Wrapping food in used news paper-A practice with questionable safety issues

It may appear ridiculous for a westerner to see foods being wrapped in old news paper materials in many countries in Asia such as India, Pakistan, Malaysia etc which is the most practiced way of serving foods by most street vendors. This is due to the thriving market that exists for used news papers in these countries, as millions of copies of publications in English as well as in many local languages are printed and distributed to meet the demands of the reading public. It is amazing that in spite of the high growth of electronic communication system news papers are vividly read by most people to satisfy their hunger for news and information. By the latest count there are over two hundred and fifty major news paper publications alone in India though over 85000 publications are registered in total. In Hindi language itself there are over 156 million copies circulated daily while English papers print another 56 million copies every day. On an average each news paper copy costs about Rs 5 and monthly budget for a reader estimated at Rs 150 for one publication. Most households sell off their old news papers to "raddiwallas" who buy these papers through house to house soliciting. In general a month's paper can fetch about Rs 20 on an investment of Rs 150. Where do these papers end up?

The curiosity about this subject was aroused by a recent report from Kangar, Malaysia about a ban enforced by the local government on use of old news papers for wrapping food materials due to apprehensions about the safety of the paper wraps for food contact application. Accordingly from January 2016 no food operator is going to be allowed to use printed papers, mostly old news papers for  packing of foods and violations can attract punitary fines as high as 10 000 Ringits ( about one and a half lakh rupees) and possible imprisonment of two years. The reason cited by the authorities for taking such a strong policy decision is based on the data generated on the toxicity of chemicals present in news papers that can get migrated easily into the food packed in it. Interestingly the punishment regime was proposed for January next year after giving about 6 months time for the food operators to understand and be well informed about the health implications inherent in use of printed papers. Probably this is a wise move by a government which has the health and well being of the citizens upper most in its mind.          

In India we consume about 2.5% million tons of news print annually out of which 60% is imported. May be this is not a huge quantity amounting to just 1.8 kg annual per capita compared to 3.5 kg in Asia as a whole and against the global average of 9 kg per capita. In a country like Canada 80% of used paper is recycled whereas in our country the corresponding figure is just 26%. Packing or wrapping in old news papers and other discarded papers is very common in India and those who buy them use the same in a variety of ways. Some make paper bags for packing dry materials while others resell them to retail traders for packing the wares sold by them It is rare that such paper wastes are burned or used in land fills. With the advent of plastics, especially polyethylene and polypropylene, use of paper is increasingly being phased out by the retailers. But use of plastics is also now being frowned upon because of the dangers involved in migration of chemicals, some of them toxic, from the plastic bags to the foods carried in them and use of plastic bags with less than 40 microns thickness is banned in many places in India. This naturally shifts the focus once again on paper though reusable cloth bags are being promoted extensively. With such a dicey situation is the paper usage going to see a spurt in future? May be but the dangers involved must be carefully monitored to prevent any future catastrophe at the national level.

A curious consumer may be pardoned if he is not convinced about the non-safety of used news papers and other printed paper materials for packing foods. but scientific evidence cannot be brushed away easily. According to toxicologists familiar with hazards of printing inks which are used across the world, there are thousands of chemicals required to be used to get attractive printed products and many of them are highly toxic to human beings. Especially news papers produced using the off set -web printing use very thick consistency inks and a particular type of drying where mineral oil, solvents like methanol, benzene and toluene are used. The heavy metal Cobalt is a part of most of the drying agents. Generally mineral based printed inks are known to contain Mineral Oil Saturated Hydrocarbon (MOSH) and Mineral Oil Aromatic Hydrocarbon (MOAH) which are sources of gases generated by evaporation which can penetrate into foods packed in such papers. The FAO-WHO Alimentarius Commission has set an upper limit of 0.6 mg/kg that can be considered safe intake through food. Besides countless colorants, pigments, binders, additives, photo-initiators etc are present in high quality printing inks, some of them being highly toxic. Some of the chemicals detected in printed papers include Aryl Amines, Benzidine, 2-Naphthylamine, 4-Aminobiphenol etc implicated in cancers affecting bladder and lungs. 

