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Chicken tikka masala is 'dangerous' for health
London: Food buffs are in for bad times ahead! Brit food experts have warned of dangerously high levels of food colouring being used in making chicken tikka masala. According to a report in the Sun, random tests conducted by Trading Standards officers in Surrey suggest that 57 per cent of Indian restaurants in the county were using "illegal and potentially dangerous" levels of dyes when cooking. The findings were published in a report by Ready Steady Cook TV chef James Martin on behalf of Surrey County Council. Meanwhile, consumer safety experts have voiced concerns that the findings are indicative of a trend of restaurants across the country flouting food safety laws. Of 102 curry houses sampled, only 44 were using the colourings within legal limits. One restaurant in Woking used four times the legal limit of colouring.
The colourings, such as tartrazine and sunset yellow which give the sauce
its orange-red hue, have been linked to hyperactivity, asthma, and cancer.
Food experts say there is no need to use the colourings, with some countries
banning the colourants. Plans are now afoot for Trading Standards to test
every curry house in Surrey. "We have evidence to suggest this is a national
problem, not just specific to Surrey and we are urging trading standards
services across the UK to work with Indian restaurants in their area to
ensure the amount of colorants used is within the legal limits," Phil
Thomas, from the Trading Standards Institute, said.
-March 24, 2004
New
Delhi: Gourmets thronged a rare Pakistani food festival being held
here. Titled "Samjhauta", the week-long festival entails a good opportunity
for Indian foodies to delight their taste buds with the spicy Pakistani
cuisine. The festival, organised by Uppal Orchid, an upmarket hotel on
the ourskirts of Delhi, features choicest delicacies from the other side
of the border prepared by chefs Muhammad Fayaz and Abdul Hamid from Lahore.
The food, including rich Pakistani dishes as Lahori Chomp, Sindhi Biryani,
Ravi Khaga Masala, Peshawari Aloo and Pindi Chana, is being served as
buffet for Rs. 625. Syed Munavar Bhati, Deputy High Commissioner of Pakistan,
said the Indian and Pakistani food have a lot of similarities. "We have
a lot of similarities in that way. If you look on the cuisine, there is
some difference in the way we cook it. But almost similar dishes we find
over here. Certainly they enjoy it, people who go from here to Lahore,
they enjoy the Lahore food. Similarly people who come from Pakistan, love
to go to Dum Pukht (a famous eating joint) and all these places," said
Bhati. A counterpart Indian food festival was organised by various New
Delhi-based hotels in Lahore last week. An increasing number of such festivals,
delegation exchanges and interactions have helped common people to realise
their bondage and overlook irritants on the way. "It should be because
more you interact with other culture, it brings us closer to each other.
Definitely the Muslim style of cooking is different from Punjabi style
of cooking," said Abhiskeh Singhania, a food lover. Organisers said the
festival was an opportunity to share common roots. "The feel towards everybody
from Pakistan, the bond which we are planning to create between our people...If
you look at the past, we were all together, we were all one. So I thought
this was best possible way to make sure that the bond became much stronger,"
said Pushpinder Kumar, general manager of Uppal Orchid.
-March 7, 2004
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