Dear VG, you are presenting a very old news story that may be a decade back, which arose from Nagpur. Now it is different. Pl listen to this video. Also G like shall not understand so for groupism add comments even without going through Nor the fact check. :https://youtu.be/h5HJAOfUbo0 KR IRS 29124
On Mon, 29 Jan 2024 at 02:12, 'gopala krishnan' via KeralaIyers < [email protected]> wrote: > Very informative article sir. > Gopalakrishnan > > On Monday, 29 January, 2024 at 12:10:10 pm IST, 'venkat giri' via > KeralaIyers <[email protected]> wrote: > > > *Respected Sir/s,* > > *SUBJECT: VARK…..SILVER FOIL* > *VARK **is a fine filigree foil sheet of pure metal, typically silver but > sometimes gold, used to decorate South Asian sweets and food. The silver > and gold are edible, though flavourless. **VARK** is made by pounding > silver into sheets less than one micrometre (μm) thick, typically 0.2–0.8 > μm. The silver sheets are typically packed between layers of paper for > support; this paper is peeled away before use.It is fragile and breaks into > smaller pieces if handled with direct skin contact. Leaf that is 0.2 μm > thick tends to stick to skin if handled directly.* > > *VARK sheets are laid or rolled over some South Asian sweets, > confectionery, dry fruits and spices. It is also placed onto mounds of > saffron rice on platters. For safety and ethical reasons, the > government of India has issued food safety and product standards guidelines > for manufacturers of silver foil. Product Silver-coated spices > Manufacturing VARK is made by placing the pure metal dust between parchment > sheets, then pounding the sheets until the metal dust moulds into a > foil,[5] usually less than one micrometre (μm) thick, typically 0.2–0.8 μm. > The sheets are typically packed with paper for support; this paper is > peeled away before use. It generally takes 2 hours to pound the silver > particles into foils. Particles were traditionally manually pounded > between the layers of ox gut or cow hides. It is easier to separate the > silver leaf from the animal tissue than to separate it from the paper. Due > to the concerns of the vegetarian population of India, manufacturers have > switched to the modern technologies that have evolved for the production of > silver leaves in India, Germany, Russia and China. Modern technologies > include beating over sheets of black special treated paper or polyester > sheets coated with food grade calcium powder (nicknamed "German plastic") > are used instead of ox-guts or cow hide. Old City in Hyderabad used to be > the hub of traditional manual manufacturing, where it is a dying trade. > Usage as food The silver is edible, though > flavourless. It is also commonly used in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh as > coating on sweets, dry fruits, and in sugar balls, betel nuts, cardamom, > and other spices. Estimated consumption of VARK is 275 tons annually. > Using edible silver and gold foils on sweets, confectionery and > desserts is not unique to the Indian subcontinent; other regions such as > Japan and Europe have long used precious metal foils as food cover and also > decoration, including specialty drinks such as Danziger Goldwasser. > VEGETARIAN ETHICAL ISSUES Concerns have been raised about the > ethical acceptability and food safety of VARK, as not all of it is pure > silver, nor hygienically prepared, and the foil was until fairly recently > beaten between layers of ox-gut because it is easier to separate the silver > leaf from animal tissue than to separate it from paper. Due to the grinding > effect of the hammering, some of the animal intestine becomes part of the > silver foil, which is sold in bulk. Since Jains and a considerable > percentage of Hindus are vegetarian, this led to the decline in the usage > of vark in sweets or suparis. Indian Airlines asked its caterers to not > apply VARK to the food supplied to ensure no animal intestine is present.[ > In 2016, Government of India banned the usage of animal guts or > skins in the making of VARK. Consequently, the Indian market for VARK has > mostly converted to using the machine-based vegetarian process in the > making of the silver foils. Food Safety and Standards Authority of India > has issued guidelines for the silver leaf manufactures to adhere to > regarding thickness, weight, purity, labelling and hygiene of the silver > leaf. SAFETY Gold and silver are approved food foils in the > European Union, as E175 and E174 additives respectively. The independent > European food-safety certification agency, TÜV Rhineland, has deemed gold > leaf safe for consumption. Gold and silver leaves are also certified as > kosher. These inert precious metal foils are not considered toxic to human > beings nor to broader ecosystems. Large quantities of ingested bioactive > silver can cause argyria, but the use of edible silver or gold as VARK is > not considered harmful to the body, since the metal is in inert form (not > ionic bioactive form), and the quantities involved in normal use are > minuscule. One study has found that about 10% of 178 foils studied > from the Lucknow (India) market were made of aluminium. Of the tested > foils, 46% of the samples were found to have the desired purity requirement > of 99.9% silver, whereas the rest had less than 99.9% silver. All the > tested Indian foils contained on average trace levels of nickel (487 ppm), > lead (301 ppm), copper (324 ppm), chromium (83 ppm), cadmium (97 ppm) and > manganese (43 ppm). All of these are lower than natural anthropogenic > exposures of these metals; the authors suggest there is a need to address a > lack of purity standards in European Union and Indian food additive grade > silver. The total silver metal intake per kilogram of sweets eaten, from > VARK, is less than one milligram. Sweets that seem to be coated > with silver foil could be adulterated with aluminium. This dangerous metal > accumulates within the body tissues and also causes severe damage by > entering the brain. If consumed by a pregnant woman, aluminium can harm the > placenta and foetus. Always buy sweets from a reliable source. All that > glitters is not healthy. Actually some sweet shops apply silver over > sweets and it is digestible without any side effects. But now days, most of > the sweets coated by aluminium instead of sliver for decorative purpose > which is not digestible by human gastrointestinal system. In long run if > one consumes aluminium, it leads to potential health problems. So I advise > to remove coat with nails and eat. FSSAI should look into the samples and > stringent action should be taken on such sweet manufacturers who use > aluminium instead of silver. Aluminium especially causes potential danger > in children … The process used in manufacturing this silver foil may leave > some mild traces of blood and flesh on the foil. This can be extremely > unhygienic and unhealthy. Further, using silver foil can result in some > health issues. If the intestine of an infected animal is used while > preparing the silver foil, chances of the disease spreading are there. In > fact, staunch vegetarians would probably baulk at the idea of having this > silver foil on the sweets they consume. Think about it: if one is a > vegetarian, would anybody will like the idea of animal saliva, blood, and > stools touching the sweets that one eats?????? It is very > difficult to check the quality of the silver foil used in sweets that are > commercially prepared. Moreover, more often than not, people compromise on > the quality of these foils and use aluminium instead of silver. Sometimes, > contaminants such as copper, lead, and manganese are used as well to save > on costs. Some of the negative effects of consuming silver. · Throat > and lung lesions · Abdominal pain · Infections The FSSAI, by > a notification of July 15, 2016, had banned the use of the silver leaf > manufactured by the traditional method, which involved use of intestine of > a cow or buffalo, saying it was unhygienic and there was a risk of > infection and contamination of the silver leaf. > Silver foil-coated sweets are still very popular in West Bengal). But, here > some people claim that eating sweets coated in silver is harmless, while > others vehemently disagree. So, to get the exact answer, I read many > journals and articles, and here I will share what I have found. > In early the 90s, one could have seen an advertisement for > Lifebuoy soap featuring Ajay Devgan, in which he explained to Kajol the > importance of using a silver foil wrapper (chandi ka warq) on sweets. In > addition to its antimicrobial properties, silver foil (VARAK) also enhances > the visual appearance of certain sweets, such as Kaju Katli and GULAB > Jamun. Now, jump to the direct answer- Yes, it is safe to eat > sweets coated with silver foil if it is made up of 99.99% pure silver. > Remember, there is no proven health benefit of consuming silver coated > sweet. Is the edible silver foil commonly used in India as > toppings on sweets made of animal remains? No. Silver foil or Varq is not > made of animal remains but may be made with the superficial help of ox > intestine. It is made by keeping a small piece of silver in between > layers of ox gut (intestines) tissue and then beaten to get a very, very > thin layer of silver foil. Gold particles are also beaten so to get gold > sheets to spread on our sweets, biryani and other foods. The silver may not > be pure silver and the ox gut may not be washed as a touch of warm fresh > gut makes beating of the malleable metal much better. Usually intestines of > the just then slaughtered bull are removed as quickly as possible and sold > to the foil makers so that they can be used at once. Old intestines stiffen > and cannot be used for uniform beating of the foil. The traders say they > stopped using ox parts and are using polyester and paper sheets but no one > knows the trade secrets. This silver layer that you see on the > Indian sweets is the silverwork that is been made to just enhance the > beauty of the sweets. The process which > is used to make the silverwork for years was, to use animal gut(intestine > of goat or buffalo or any animal) and they beat the intestine of any such > animal and place some silver sheets, which forms the silver layer which is > your silver vark. That is placed on the sweets. That is why some people > avoid eating the sweets which have the silver work on it as it has used > non-veg to make that sheet. After this practice, the government of India > placed a ban on the production of these sheets in 2016, but again due to a > huge loss in jobs and employment, which lead to potentially a loss of money > in this sector, the government reversed the ban and allowed this practice > to continue. Which also lead to the production of vegetarian Vark, which is > again prepared via machine? All in all this silver vark has no special > nutrients to offer to our body, it is just a thin layer which is used to > enhance the beauty and temptation of the sweets. ---- Regards V.Sridharan > Trichy * > > -- > On Facebook, please join https://www.facebook.com/groups/keralaiyerstrust > > We are now on Telegram Mobile App also, please join > > Pattars/Kerala Iyers Discussions: https://t.me/PattarsGroup > > Kerala Iyers Trust Decisions only posts : https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrust > > Kerala Iyers Trust Group for Discussions: > https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrustGroup > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KeralaIyers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/985578527.1242191.1706510402060%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/985578527.1242191.1706510402060%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > > -- > On Facebook, please join https://www.facebook.com/groups/keralaiyerstrust > > We are now on Telegram Mobile App also, please join > > Pattars/Kerala Iyers Discussions: https://t.me/PattarsGroup > > Kerala Iyers Trust Decisions only posts : https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrust > > Kerala Iyers Trust Group for Discussions: > https://t.me/KeralaIyersTrustGroup > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "KeralaIyers" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > To view this discussion on the web visit > https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/499499402.1290321.1706515940340%40mail.yahoo.com > <https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/keralaiyers/499499402.1290321.1706515940340%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer> > . > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. 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