What type of foods are most vulnerable to dangers due to printed paper packing? Generally dry products with low water and fat are relatively safe to be wrapped for short time while high fat products like Pakoda, Vada, Dosa, Bajji, etc are unsuitable to be packed in these papers. Similarly wet foods are also not considered suitable for news paper packing though the low strength of paper will cause disintegration after a few minutes, thus being a self limiting factor.While focus above has been mostly on used news papers, there is another equally critical area requiring attention when the safety of food packing is considered.  According to some estimates Indian generates about 15 million tons of waste papers of all types that include note books, stationery products, envelops, notices, etc and since only quarter of this gets into the recycling stream bulk of it gets used for packing house hold goods including food. What are the safety implications here? They are equally risky when it comes to food wrapping or packing. Another dimension to their safety is the danger posed by pathogenic micro organisms which contaminate the papers when stored for some time under humid conditions in unhygienic places exposing them to open air and atmospheric dust besides vectors like cockroach, insects and house hold pests all of which make their own contribution to make the old news papers a veritable source of microbes with different pathogenicity.         

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com 

Can some foods cause cancer? Depends on severity of heat exposure

Contrary to the saying that food is medicine and medicine is food attributed to Socrates, foods can also be the poison if not properly cared for during preparation if some scientists are to be believed. All natural foods found edible are considered safe when consumed in moderate quantities that can meet body's neeeds of calories, proteins, fat and other essential nutrients but improper storage and handling can cause deterioration in quality and some time even adverse consequences. It is true that the wonders brought about by food scientists in the form of preservation technologies which laid the foundation of modern food industry have enabled mankind to avoid food poisoning and other undesirable consequences of spoiled foods to a great extent. Stray cases of food poisoning that occur from time to time are due to negligence and improper processing and packing. Also responsible is the recklessness on the part of processing industry in introducing chemical substances which turn out to be dangerous in the long run. Artificial colors, synthetic sweeteners, many food preservatives and appearance enhancers, artifacts generated during processing, leached substances from packaging materials etc are examples of unsafe process aids causing health damages to varying extent. These examples may be far and few but it is a reality that such dangers do exist about which consumers must be aware.

It was only recently that some researchers highlighted the dangers of vegetable oils when used for frying and recommended not using some vegetable oils for high temperature applications. The generation of toxic aldehydes in frying oils poses a real danger and the preliminary findings of the above group is being taken seriously by the safety authorities world over to generate adequate data on this issue to lay down guidelines for frying processes. The irony is that there is an inverse relationship between taste and flavor and extent of heating. Higher the temperature tastier are the products. Imagine the chaotic situation that exists to day with all types of oils being used for frying at temperatures varying from 160 to 210 C and duration of heating varying from a few minutes to hours together. Is it humanly possible to have any control on frying operations in millions of households and small industries? Therefore it makes eminent sense to declare on the packs of those oils that they are not suitable for frying for long duration and temperatures beyond 160 C.

A similar situation is emerging with regard to toasting and roasting processes vis a vis some materials like potato and bread. Here the contentious issue is formation of a toxic substance called Acrylamide, a reaction products between proteins and carbohydrates. This chemical was detected in 2002 by Swedish workers in two of the most popular products viz French Fries and Potato Chips and raised alarms regarding its wide occurrence in a variety of products heated to temperatures beyond 120 C Though till to date Acrylamide has not been implicated in cancer in humans, the possibility does exist because of conclusive data obtained in animal studies implicating this chemical as a carcinogen. What is known is that Acrylamide has toxic effects on reproductive system and nervous system in humans at levels of 500 micro gram per kg body weight..World wide policy makers are uncertain about the safe limit of Acrylamide that can be permitted in human foods. However there is a standard for potable water which should not contain more than 0.1 micro gram per liter. Naturally logic says that food consumed also should not have levels beyond that but still such limits have not yet been prescribed in any country or by the WHO of the United Nations.

Recent recommendation by the British food authorities that foods like bread and potato should be subjected to less severe heating to prevent formation of Acrylamide has pushed the problem in the public realm and cannot be ignored easily. After all Acrylamide formation is possible only if the food contains both Aspargine containing proteins and sugars such as Glucose and Fructose. However it is not clear whether consumers will listen to this advisory seriously because of the traditional practices of making tasty potato crisps and toasts from bread with dark hues. According to common sense, human beings have been consuming potato crisps and bread toasts for hundreds of years, apparently with no harm! But a raw material like potato to day is vastly different from what was consumed by our predecessors as most potatoes are cold stored and the concentration of glucose in them reach alarming levels which can increase the levels of Acrylamide during frying. According to most recent studies, Acrylamide formation can be as high as 3000 ug per kg of potato chips, an alarming level considered from any angle. 

