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Busy lifestyle making masses switch to ready-to-eat & cook meals
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Saturday, 30 July, 2022, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Ashwin Bhadri
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Increasingly busier lives and lifestyle is making masses switch to ready-to-eat and cook meals. These meals save a lot of cooking time, are delicious and considerably affordable, making them the ideal choice for the busy working-class population.
As much as they seem to be the apparent replacements of daily home-cooked meals, many are oblivious to the fact that they are consuming ingredients that are detrimental to health. To start with, packaged ready-to-eat, and cook meals are packed with high amounts of salts that are damaging to the heart health.
Further, ready-to-eat and cook meals are filled with a lot of preservatives to increase the shelf-life of products. The chemicals in preservatives contain many dangerous compounds that could be cancerous if consumed for prolonged periods of time.
Ideally, natural food preservatives must be used to preserve foods for long periods of time. However, synthetic chemicals are used in food industries to serve the purpose and are harmful for consumers' health.
Some examples of commonly used synthetic preservatives are:
• Hydrogenated Fats: Continued consumption of synthetic hydrogenated fats increases the risk of heart attack, cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer's disease in an individual. Although regulations have been set for the permitted use of hydrogenated fats, food manufacturers could advertise a product as having zero trans fat if it has less than 0.5 g per serving.
• Artificial Colours: It is important for food manufacturers to make their food products look visually appealing. In the process of doing so, artificial colours are used during the manufacturing process. With fancy names like Citrus Red, Indigo Carmine, Brilliant Blue, and Sunset Yellow, nobody would guess that some of these compounds are extracted from coal tar and could be cancer-causing. Apart from cancer, the compounds could also have other side effects like organ disorders, hyperactivity, and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
• Potassium Bromate: Potassium Bromate is often used in bread and bread products as a stiffening agent, and it is also found to be carcinogenic.
• Artificial Sweeteners: Although artificial sweeteners may carry fewer calories compared to natural sweeteners, it could also lead to obesity, diabetes and metabolic syndrome. It could also make an individual indulge in overeating and should be avoided.
• Sodium Nitrite: Nitrites are compounds that are found mainly in leafy greens. However, synthetic forms of these compounds could be carcinogenic if they are subjected to heat from the vessels of acids in the digestive systems.
Why are then preservatives permitted in the food industry if they are harmful for consumption?
Preservatives are primarily used in the food industry to stop the food products from spoiling, prevent the growth of bacteria, mould and fungi and make the food products safe for consumption. Preservatives are also used to enhance the aromas, flavours, textures and appearance of food products. They also extend the shelf-life of food products. While some preservatives are absolutely safe for consumption, some brands might use harmful preservatives to go a step further in enhancing their food products at the cost of the consumers' health.
Meanwhile, there are many brands that carefully curate the ingredients and preservatives that go in the preparation of their food products. They source certified organic, 100% natural and best quality ingredients for their products. However, such brands offer healthier variants of the food products already sold in the market for a premium, which might favour only a certain segment of consumers.
Consumers’ awareness of the regulations and food safety practices would pave way for a breakthrough in the food industry. The brands would introduce healthier variants if there is demand for such food products. It would revolutionize the food industry and will open up a new world of health-oriented food products. While new food products keep flooding the markets, testing becomes necessary to ensure they are safe for consumption by the masses.
Testing procedures are required not just for the food products, but also for the manufacturing units where the ingredients go into packaged foods. This is to ensure that the manufacturing units are hygienic and practice good manufacturing practices during different stages from procurement to distribution. It is also equally necessary to conduct regular audits to ensure that the manufacturing units are complying with the regulations and practices prescribed by FSSAI.
Consumers could take matters of their health in their own hands by deciding to opt for healthier food options. They could also get samples of food products tested for checking nutritional values. Finally, understanding the RDA (recommended daily allowances), prescribed under the FSSAI RDA regulations and choosing food products on the basis of their nutritional labels will empower consumers to change their food choices.
While most brands follow the safe practices prescribed by the FSSAI, it could only be in consumers' interest to limit the dependency on ready-to-eat and cook meals. This will ensure that the consumption of synthetic compounds is reduced considerably. Home-cooked meals are ideal choices as one is aware of what ingredients are used in the preparation of dishes. They are also mostly free of preservatives which make them totally safe for consumption.
Food analytical testing is another option for industries and consumers to know the values of micro and macronutrients in their food products. Apart from that, undergoing training sessions on food safety will also give consumers insights into the food industry and raise awareness of what brands must deliver in terms of quality, safety, and nutrition.
(The author is founder and CEO of Equinox Labs)
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