Everything changes with time. Not only tangible things but also intangible things such as climate, lifestyle and preferences changes as well. Today, most of us depend on ready to eat or ready to serve food and drinks when we are on work. We need five serving of food in a day and except lunch and dinner it seems impracticable to eat homemade food in between so that we need snacks food like instant noodles, chips or cheese balls, biscuits, bakery or beverages. These have made our life comfortable because we do not have to stay hungry, travel back home and eat and come back to work again nor those food goes stale and rotten in the shelves even of months, comes in convenient containment and reasonable price.

Feeding today’s population of 7 billion is impossible without technology and industrialization. There is technology incorporated in everything; from farming to processing. Everyone’s role is equally important and one should dedicate himself for better capacity building and better performance and work should be done with cooperation and understanding. There are chances that some sector can go dysfunctional or faulty but instead of eliminating the role from the system, should take corrective action and monitor afterwards.

Similar is the case with propaganda of Noodles and potato chips and beverages in the food market. Some Medias and writers has wrongly interpreted the fact and without knowing the science behind and claimed the food to be deleterious to health which obviously is not. It is not a bomb that we have to panic and fear about. After all it the one that had been part of our diet and favorite food for decades and years! We have to analyze following question before we make our mind.

Most of times it is just rumors that goes viral but are not justifiable. Despite of provoking consumers with chemicals and ingredients it contains and arousing rage to band its production, and supplies, all concerned parties like nutritionist, food technologist, scientists, industrialist, Medias and consumer should work to look upon the root cause for fault and how to make corrective action and what preventive measures need to be taken. The probable source of lead in noodle industry is low quality food coloring agent, wheat, spices and contaminated water. If the high amount of lead in noodles is due to contaminated water or raw materials then there is chance that other food products in the market prepared with same raw material and use same water supply might also have  level of lead and they need to be inspected as well. The correction should be made in quality of water supply and agricultural products. But if particular chemical ingredient alone is responsible for high lead content in noodle then obviously action should be taken against that food industry.

Many people have asked me if it was really a glass chips in noodles because it is what they understand lead in Nepali ‘sisa”. Now, there are images showing worms in noodles, scum in beverages. These are totally a fallacy. Licensed Food industries practice food safety protocols and comply in quality and standards. Most of them have an automated food processing plant with rigorous quality control system but by this, I do not mean to overshadow the adulteration and fraudulent that also happens to exist in some food industries.

Similarly, provoking news about potato chips that it is fried in pork fat has simply dramatized the scenario. We human beings have been using animal fat in our diet since origin of our civilization. Animal products are also used massively in medicinal and pharmaceuticals and cosmetics but we not care about them if it is vegetarian of non vegetarian. In the name of awareness, consumers should be made aware of facts not fear and consumers have sense well enough to make their own choice.