Whether there is any universal agreement on the Acrylamide content of different commercial foods marketed to day, it is a fact that exposure to this toxin is significantly higher to day than it was 50 years ago. Some of the commercial products like potato chips, cookies and crackers, coffee, bread, breakfast cereal, and French Fries contribute significant amounts of Acrylamide in the diets of populations in the Western countries. For example more than 25% of Acrylamide exposure in US comes from French Fries while another 25% is ingested through Bread. Other foods like baked goods, potato chips etc contribute the rest. It is difficult to believe that a popular brand of Potato chips available in many countries is reported to have Acrylamide levels between 250 ug and 470 ug per kg. There is a brand of sweet Potato chips under the name Route 11 which contains a whopping 2760 ug of Acrylamide per kg! Even dark roast coffee and Cocoa can contain Acrylamide as high as 100 ug per kg. While Coffee may not pose much of a hazard since only insignificant levels are leached into brewed coffee, cocoa based beverages can have high levels of the toxin. 

Now that safety experts are seized of this challenging safety issue, what needs to be done is bothering the authorities to no end. While commercial processors can be restrained from making products with Acrylamide beyond a certain level, how is it possible to discourage house hold consumers from making over heated products causing generation of Acrylamide in their kitchens? Advisories like using fresh potatoes only for making crisps, chips and fries or eating lightly toasted bread or low temperatures for preparing foods containing proteins and sugars may serve the purpose to a very limited extent as consumers tend to forget then in their desire to prepare tasty foods. Acrylamide busting additives though are being developed, how far it is practical to use them in the kitchens of restaurants and house holds is a million dollar question. 

There is some apprehension among some people that Acrylamide alarm might have been overstated and these chemicals might not be as harmful as it is made out to be. The reason for this is that Acrylamide formed while preparing a particular food, considered to be a complex cocktail of organic chemicals, may not be in a position to be absorbed by the body during its travel through the GI tract and therefore it could get excreted without much harm. This may be a wild conjecture and needs further studies before coming to any concrete conclusion. Until such time it is wise to be cautious while preparing foods, especially at home, not to go for high temperatures and long cooking time           . 

V.H.POTTY

http://vhpotty.blogspot.com
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

DIPAWALI AND THE AFTERMATH!-THE NEW SWACH BHARATH ABHIYAN BEING DERAILED?

A recent report that the air quality in Delhi severely deteriorated a day after Diwali with the city recording nine times higher pollution level than the normal is itself  very disturbing but more disturbing is the nonchalance with which citizens take such reports as if it is is nothing of much significance to them. This is all the more appalling after the nation's conscience was awakened by the Primi Minister on Mahatma Gandhi's birth day on October 2 this year by announcing the launching of the famous Swach Bharath Abhiyan which is sought to be an instrument to transform the country from its present 'thucha bharath" image into a clean nation with clean people. It is famously said that Indians are more enamored by the "title" than the content and this Diwali they seem to have justified that reputation! 

According to the latest study the Respirable Suspended Particulate Matter (RSPM) which determines the quality of air and its fitness to be breathed reached a staggering level of more than 530 ug per cubic meter (microgram) following three days of reckless fire cracker mania that gripped the country. Air pollution can adversely affect the breathing of children and adults alike with the former more vulnerable to respiratory diseases like Asthma. Normally a RSPM concentration of 60 mg per cubic meter is considered tolerable and the post Diwali level of 530 ug, almost 10 times higher than this figure needs to be taken seriously. It should be recalled that World Health Organization recently expressed grave concern about the Air quality in Delhi and warned about its serious consequences to its inhabitants. As usual Government denied that there is any thing serious about such a situation!

Particulate matter of 10 um (micron) size can cause cancer like diseases and if they are still finer, viz 2.5 um the danger is multiplied several fold. Small sized particulates can penetrate into lungs and blood streams causing significant DNA mutations resulting in multiple diseases which are difficult to be treated successfully. Many countries have set zero limits for particulates of size 2.5 um and less, the upper limit for 10 um size particulates is as low as 50 ug per cubic meter. In the Indian context one does not know the proportion of 2.5 um size present in the RSPM figure. According to health experts for every increase of 10 ug per cubic meter of suspended particles in the air, the risk of lung cancer rises by 22%. More dangerously if the particle size is less than 2.5 um the chances of lung cancer increases by 36%.

