A French journalist once wrote: The more things change, the more they stay the same. Perhaps the same can be said about nutritional status of children in West Bengal at present in comparison to the past. At the time when Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the then Chief Minister of West Bengal, was entertaining private capital in Singur and Nandigram, the rate of undernutrition was quite high in his state. A little less than...
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Toxic dal could be back and it may not be a bad idea to try it -Zia Haq
-Hindustan Times Three new lentil (dal) varieties belonging to a family of legumes known to be poisonous since Hippocrates’s time could be back on your plates. But should you eat them? India’s chronic shortage of pulses – the essential soupy item in everyday meals – has made a cheap source of protein for millions very expensive. So, the country is thinking of bringing back khesari dal (scientific name: lathyrus odoratus), which became...
More »‘No licence for noodles’: FSSAI slaps showcause on Patanjali -Abantika Ghosh & Utkarsh Anand
-The Indian Express Issues notice to manufacturer too, seeks replies in 15 days The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has issued a showcause notice to Patanjali Ayurved, demanding an explanation on the sale of the atta noodles brand — launched by yoga guru Ramdev — without the food regulator’s approval. Another showcause notice has been issued to Aakash Yog, the manufacturer of the instant noodles, seeking its response as...
More »Do you want to escape pesticides? Convert to non-veg! -Harish Damodaran
-The Indian Express If you are a vegetarian in India, the chances of your suffering pesticide exposure may be higher than for those predominantly consuming non-vegetarian foods. Almost a fifth of all foods produced and sold in the country contain pesticide residues, according to a Union agriculture ministry-sponsored nationwide network project involving 25 participating labs. During 2014-15, as many as 20,618 food samples were collected and analysed under a ‘Monitoring of Pesticide Residues...
More »Pulses buffer stock plan hits quality wall -Sandip Das
-The Financial Express The plan to build a buffer stock of pulses, akin to such facilities for rice and wheat, has run into a hurdle after the agriculture ministry insisted that only lentils that meet the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The plan to build a buffer stock of pulses, akin to such facilities for rice and wheat, has run into a hurdle after the agriculture ministry insisted that only...
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