The Kitchen Factory

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Aflatoxins in Milk

Why this topic?
Image result for aflatoxin in milk
Milk is part of our daily food and is also a major source of necessary macro and micronutrients for growth, development and maintenance of human health. However, it may also be a source of natural food contaminants that may cause diseases. The presence of aflatoxins has emerged as a major concern these days. The recent national survey conducted by in India by FSSAI shows the highest rate of contamination was in 3 states among the rest of the states; Tamilnadu (88 out of 551 samples; 16%), Delhi (38 out of 262 samples; 14.5%) and Kerala (37 out of 187 samples; 20%). It has also come to notice that the aflatoxin problem is from huge dairies selling processed than raw milk sellers.
What are aflatoxins?
Aflatoxins as defined by the WHO, are poisonous substances produced by certain kinds of fungi (Aspergillus spp.) that are naturally found all over the world. They can contaminate food crops and pose serious health threats to humans and livestock. The Aspergillus spp. thrive in a hot and humid climate. 

How do they occur?
Pre-harvest: They occur due to drought, floods, pest infestation, delayed harvest, inadequate drying.
Post-harvest: Improper handling and storage of food crops.

Why milk is our major concern and how it gets affected?
The most common crops to get affected by aflatoxin are corn, groundnuts, tree nuts, spices. These are not regular dietary requirements for people in India. Whereas milk is consumed regularly, especially by children.
In milk aflatoxin is in form of AFM1 and AFM2; i.e there are mainly four types of aflatoxins; B1, B2, G1 and G2. Out of which B1 and B2 are the major cause of concern as when ruminants consume feed infected with aflatoxin B1 and B2, aflatoxin M1 and M2 will be formed due to metabolic process in the liver of ruminants and excreted in milk and urine. Here M1 form is considered dangerous than M2.

 How does aflatoxin affect us?
A study conducted by the WHO in early 2018 says that consumption of milk containing aflatoxin B1 concentrations of 20-120 micrograms per kilogram by weight is lethal and toxic.
Aflatoxin concentration can cause acute liver failure, liver cancer, jaundice, lethargy and nausea. They are genotoxic. They have the potential to cause birth defects in children. The WHO also mentions aflatoxin causes immunosuppression, which decreases resistance to infectious agents. 
According to FSSAI the permissible limits of aflatoxins in milk is 0.5 micrograms per kilogram.

Is aflatoxin visible to the naked eye?
No, they are colorless, odorless and tasteless chemicals. The mold growth need not appear just on the surface of food but they get penetrated deep within. Hence it is advisable not to consume any vegetables or grains that contain mold growth or musty flavor.

Is it possible to consume decontaminated aflatoxin at the domestic level?
Yes!!! A study conducted by CFTRI analyzed curd samples and found that Lactobacillus bacteria, the probiotic have the tendency to bind with aflatoxin AFB1 and reduce its bioavailability in the gut. Though it cannot be completely removed it impacts can be reduced using probiotics.

How adulterated is our milk? 
Milk samples analyzed by FSSAI recognized labs assert that in contrast to our belief there is a wide scale of milk adulteration, the milk sold in India is largely safe for consumption. 

How to combat aflatoxin contamination?
Though adulteration is effectively tackled, the serious problem of aflatoxin persists. This is being currently taken care of by FSSAI through systematic improvements throughout the supply chain.

Guidelines to Manufactures and Processors by FSSAI:-
1. Inspect production and processing premises for poor/unacceptable quality produce.

2. Sorting raw material on receipt to prevent cross-contamination during storage, washing and cleaning.

3. Inspection and sorting should also be carried on in the processing line and foreign objects should be removed.

4. The working environment should be clean and dry. 

5. The processing equipment coming in direct contact with the product should be made up of stainless steel or any other appropriate material.
6. The chemical and microbiological parameters should be carried for both raw and processed produce.



References:-

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Saturday, October 12, 2019

Is your sambar toxic???


Sambar is a lentil based south Indian vegetable curry with tamarind and a unique blend of spices. A meal is incomplete without sambar for south Indians.


History of sambar traces to Sambhaji, Maratha ruler Chhatrapati Shivaji's son. The legend goes like once he tried to cook a dal dish himself when his head chef was away. He added tamarind to it and the royal kitchen dared not to correct him as tamarind was not added to dal. Thus was the birth of a new dish 'Sambar' invented by Sambhaji. Today each region has its own recipes with ingredients.


Sambar is a curry that is high in protein, full of fiber, antioxidant-packed and easy to digest.
👀A pre-clinical study published in pharmacognosy pharmacy magazine in 2016 says the Indian dish Sambar prevents the development of dimethyl hydrazine induced colon cancer.👀
Mostly in households, sambar is cooked for breakfast and taken for lunch. Sometimes it's prepared in large quantities to be stored and served for the next day's meal. If flavours are found to be lost or diminished or if the quantity is insufficient, the sambar is modified with a dash of spices and vegetables (mostly tomatoes). Also, the oil used for tempering may reach the smoking point(it's a point when the oil starts to emit smoke) before the mustard crackles. This is the most common routine in most of the household.