In India such warnings are routinely issued by scientists at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology before Diwali celebration kick starts which practically no one including the citizens cares to listen and take appropriate pre-emptive steps to avoid ruining the air quality. The newly launched Air Quality Index is supposed to be a tool for monitoring air quality on a daily basis and advise the nation regarding remedial steps that need to be taken. Unfortunately in India Scientists are rarely listened to as babus/bureaucrats rule the roost! World-wide India is considered one of the worst sinners when it comes to air pollution and it is a shame that 13 of the worst polluted cities are in India among 1600 cities in this planet. What a credential for a country which harbors great ambitions to be an economic power house similar to the United States and China. It is not a consolation that Beijing in China is often dubbed as "Greyjing" because of the high air pollution reported in this city almost throughout the year, mostly caused by industrial pollutants.  It must be realized, sooner than later by Indians, that for a nation to be great, its citizens have to be honest, responsible with high civic sense, dedicated and hard working, humanitarian and proud to be a part of the country's achievements and ethos. Whether the present PM can motivate the population to gain such a character is a million dollar question.

Interestingly Kolkatta does not lag too far behind Delhi boasting of a RSPM of 417 ug while Chennai's RSPM was 320 ug. Whether these figures are high because of Diwali or they are uniformly high through out the year is some thing which needs to be monitored over a period of time. According to some international experts air pollution in India is high because of millions of chulas being used by the rural folks for cooking of food and heating water in more than 5 lakh villages across the country throwing out high particulate smoke though wide spread adoption of LPG lately must have reduced this smoke load significantly. Added to this indiscriminate burning of garbage in cities and villages, post harvest burning of vast tracts of agricultural fields, uncontrolled forest fires and open cremation of bodies by most of the population must be contributing hugely to the particulate as well as toxic load to the air across the country. Exhaust fumes from automobiles and power stations also contribute to air pollution very significantly.

Speaking about Diwali, the recent Tweeting by the PM congratulating those who cleaned up their places after bursting crackers promptly may be timely but those citizens did this admirable job must be a microscopic minority. During the three days beginning 22 October the streets in most towns and cities were looking like a war zone with debris from the burst crackers strewn all around with neither the people who did this nor the civic authorities too much bothered about cleaning them up. Though there is supposed to be a law which bars bursting of crackers after 10 pm, this was blatantly violated by many people with no consideration for their fellow citizens and millions of other creatures like birds, dogs, cats etc! High decibel crackers are known to have a detrimental effect on the hearing faculty of human beings and it is sad that those who suffer are not the one perpetuating this act but innocent fellow citizens who are present nearby out of compulsions. Millions of our citizens and thousands of our politicians visit countries like the US where there are strict laws governing bursting of crackers but they promptly forget them when they return to this pervasive country. It is time that clear guidelines are evolved for organizing fire displays during Diwali or Dassara by the civic bodies in well ear marked, secluded areas where high tech fire crackers can be deployed for the pleasure of those who are obsessed with light and sound.  

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

     

THE "DANGEROUS" OIL-CONSUMERS' NIGHTMARE!

Who does not like a freshly fried food or a snack made by deep fat frying? Most humans have a weakness for preparations made by using high levels of oil and higher the oil content more tasty would be the product though health wise such foods many pose dangers in the long run. Interestingly foods with high moisture content, if fried at lower temperatures for a shorter time, may not contain too much adsorbed oil while dry products during frying process have a tendency to get infused with the frying oil thereby raising the oil content in the end product. Scientific basis for such an explanation is that in high moisture foods during frying the water gets evaporated high temperatures creating an internal pressure by the steam which comes out in force and oil has no chance get into the product if the residence time in the fryer is not too long. In contrast dry foods already have cavities pre-existing within their matrix where oil can get in fast and easy. This is the reason why most snack making plants deploy centrifuges to extract free oil from inside the product. 

The debate regarding the importance of fat as a calorie source in preference to carbohydrates is a never ending one but one thing that is certain is that high levels of  fat in every day diet can lead to increased body weight and eventuality to obesity. Of course if heavy physical activity is practiced every day, body fat can get burned and it is nothing but common sense to understand the basic principle of eating and its consequences. If calorie intake is more than calorie expenditure, the body has to store the excess calories through fat deposited in different parts of the body. Sadly the food manufacturing industry has discovered that most human beings cannot resist the temptation of foods containing high sugar and fat and very little control can be exercised while choosing foods. Besides psychologists are unanimous in their opinion that fat, sugar and salt are addictive food components like alcohol and tobacco.

One of the reasons for frequent visits to restaurants by people is the number of choice of tasty fried foods available which are not made at home regularly. Many kitchens in western world shun frying in their kitchen because of the mess that is created by the hot and smoky oils during frying. If fast food chains have become landmarks in developed countries, the reason is the same that their foods are palate tingling and irresistible to avoid. Even young kids ought to be brought up in a healthy eating environment but fall for the unhealthy products from the fast food joints and the processed food industry because of their easy availability and often at low prices. It is next to impossible to make them eat nutritious foods like fruits, vegetables, wholegrain foods, milk, etc in their every day diet. One of the reasons health pundits advocate reducing intake of fried foods is that most frying oils tend to cause atherosclerosis and consequently heart disease and stroke with tragic consequences over a period of time. Except some oils like that extracted from Mustard, Palm fruits and kernels, Coconuts, Peanut, Safflower, almost all others are not fry-stable causing generation of undesirable artifacts at high temperatures and repeated heating.

