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Bengal

Dispel fears of consumers on bread, govt to tell bakers

Senior officials of the state food and supply department will hold meetings with the representatives of the joint action committee of West Bengal Bakers’ Association (WBBA) to change the perception of some people who believe that consuming bread can cause cancer in future.

The members of the WBBA alleged that it was just a propaganda which was doing a round here that manufacturing of bread involves dangerous and harmful chemicals. As a wrong notion was prevailing among a section of people that consuming bread is not safe, the production of bread has fallen. As a result of this, a lot of workers are losing jobs.

Many small and large bread manufacturing industries are apprehending huge losses. Idrish Ali, a senior official of the joint action  committee of WBBA and MLA is expected to meet the food and supplies minister Jyotipriya Mullick.

It was learnt that Ali may seek the state government’s co-operation in this regard. The state had earlier sent bread samples to the central government laboratory in Kyd Street and to another lab in Barasat to ascertain whether there is any presence of harmful chemicals such as potassium bromate and potassium iodate in the bread samples.

The controversy erupted after the Centre for Science and Environment had published a report saying that Indian bread manufacturers use potassium bromate and potassium iodate for treating flour while making bread. 

Potassium bromate is known to be a category 2B carcinogen and is already banned in Britain, the European Union, Australia, Canada and Sri Lanka, among other countries.

WBBA is hopeful that the meeting with the Food and Supplies department will be fruitful and it will lead to a positive outcome for them.

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