Sep 28, 2015

Study indicates school meals may expose children to unsafe levels of BPA

Stanford, California - Federal standards for school meals are intended to keep kids healthy. But with emphasis solely on nutrition, schools are missing another component critical to students' health – exposure to toxic chemicals, according to a study led by Jennifer Hartle, a postdoctoral researcher at the Stanford Prevention Research Center.
School meals may contain unsafe levels of bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical often found in canned goods and plastic packaging, according to the first-of-its-kind study published in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology. BPA can disrupt human hormones and has been linked to health effects ranging from cancer to reproductive issues.
"During school site visits, I was shocked to see that virtually everything in school meals came from a can or plastic packaging," Hartle said. "Meat came frozen, pre-packaged, pre-cooked and pre-seasoned. Salads were pre-cut and pre-bagged. Corn, peaches and green beans came in cans. The only items not packaged in plastic were oranges, apples and bananas."
This uptick in packaging is a result of schools' efforts to streamline food preparation and meet federal nutrition standards while keeping costs low.
Even small amounts can be toxic
The main pathway for BPA exposure is through consumption of food and drinks that have contacted the chemical. Children, whose organ systems are still developing, are especially susceptible to hormone disruption from BPA. "Sometimes only small changes in hormone activity during development can cause permanent adverse affects," the study's authors write.
Researchers track BPA intake in terms of micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day. In lab experiments, rodents experience toxicity at two micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day. But humans may metabolize BPA differently, Hartle said. The researchers said they believe that safe levels for BPA exposure should be in line with these low-dose toxicity findings to protect vulnerable populations like children.
To determine how much BPA students are ingesting, Hartle, along with researchers from Johns Hopkins University, interviewed school food service personnel, visited school kitchens and cafeterias in the San Francisco Bay Area and analyzed studies on BPA food concentration values. Unsurprisingly, they found that BPA exposure varies, depending on what students eat. Elementary school students consuming pizza and milk with sides of fresh fruits and vegetables would take in minimal levels of BPA. But a student consuming pizza and milk with canned fruits and vegetables could take in anywhere from minimal levels to 1.19 micrograms of BPA per kilogram of body weight per day. While most students would not consume the maximum amount, those who do would take in more than half of the dose shown to be toxic in animal studies in just one meal.
"With endocrine-disrupting chemicals particularly, there is so much uncertainty," said Robert Lawrence, a doctor, one of the study's authors and director of the Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future. "We can't tie a specific dose to a specific response like we can with lead. But we know BPA is impacting human health. Animal models are showing there can be a whole range of health effects. This research shows we should take a precautionary approach."
Low-income children are particularly at risk of BPA exposure because they are more likely to eat federally funded meals instead of bringing lunch from home. Increasingly, students are eating not only lunch but also breakfast and sometimes dinner at school, exposing students to potentially dangerous levels of BPA.
"Even a dose of one extra microgram per day could be a big deal," Hartle said. "If this is an avoidable exposure, do we need to risk it? If we can easily cut it out, why wouldn't we?"
Inadequate regulations
In 1988, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency defined safe BPA consumption levels as 50 micrograms or less per kilogram of body weight per day. Since then, hundreds of scientific papers have found detrimental biological effects of BPA at levels lower than the EPA standard. Recognizing the new scientific literature on BPA, the European Food Safety Authority recently updated its standards for safe BPA intake to 4 micrograms per kilogram of body weight per day – 46 micrograms less than the EPA standard.
Hartle said the United States should consider following Europe's lead by reducing its definition of safe BPA consumption levels. Another step would be for governing agencies to invest in more low-dose toxicity testing to provide more certainty around BPA's toxicity at low levels.
Schools can protect children by limiting sources of BPA contamination. However, the researchers caution that food containers labeled "BPA-free" are not necessarily a safe alternative because the chemicals used to replace BPA could be just as toxic. Hartle suggested that parents talk to principals and school administrators about getting more fresh fruits and vegetables into cafeterias. Feeding children more fresh food in packed lunches and at home is also an important step in limiting exposure, she said.
"The bottom line is more fresh fruits and vegetables," Hartle said. "There is a movement for more fresh veggies to be included in school meals, and I think this paper supports that."

Food Safety Officials Fret over False Plaints

COIMBATORE: Food safety officials are grappling with verifying the genuineness of the increasing number of complaints about finding worms, dirt, dust and the like in packaged food products as around 40 percent of such claims turn out to be false.
The lack of provisions under the food safety rules to take action against those filing false complainants has become a cause of concern. The officials say such rules are imperative to prevent people from making such claims for monetary gain or with other ulterior motives.
In 2011, when the Food Safety Wing was established, there were no complaints about food adulteration in Coimbatore district, which now tops the State in the number of such cases. In 2012, there were 14 complaints, which rose to 32 in 2013 and 40 in 2014. The number of cases this year, 57 so far, is expected to reach 100 by the year-end.
illustration: Vineeth s PillaiWhile 10 the 40 complaints in 2014 were found to be false, as many as 21 of the 57 filed so far in 2015 were false.More cases are registered as people are more aware of food safety rules now, said R Kathiravan, Food Safety Wing Designated Officer (Coimbatore).

