SILCHAR, June 3 - In view of growing complaints against the use of cancer-causing chemicals such as potassium bromide and potassium iodide in making bread, bread-makers of the Barak Valley under the banner of the Barak Valley Bakery Association have assured consumers that bread products in the valley are safe for consumption. The members categorically stated that they do not use any additives which contain the chemicals.
Pradip Paul, a leading member of the association and the director of Ujjwala Foods, told media persons that unlike bread-makers in big cities of the country, the requisite infrastructure and technical expertise for the use of such chemicals � flour treatment agents in bakery parlance � are inadequate in the valley. �Barring individual recipe compositions of the different bakeries, we have been making bread by using traditional methods and there is no comprise on the quality of our products. We have responsibility towards our esteemed customers and the bread products are totally safe,� Paul stressed.
He pointed out that none of the bread-makers are aware of potassium iodide, and that they have no idea about its application. He also said that following the decision to do away with the use of potassium bromide as an additive in bread and bakery products, members of the association have submitted an undertaking to the FSSI.
It may be mentioned here that in the wake of complaints against bread-based food items, the Cachar district administration collected four bread samples sold in the market and sent them to the State Public Health Laboratory in Guwahati for analysis. SZ Choudhury, the designated Food Safety Officer of Cachar, said that the reports of the tests are still awaited.