Frying is an interesting process in food technology where the temperature of the oil is raised to high levels around 200C for fully frying the product to get the desired texture and flavor. If the heat stability of the oil is low, temperatures as low as 165C can also be used to get a fully cooked end product. It is always the dilemma of a Chef as to what temperature he must use to prepare a product to reduce as much as possible oil uptake by the end product, considering that the market price of oils can vary enormously. Ideally every Chef would like to use an oil like Olive oil but it is not practical because of the high cost of this fancy oil. Many choose Palm Oil which is considered the cheapest oil in the global market thanks to the tremendous production in countries like Indonesia and Malaysia. Oils derived from Soybean, Rape seed, Maize germ, Sunflower seed, Safflower, Sesame and rice bran are also widely used. In some cultures Coconut oil is the preferred choice though its peculiar flavor is not liked in most countries. 

The oil used in frying process can degrade in quality, the rate spoilage being proportional to the extent of unsaturated fats present in it and the severity of the temperature deployed for frying. Common fryers like deep fryer, pan fryer, Chip fryer etc can have no control over the heating process and oils can deteriorate rapidly. To some extent these undesirable changes can be prevented by using modern equipment like Vacuum Fryers or Pressure Fryers which, of course need higher investment. The deterioration will be more severe if the oil is repeatedly heated and cooled over a period of time. Oxygen present in the air reacts with the unsaturated fatty acids creating highly reactive oxy radicals and other undesirable artifacts, some of which have been proved to be toxic. High frying temperatures can also break down fats into smaller molecules which cause many other problems like excessive foaming. Polar compounds and polymerized products of oxidation have been proved to be injurious to human health. Frying of starch containing foods is known to produce the carcinogenic artifact Acrylamide. In view of these evidences, oils are not allowed to be used repeatedly for frying and discarding them after using it in the fryer is always considered a wise policy. Many high class restaurants and snack food industry dispose off the heated oils which are supposed to end up as a waste. In reality this does not happen as oil is a high value material in great demand and used oil invariably finds new users who smell money in this "waste" !

When oil is subjected to repeated heating, it becomes dark in color, starts smoking, foaming, generates unpleasant smell, creates undesirable rancid taste, increases viscosity etc, unacceptable to the consumer. While large scale manufacturers of snack foods deploy fryers with multiple controls to regulate the temperature and the frying time, it is the unorganized sector where small scale, semi skilled and illiterate cooks make the products using their "experience" and "hunch" and who unknowingly contribute to very significant damage to the oil. Emergence of oil protectants like antioxidants, chelating agents and a variety of adsorbents of polar chemicals formed during frying prolong the life of frying oils very significantly but even here its life is not eternal, requiring replacement at regular intervals. In countries like the US or the European Union fried oils are never reused for food preparations, invariably ending up ass a biofuel. Recently there were reports that fried oil is fetching a higher price in the market than that commanded by its virgin counterpart! Fryer oil is also used extensively in power generation, household heating during the winter season as it burns clean without any significant carbon foot print and as automobile fuel with no pollution. Carbon monoxide is virtually nil when it is burned. No wonder recycling of fried oil has become a become business world over.

In India and China the recycled oil business is almost a parallel industry gnawing at the seams of the main stream edible oil industry. Of course it can be more aptly called an underground operation being carried out under the very nose of the food laws authorities and it has patrons, millions in number spread all over the country who are food artisans, vending their foods on the road side and small scale unlicensed eateries. These clients find it extremely convenient to buy the used oil supplied to them by unscrupulous processors who buy their raw material from large restaurants for reprocessing. Basically reprocessing involves filtration and decolorization in rare cases. If reports are to be believed recycled oil can be sourced at half the price of virgin oil which presently sells at around Rs 80 per liter in India! Those who use the recycled oil justify their action because oil constitutes a large chunk of the cost of the food they make and according to them if they are forced to shun these oils, they will have no alternative but to raise the prices of their preparations to levels unaffordable to most of their clients! What a justification for demolishing the population through slow poisoning!