“But the misuse of laws meant to safeguard public health is worrying,” he added.It takes considerable time and effort to weed out false complaints, he pointed out. “When a person registers a complaint, we cannot know whether it is true or not. Only after investigating it can we determine its genuineness,” said Kathiravan.
Another consequence of the increasing number of false complaints is that officials treat all complaints with a degree of scepticism. So, it is possible that genuine and serious complaints do not enough attention.
Nevertheless, complaints are being registered, investigated and when found genuine, the offenders taken to court. The Coimbatore Food Safety Wing collected 307 samples so far this year. While 80 of them were misbranded or sub-standard, 60 were harmful to health.
There are 45 cases from Coimbatore district in court, but in other districts, the number of such cases is less than 20. Indeed, some districts in the State have not registered any case under food safety rules, he said.
Plaints Hinge on Personal Vengeance
A couple of weeks back, the Coimbatore Food Safety Wing received a complaint that live worms were found in snacks served in a restaurant in Singanalloor. As it seemed genuine, the officials conducted detailed examination of the hotel, its kitchen and the materials it had purchased. Nothing wrong was found with the samples of food which were tested. The hotel was found to be maintaining all prescribed standards. The officials could not decide how the worms appeared in the snacks.
However, the cause was soon determined, and easily enough: footage from the hotel’s CCTV showed the complainant himself placing the worms in the food.
After doing it, he made a hullabaloo about it and took samples of the snack to the food safety officials.
Further inquiries revealed that there was a quarrel between the complainant and the hotel owner a few days prior to the incident. The man had played the whole game to take revenge on the hotel owner.
The efforts of the food safety officials thus proved to be waste. And they could not even take action against the complainant as there are no provisions in the law to punish those who make false complaints.
As the number of false complaints shows, many people are misusing the food safety rules.
In another instance, a group of people wanted to evict a tea shop from a building in the city. When several methods failed, they decided to make use of the food safety rules.
They placed worms in the food items served there and complained to the Food Safety Wing. The intention was to give the shop a bad name so that people stop going there. The owner would then leave the place as profits fall. However, the officials found this out and the case was dropped.
“False complaints look exactly like genuine complaints. We are helpless in identifying them when they are made,” said R Kathiravan, Food Safety Wing Designated Officer (Coimbatore).
“Once a man came with a complaint of dust in soft drink. Though false, even the cap of the bottle was in its place. We are really surprised at the ways people can frame a complaint without a hint that it is false,” he added.

‘CLOSE TOBACCO VENDS WITHOUT ANY LICENSE’

Punjab Government has issued directions to all municipal corporation commissioners to ensure tobacco vends without proper permits are closed down.
The State Local Government director Priyanka Bharti has issued a circular directing Regional Deputy Directors of Municipal Committees and Commissioners of Municipal Corporations to check all shops selling tobacco in their respective areas and order immediate closure if they were being run without license under the Punjab Tobacco Vends Fees Act, 1953.
The State Principal Secretary (Health) Vini Mahajan said that the sale of all kinds of chewable tobacco and loose cigarettes has already been banned in Punjab, adding that license of a commercial establishment can be cancelled in case of violation of Tobacco Control Act.
“There are many poisonous chemicals in tobacco due to which about 2,200 people are killed daily in India. So it is very important to curb this menace,” she said while appealing to common people to help Government in this endeavour.
Meanwhile, State’s Food Safety Commissioner Hussan Lal has also issued a circular to all Deputy Commissioners and Civil Surgeons that Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA), 2003, is being implemented in all districts of Punjab.
“License under the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) is issued to any eatery,
shop or commercial establishment only to sell safe food products only and not to sell harmful tobacco products,”he said.
“Designated Food Safety Officers are empowered to cancel license of any eatery, shop or commercial establishment, licensed under FSSAI, if tobacco products are sold in the premises,” he said.

DINAMALAR NEWS



Dont waste food, WhatsApp it to the poor

New mobile app tries to reduce food wastage at homes and hotels
Three software professionals, preparing for the civil services examination, are developing a mobile app to “feed the hungry and reduce food wastage.” While the mobile app will be developed in a fortnight, people have begun engaging with volunteers through WhatsApp.
For the past three weeks, Chennai residents have started offering their ‘extra food’ to the poor through the volunteers without wasting it.
“We are on a mission to end hunger. To giveaway your extra food, just send out a message and we will pick it up,” says Mohamed Asif, a team member, who resigned from software major IBM to prepare for the Union Public Service Commission examinations. The other two are Nareshwar Sivanesan and Fahd Khaleel. 
“Currently, we are getting food from households. People call us after a function to offer food. As a result, at least 1,000 homeless people get food every day. Volunteers offer help transport the food to the poor,” he says. At least 10 volunteers have joined. Over 10 per cent of the 5,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste generated in the city constitutes food waste.
The plan is to increase the number of beneficiaries to 10,000 people per day. “Food is a fundamental human right and it is staggering that in such a wealthy and powerful nation so many end up begging, while in our homes, restaurants, supermarkets, dining halls and offices, we waste so much. In order to reduce food wastage, all you have to do . is call, text, WhatsApp us on99625 18992 — and we will pick it up,” says Mr.Asif.