These routines can turn healthy food into a toxic one due to the following reasons:-

1. The vegetables which furnish nutrients to the sambar deplete during refrigeration and reheating process.

2. The vegetables add flavour to sambar. This flavour will not be the same from the freshly cooked sambar and a day old's reheated one. To regain the flavour additional spices are used while reheating. This sambar can give you extreme acidity or stomach upset.

3.  The oil used can go rancid (When food gets too much exposure to heat, oxygen or moisture, the fats get broken down making the food unpleasant and toxic) due to repeated refrigeration and reheating.

4. Rancidity can also happen if the tempering oil has reached the smoking point during the fresh preparation of sambar. Frequent consumption of food made from rancid oil can lead to Diabetes, Weak digestion, Weight gain, Coronary diseases, Infertility, Cancer, Alzheimer's, Atherosclerosis, Degeneration of tissues, Damaged DNA.

What should be done☝

The healthiest option is to cook sambar in small batches as per requirements and discard the remaining.

In case the quantity is more the next best option is to refrigerate within 2 hrs of cooking in an airtight container. It should be reheated only once and consumed fully.

While tempering care must be taken that oil does not reach its smoking point. If it reaches by mistake then discard it and prepare a fresh tempering.

FSSAI on caterers and hoteliers


FSSAI warns that it is a bad practice to add freshly made sambar or any gravy on top of the quantity made earlier but partly used. 'Topping up' is dangerous particularly when it goes on for many services. During this time there will be a point when the "ever on the go" pot reaches a temperature below 63 degrees celsius required for safety. Bacteria will multiply rapidly on the warm liquid. It's much safer if the food handlers prepare in small batches and discard the leftovers at the end of the day.


Preparation and selling of unsafe, substandard food causing health issues are punishable offenses under the Food Safety and Standard's Act 2006.

Storing and preserving cooked or semi-cooked food was a necessity during the time of wars and poverty as there was no fresh food available. We begin our day in a rush to achieve our respective goals but there is no great wealth than good health 😃.


Note: This can be applied to other vegetable gravies as well.



References












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Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Food Safety: Cooked Rice Handling and Storage



Hiii! Have you experienced food borne illness after consuming home cooked rice or your fried rice from your favourite hotel made you sick? Well that culprit can be Bacillus cereus, one of the food-borne disease-causing Bacteria. The endospores are resistant to heat and radiation.  Your local restaurants would cook steamed rice one day, then leave the rice out overnight to cook fried rice the next day.  If the cooked rice is not properly cooled, then the Bacillus spores can germinate and produce a toxin that can make a person sick.


In our household

The spores are resistant to high cooking temperatures, cooked rice needs to be served immediately or cooled immediately and stored in the fridge within 1hr.  

For proper cooling, leftover cooked rice should be placed in shallow containers, no more that 3 inches deep, and put directly into the refrigerator for quick cooling. Don’t cool it on the counter.

The leftover rice should be reheated only once. The reheated rice should be piping hot right till the bottom.


In professional Kitchens

The rice should be cooked thoroughly with core temperature reaching at least 75oC. 

The rice has to be cooled (using potable water or ice) from 60oC to 20oC within 2 hrs and from 20oC to 4oC wishing 4hrs or less. 
The cooling has to be done using wide shallow containers or reducing the size of portions. The cooked rice needs to be stored in covered containers and away from raw food at a temperature above 60oC or at 4oC or below. The temperature needs to be checked regularly to ensure to be kept at the designated temperature.

If cooked rice have been kept at room temperature;
  1. For less than 2 hours, they can be refrigerated or consumed before the 4 hours.
  2. For more than 2 hours but less than 4 hours, they should be consumed but not be returned to the refrigerator.
  3. For more than 4hrs they should be discarded.
Re-heating:-

The refrigerated rice should be reheated at 75oC as the internal temperature. Left-over rice should not be reheated more than once.

Further:-
  1. On the advice of FSSAI its preferable to buy packaged sealed or even sized clean fortified rice.
  2. DART (Detect Adulteration with Rapid Test), can be used to detect adulterated and pure sella rice. Take a teaspoon of the sample in a glass plate and sprinkle a small amount of soaked lime (known as chuna, used in pan) to it. If the rice forms red colour it is adulterated. Pure sella rice does not form red colour.  
  3. The detection of high levels of B.Cereus >103 cfu per gram should result in an investigation of the food handling controls by the food business. Levels more than 104 cfu per gram can cause food borne illness.
Safety is obtained by the application of safety management tools (GMP, GHP AND HACCP) throughout the food chain. Microbiological analysis can be used to support and verify the effective application of these management tools.

References:-








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