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 

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