Team Herald
PANJIM: The State Food & Drugs Administration (FDA) has by and large termed packaged bread, and the bread used in ready-to-eat burgers and pizzas safe for consumption.
A week ago India’s food regulator had announced banning use of potassium bromate in brands of packaged bread. Food Safety Officers had drawn 29 bread samples that included local pao, sliced bread (brown and white), pizza bread as well as certain cakes and other bread used for hotdogs, bun bread, etc all of which were tested at the FDA Laboratory at Bambolim.
As per the findings, certain extracts of which were released to the media on Tuesday evening, the laboratory so far tested 18 samples of which 14 bread samples did not show any presence of potassium bromate, whereas four samples were found to be positive in toxic chemical. “But these samples contained potassium bromate reported to be below 25 parts per million as against the permissible limit of 50 parts per million as stipulated under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Rules/Regulation,” it states.
The bread samples found negative in the potassium bromate were sliced bread, pizza bread and local pao, while of the four pre-packaged samples – three sliced bread and one pizza bread – indicated the presence of potassium bromate.
The FDA has thus not imposed any ban or prohibition on addition of the food additive in such samples, officials said, but once FSSAI notifies the prohibition or ban, use of potassium bromate will be stopped.
“Overall in terms of the compliance to the standards, all the 18 bread samples analysed by the FDA laboratory were found to be in compliance to the requirements of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Rules/Regulation 2011,” the FDA report further reads.
Meanwhile, reports of the pending 11 samples, which include four cakes, four sliced breads, one pizza bread, one bun bread and one local pao, are expected by Thursday.
FDA officials have advised consumers to check labels of food articles for list of ingredients added to ascertain the presence of usage or addition of potassium bromate, which is used as flour treatment agent to give a blooming effect to the bread.
