sachets from a reputed dairy or a reliable vendor to avoid the risk of adulteration and contamination. Milk products such as butter, ghee and khoa should also be purchased from reliable sources. Whole spices, uniform in color, size and shape should be preferred. Since powdered spices are more likely to be adulterated, always buy certified products. Fruits and vegetables that show patches, physical damage with bruises or wilted and decayed with visible evidence of insects and moulds, should be avoided. Eggs should be fresh and free from cracks. Meat or poultry must be examined for characteristic color, odor and texture and should be purchased fresh or frozen. Freshness of fresh-water fish is indicated by a stiff body, bright, clear and bulging eyes, reddish gills, tight scales and absence of stale odor or discoloration. Fresh fish will not show any pitting on finger pressure.

What are the best practices of storage ?

Agricultural commodities should be dried and adequately in a safe storage structure, to protect them from moisture and to prevent the damage from microbs like bacteria and mould producing toxins (eg. aflatoxins). Rodent attacks, and the presence of insects and microbes, not only reduce the availability of nutrients but render the foods harmful. Frequent and careful disinfestation of the storage premises using rodenticides like aluminium phosphide is essential. Some traditional household practices such as application of edible oils to grains, placing dried neem leaves in storage bins etc., are known to prevent infestations.

Why do foodborne diseases occur?

Foodborne infections and toxicities are common particularly with consumption of susceptible foods such as milk products like khoa, meat, poultry and even cooked foods like rice. Improper processing, handling and cooking, and keeping cooked foods in warm conditions for several hours before eating, promote bacterial growth and toxin production.

How should perishable foods be handled ?

Perishable foods like milk, meat, vegetables and cooked foods, are prone to spoilage due to microbes. These foods should be stored under refrigeration, preferably at a temperature of 10oc or less, which retards multiplication of microorganisms. However, even refrigerated foods, if stored for long, can get spoilt. Cross contamination can be avoided by keeping cooked and raw foods separately.

In case of food which is cooked, if not consumed immediately has to be stored for some time, it should be kept either hot (more than 60oc) or be cooled quickly (below 10oc). Most micro-organisms multiply at temperatures between 10 and 60oc. Refrigerated cooked food should be heated before consumption. However, repeated heating may be avoided.

What about personal hygiene ?

Food handlers should observe good personal hygiene to maintain food safety. They should be free from obvious signs of illness, wounds and sores. Traditionally in India, cooked food is touched by bare hands while preparing, serving and eating. Use of spoons and ladles should be encouraged to avoid contamination. Hands should be washed thoroughly with soap before starting the preparation of food and after every interruption. Household pets like cats and dogs often harbour dangerous pathogens. They should be kept away from places where food is cooked, stored or served.

What are the common adulterants?

Foods may be adulterated with non-food material or inferior quality product. Spoilt, stale or poor quality food is made attractive and fresh by adding harmful colors or other chemicals. Frequently adulterated food items are milk and milk products, cereals, pulses and their products, edible oils and spices. The different classes of adulterants include non-permitted colors like metanil yellow; non-edible oils like castor oil; cheaper agricultural produce like various starches in milk powder; extraneous matter like husk, sand and sawdust; and metal contaminants like aluminum or iron filings. Consumption of adulterated foods could lead to disease outbreaks of epidemic proportions. Buying from a reliable and reputed source, careful checking of foods before purchase and insisting on certified brands will all minimize the risk of food adulteration.

How to minimize effects of pesticide residues?

Pesticides, used during cultivation of crops, can remain as residues in foodstuffs, especially vegetables and fruits. Exposure of the population to pesticide residues may be harmful and can be minimized by washing the foodstuffs thoroughly in running water or by peeling. Cooking and other processes can also reduce such residues. Insect control operations such as disinfestation in the kitchen by spraying pesticides is another source of contamination. Utmost care should be taken to ensure that eatables are well covered and protected from exposure to such harmful agents.

Source: National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad

Last Modified : 2/12/2020



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