Take the case of China where it is reported that recycled oil use is more rampant than that in India. It is a shocking revelation that one out of ten low end restaurants in China uses "Gutter Oil" for preparing their foods, a form of recycled oil which is the worse form of oil one can imagine. Most Chinese dishes are heavy in oil content and imagine the long term consequences for a population fed on such products! Gutter oil is made from discarded restaurant oils from the organized sector, drains, grease taps, slaughter house wastes, discarded animal parts, low grade animal fat. internal organs, skin portions of animals etc. The process of making it includes filtration, boiling, refining, removing adulterants and packing. As the major raw material viz, "the Fryer discarded oil" costs less than $ 900 a ton, the business is indeed fantastic as the reprocessed oil is in demand for prices beyond $ 1500 a ton! It is a mystery as to why an autocratic government like that in China where punishments can be severe and swift is allowing such criminal activities by a section of the industry which jeopardize the health of its citizens.

How can such despicable acts by the fraudulent oil trade be minimized if not curtailed in absolute terms? As some observers believe, it may be difficult to control these nefarious actors unless there is massive vigilance deploying thousands of personnel and severe punishments are given swiftly without allowing the fraud cases to linger on for years in the judiciary. On a long term basis Government will have to address the problem of critical edible oil shortage in the country during the last 3 decades on a war footing by shifting its focus from cereals to oil seeds production.     

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

TEA BEVERAGE-A CASE FOR CHANGING TO GREEN TEA!

The "Tea Vs Coffee" debate is an ever interesting one with people from southern part of India strongly backing coffee with out which their day does not start! In contrast those from the north, pitch for tea, not because it is better health-wise but for its characteristic flavor. No doubt both Tea and Coffee contain the stimulant Caffeine which makes one more alert and relaxing. That said, the distinction between tea and coffee is getting blurred day by day as India is progressively becoming a national village without any restraining state borders. Efforts of Indian Coffee Board years ago to popularize coffee in the north were some what futile as even to day tea continues to be the dominant beverage in most of the northern states. One of the reasons could be that the taste and flavor of brewed coffee are widely varying, depending on the variety of seed, seed processing method, roasting practice, particle size of the ground coffee and method of brewing. This makes coffee making an extremely adventurous task. As coffee drinking was prevalent in the south for centuries, the art of making good coffee got transferred from generation to generation. In spite of this situation, surprisingly tea gained a firm foot hold in the south during the last 5 decades with many people opting for tea as a change from the coffee drinking routine.

Tea is a historical beverage with its origin attributed to China. There seems to be evidence that tea was a popular drink in both China and India almost 5000 years ago, though its discovery was attributed to Chinese royalty. It was an accidental contamination of hot water with tea leaves and the finding that the tea leaves soaked water was flavorful to the King, led to popularity of tea in China. Its origin in India is shrouded in mystery. Interestingly Chinese discovered that the tea leaves soaked hot water was not only refreshing but also health protective which helped tea to be propagated all over the world. As fresh tea leaves were some what perishable, drying was resorted to reduce moisture and extend its life for some time. Again the observation that bruised tea leaves tended to darken with time and produced aromatic flavors, led to the modern CTD tea technology widely used in the manufacture of black tea. Coincidentally most of the world liked black tea in preference to green tea which led to a thriving tea industry that produces about 2.5 million tons of tea world wide out of which green tea constitutes roughly 20%.

One of the influencing factors that made Chinese population healthier than others might be that they consume green tea regularly in their daily lives and therefore it can be probably considered as their national drink. If that is so what does green tea contain which is not present in black tea? A look back at the massive scientific literature available to day, dwelling on various aspects of tea, will reveal that tea the leaves are a rich source of poly phenols, accounting for about 8-12% of its solid content. These include a number of flavonoids like catechin, epicatechin, epicatechin gallate, epigallocatechin gallate (better known as EGCG) and proanthocyanidinsmost of them with high antioxidant properties. As antioxidants play a vital role in neutralizing oxyradicals in the human body that is considered one of the causative factors in cancer development, tea with its rich antioxidant content is the darling of the health purists world over.

One of the most startling discoveries during the last few years of research on tea poly phenols was that all of them are not equal in conferring health benefits on human beings and the most important component that makes the difference is EGCG which was found to have a significant but specific influence on boosting many enzymes involved in neutralizing oxyradicals at the cellular level and prevent on set of cancers of various types. Unfortunately during the extreme processing conditions involved in converting green tea leaves into black tea, EGCG is converted to theaflavins and thearubigins  with no therapeutic properties. Logically therefore green tea beverage will have to be consumed if the benefit of EGCG is desired. The bud and the first leaves of the tea plant contain highest concentration of EGCG and are therefore plucked for making green tea products.

