City doctors feel processed foods must be banned too
Mumbai : The Congress party on Thursday demanded a ban on the sale of Chinese street food as the taste-maker used in its preparation is said to have Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) which is very harmful to the body. City doctors feel that along with Chinese street food, some other items need to be banned like processed food and food colours as they also contain MSG and cause equal amounts of or even more damage to the body.
MSG is found not only in Chinese street food but also in condiments such as barbecue sauce and salad dressings, seasoning mixtures, canned, frozen, or dried prepared food, snacks like flavoured potato chips also contain MSG.
Shonali Sabherwal, city-based microbiotic nutritionist, said, “Any food that is artificially created like the taste-maker by the Japanese company Ajinomoto or other processed foods is harmful if consumed regularly over a period of time. MSG causes brain damage, de-calcification of bones, severe headaches, chest pain, nausea and weakness.”
Sabherwal believes that banning Chinese food is not the solution and the government needs to find a way to control its use in food items. She said, “Continuous and long term consumption causes damage to the body not eating out once in a while. There are no specifications for how much taste-maker is used in one dish by these food stalls. If that is controlled such drastic measures are not needed.”
Dr Suhasini Nagda, BMC health director, said, “We are aware of the health hazards of MSG but we need to conduct proper inquiry and tests before we ban any food or packed products.”
