SEASON’S GREETINGS! ENJOY SWEETS CAUTIOUSLY!

Dr. Sitaram Dixit – Chairman, CGSI

We all love sweets. Indians irrespective of Health & Family Welfare ministry records our religion, share sweets with one another state that as per Government labs last year and it could be any occasion or ceremony, testing reports, 20% of food items in the birthday, marriage, or festival. We also market, were either substandard or offer sweets daily to the almighty lord, adulterated. It includes everyday items following a culture that runs down right like edible oil, milk, sugar, food grains, and from the Vedic period. Presenting sweets ready-to-eat packed foods available in conveys appreciation, admiration, love, grocery shops as well as Kirana stores. affection, gratitude, joy, respect, happiness, reward, or worship. Welcoming Following a standard procedure, states in visitors with sweets or a sweet beverage, the Indian union, collected 29,328 various depending on the occasion is common. food item samples from the market, including super malls and wholesale Like India’s diverse culture, sweets too are shops, in the financial year 2012-13. Out very many. Countless types of sweets exist of these, 5180, or about 20%, were either in India varying from region to region; adulterated or substandard. None of these however, the spirit of love behind giving food items met the standards set by the sweets prevails equally throughout. Food Safety and Standards Authority of Interestingly, sweet preferences in India India (FSSAI). Sadly, the amount of depend on the geographical location with adulterated food making its way to the hundreds of regional variations. West market is rising, while the figure stood Bengal alone has over 2000 varieties of at 8% in 2008-09, it is 20% in 2012-13. sweets for people to consume and enjoy. Food Safety Rules can punish a food Successive generation of temple cooks, and business operator involved in the professional sweet makers or halwais were manufacture, storage, distribution, or largely responsible in preserving the art of retail of food items, if the food item is not preparing sumptuous sweets, puddings, up to the mark. However, the onus is on and , in addition to homemakers the individual states to take stringent in every household. Numerous temples too action against persons involved in the continue this tradition by making daily adulteration business. The average sweet offerings to the almighty, and later prosecution rate in the past five years distributing it as ‘Prasad’ to the devout. according to the ministry’s records is only 13%. The low prosecution rate by the With festival season approaching, it is time authorities of the guilty is thus responsible for celebrations and exchange sweets. for this large increase in adulteration. Mithaiwallahs will sell tons of sweets, bakery items, dairy products, processed Improper monitoring mechanism is one foods, and do brisk business. more reason. Out of 50 million food business operators or so, only 2% have How much of it will be of good quality and registered themselves with the state safe for human consumption? Many governments until April 2013. categories (see below) of sweets are sold during the festive season and they could Consumption of adulterated food leads to be of sub-standard quality made in an serious health problems like heart disease, unhygienic, filthy, cramped place by using neurological troubles, more so in children. inferior quality or adulterated food grains, Indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides sugar, milk, oil and the likes. during production and storage also

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contributes significantly to increase in food The presence of skin epidermis or its adulteration. Sweets manufacturers use remnants in the silver foil covering of formalin preservative, a chemical used for sweets are very common. Tests conducted preservation of dead bodies. Consuming by the Food and Drug Administration formalin-mixed products damages kidney (FDA) also confirm that adulteration of and liver. It can cause asthma attacks and silver foil with aluminum is increasing. cancer. Pregnant women are most Aluminum is a hazardous metal that over vulnerable. Consumption of such food time accumulates in our body, especially items during pregnancy increases the brain tissues, and bones causing ill health. chances of delivering a physically It causes severe damage to human challenged baby. placenta and fetus during pregnancy.

Sweet makers use 'edible silver foil' or Sweets are and will remain an integral part 'Varkh'. The process of making silver foils of our celebrations. Let us celebrate the is extremely unhygienic, as it involves long festival of lights, with JOY & FERVOR! hours of beating silver pieces in pouches made of leather using animal intestines. ENJOY SWEETS BUT WITH CAUTION!

No Category Basic Ingredient Used Examples Wheat Halwa, Rava Halwa, Doodhi Halwa or Grains, Fruits, Seeds, 1 Halwa, Carrot Halwa, Chikoo Halwa, Puddings Legumes, Vegetables Sweet Potato Halwa, etc. Juicy Cottage Cheese simmered , Rajbogh, Cham Cham, Ras 2 Confections in sugar syrup Malai, etc. 3 Fudges Milk Pedas, Burfi, Milk Ladoos, , etc. Grain based and Malpua, , Jangari, Balushai, 4 Grains and sugar syrup Syrupy sweets Khaja, , etc. 5 Milk based Grains, Milk Payasam (), Firni, , etc. , Payasam, Nuts Yogurt cheese, Coconut, Miscellaneous Chikki, Sweet , Modak, Puran 6 Seeds, Grains, Sugar & (Many types) Poli, Adhirasam, , , Jaggery (Gur) based, etc. Shankar Pali, Karanji, etc.

Consumer Tips for buying festival Mithai’s or Sweets

Buy sweets only from reputed and well-known stores. Buy only fresh sweets. Avoid consuming sweets with silver foil coverings. Avoid buying sweets with syrup. This will also reduce consumption of extra calories. Buy only sweets made from seasonal fruits. They are likely to be fresher. During festive seasons, avoid buying sweets made out of milk and milk products. Buy sweets only as much as one can finish eating or is able to consume in a day. Ideally prepare sweets in one’s own kitchen or substitute sweets with dry fruits and chocolates.

CGSI’S KEEMAT WISHES ALL ITS READERS, A VERY HAPPY, SAFE, & PROSPEROUS FESTIVAL SEASON.

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