Green tea poly phenols in general were found to increase the biological activity of several enzymes involved in neutralizing the activity of oxyradicals and detoxification and EGCG is the most potent one. The enzyme found to be positively influenced include glutathione reductase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione S transferase, catalase and quinine reductase in small intestine, liver and lungs. EGCG is considered to have excellent therapeutical significance in preventing and treating a host of disease that include HIV, cancers affecting prostaglandin, brain, cervix and bladder, besides neurodegeneration. Drinking about two cups of green tea a day can confer most of the benefits attributed to EGCG, while consuming 4-6 cups a day is considered a therapeutic dose.

The health supplement industry seems to have got into the EGCG band wagon by putting in the market many products containing this phytochemical though most of them are non-standard ones containing very little or no EGCG at all! In the absence of a regulatory environment these fly by night operators are able to catch the attention of gullible consumers, laughing all the way to their banks! The most blatant use ( or misuse?) of green tea credentials is by the weight reduction products industry which is offering green tea solids containing health supplements based on some studies that a combination of EGCG and caffeine, when consumed,  produces thermogenesis in the body leading to depletion of fat, causing some weight reduction. However there is no standardization of these products and the claims are not substantiated by real time studies involving human subjects. 

One of the most surprising off shoots of studies using green tea  and the EGCG is the finding that sugar spikes that occur after carbohydrate ingestion by diabetic patients can be reduced significantly by consumption of green tea, provided they are consumed together. The scientific logic is that EGCG has an inhibitory effect on starch degrading enzyme alpha amylase which in turn slow down break down of starch into maltose and glucose in vitro. As the ptylin enzyme present in the saliva has also starch digesting ability, the starch hydrolysis which starts immediately after ingestion in the oral cavity itself is retarded. Further exposure in the small intestine to alpha amylase as the food is swallowed and as it travels down the digestive tract, glucose generation is significantly retarded in presence of EGCG. According to recent findings if Egcg and a starchy food are consumed without any gap of time, glucose spike can be slowed down by almost 50% which by itself is remarkable. This finding confers additional benefits on those consuming green tea regularly  include insurance against a host of modern day diseases affecting almost all organs in the body. Probably the health food industry will latch on to this discovery and it is a question of time before health supplements containing EGCG or green tea solids are marketed both for targeted consumer groups as well as general population.   

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

THE "DIESEL" DANGER-WHERE IS THE WORLD HEADING FOR?

Recent announcement by the World Health Organization that Diesel Exhaust is a confirmed carcinogen only reiterates what has been suspected since long. An inconvenient question that may not have immediate answer is why it took such a long time to make this judgment while countries like the US, the EU, Japan and most developed countries with high automobile density have taken action long ago to curtail emissions by more stringent regulations leading to more and more efficient power trains, emitting less dangerous exhaust smoke. No matter how efficient the engine is there has to be some exhaust fumes and humans may have to live with this bitter reality for ever. Of course there are alternative options like electric cars or hydrogen powered engines with absolutely no emission of chemical gases but on economic consideration these may not become accepted options, at least for the next few years. Nearest to an ideal solution is the hybrid cars able to operate both with gasoline and rechargeable batteries which are becoming popular to some extent these days. If the present dilemma vis-a-vis diesel engine pollution was anticipated in time there could have been more practical solutions like expanding the mass transit systems and improved people moving systems that could have reduced drastically the automobile population. Developing countries like India ignored this problem for so long and this is going to haunt the country for years to come. The current policy of encouraging manufacture of more and more automobiles, in spite of lack of good road infrastructure and acute scarcity of fossil fuel sources to meet the galloping demand, does not seem to be logical or visionary. For example what is logic of pricing diesel significantly less than that of gasoline? Why is that more and more diesel powered cars are encouraged to be manufactured knowing well the hazards of the diesel exhaust? Nothing but lack of vision and insensitivity to the suffering of millions of citizens exposed to the danger.

Finding fault with diesel engine emissions is not a new development. It has been known for quite some time that Disel Particulate Matter, known more commonly as DPM, is a dangerous cocktail of chemicals which are harmful if inhaled from close quarters. DPM is mostly soot or unburned particles of carbon along with gases like carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide and others in varying concentration. These particles are so small in size, less than 10 microns, that they get through the throat, past the lungs into the deepest part of this organ capable of triggering asthmatic attacks, bronchitis, emphysema, heart disease and cancer. A part of the sooth can be nano sized particles which can penetrate to any part of the body into cells causing unpredictable consequences. Having a rough surface , DPM can attach to themselves different toxic gases carrying them through the cells of the body. The cocktail that is called DPM has cancer causing chemicals like antimony compounds, Beryllium compounds, Chromium compounds, Selenium compounds, Benzene, Pyrenes, Nitrobenzanthrone, , Styrene etc besides many potent Endocrine Disruptors like Phthalates, Phenols etc . Lot of data pertinent to the dangers posed by DPM to workers in mines or operators of diesel railway engines are documented but very little information is available as to the extent of exposure to the city dwellers. Millions of diesel driven trucks, tractors working in agricultural fields, lawn movers and other heavy machinery involved in infrastructure industry all pose risks of unknown magnitude. It is any body's guess as to what long term consequences this situation can cause to those exposed to millions of tons of DPM spewing into the habitat of humans beings, vitiating their living environment.

A pertinent question that rises in this context is whether millions of children being ferried into their schools every day are really in danger because of their exposure to diesel fumes emanating from the vehicles they use. In many developing countries there are no strict compliance vis-a-vis diesel engine performance standards and most of them continue to run for 15-25 years, spewing out the deadly, foggy, dark smoke, affecting people following them. As children are susceptible to chemical pollutants and manifestation of health disorders is faster in them, it is time that these aspects are looked into more critically on a global level. Similarly what is the fate of those who are in employed by the freight carriers, driving diesel trucks and heavy haulage vehicles?. Or for that matter the impact of diesel smoke on the health of urbanites exposed to the bellowing smoke of trucks, passenger cars, three wheelers plying 7x24 incessantly through the narrow roads in thousands of cities and towns in many countries? It is reported that in many hospitals in large metropolitan cities in india, there are special wards equipped with nebulizers for children who suffer regularly from breathing problems and lung related disorders, acquired from their day to day exposure to the automobile exhausts that pollute the environment. Is it not a fact that the proportion of asthma, a lung disorder, is predominant in cities compared to rural areas? Is the world moving towards a regime where lives of people are controlled more and more by the powerful pharmaceutical industry which manufactures medicines to deal with such disorders like asthma generating lucrative business opportunities? 

According to prevalent standards the environment where humans live should not have pollutants like hydrocarbon, carbon monoxide, Nitrogen Oxide, DPM, Sulfur Dioxide, Lead and Volatile Organic Compounds( VOC). According to Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the US, air quality should ensure that particulate matter (< 10 microns) content does not exceed 150 microgram (mcg) per cubic meter during a 24 hour period while annual average has to be less than 50 mcg during a 24 hours period. The standards become more stringent when the particulate matter size goes down and their concentration in the air should not be more than 65 mcg over a 24 hour period and 15 mcg annually. Standards are also laid down for pollutants like CO, Lead, NO2, O3 and SO2. In India Emission Standards are laid down for CO2, Hydrocarbons, NO2 and Particulate Matters. Why there are different sets of standards for diesel driven cars and trucks is not understandable though it might be due to the technological limitations for improving engine performance in terms of emissions. In many countries equipping the automobiles with catalytic converters which are attached to the exhaust pipe has become mandatory. The Platinum-Palladium-Rhodium catalyst converts unburned hydrocarbon into less harmful gases like CO2.  Increased use of biodiesel fuels incorporating plant oils has enable the industry to reduce sulfur content that contributes most to Laying down standards is one thing but enforcing the same becomes invariably the casualty. According to the present regulations, cars older than 2 years are required to be tested every 6 months for the prescribed emission pre-requisites and those failing them must retune their engines or take action to make necessary repairs to achieve positive results. Due to many practical and logistical limitations, testing has become more an exception than the rule! 

One of the unknown factors that makes diesel engine emission more dangerous is what role some of the constituents in it play in spreading obesity which is an epidemic in countries like the US with very high automobile density. There are no scientific studies which have established any linkage between obesity and automobile exhausts but recent reports coming from credible scientific institutions linking endocrine disruptors (ED) with increased fat synthesis in the body need to be taken seriously. It is all the more disturbing when one realizes that ED at ppb levels can be active in derailing the functions of those hormones controlling many growth functions including lipogenesis. The deadly effect of DPM on lungs and bladder is indeed alarming but its influence on human body development also must be explored more seriously. The existence of obesogens which act at ppb levels is relatively a new development and as there are many chemical contaminants in foods consumed daily which have potential obesogen action, implicating DPM from fossil fuel driven automobiles may vitiate the programs targeted at bringing out people from the clutches of weight related disorders. Current philosophy of reducing calories and fat intake to achieve weight control can be seriously compromised if non-food factors like EDCs are also found to be contributing to this malaise.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        

V.H.POTTY

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