'Potassium bromate,potassium iodate not used for breads in WB'

Bread manufactures in West Bengal do not use potassium bromate and potassium iodate in the production of bread, state bakers body today said assuring the people that breads are absolutely safe to consume.
In West Bengal, Alpha-amylase and lipase are used as natural enzymes for manufacturing breads, the Joint Action Committee of WB Bakers Association secretary and TMC MP Idris Ali said today.
There were also no reports of anybody falling sick from anywhere in the state after consuming bread or baked products, he said.
"Bakers in West Bengal have always followed manufacturing practise as per government rules and regulations and they will continue doing that. So we urge people to eat bread as they are completely safe," Ali said.

A Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study recently found nearly 84 per cent of 38 commonly-available brands of pre-packaged breads including 'pav' and buns, testing positive for potassium bromate and potassium iodate, banned in many countries as they are listed as "hazardous" for public health.
Incidentally, the CSE study had created panic affecting almost 30 per cent of the production after several small-scale bread factories in the state had stopped manufacturing, he said.

The state registers a daily production of 10-12 lakh pounds of bread, of which the city itself requires five lakh pounds, according to WB Bakers Coordination Committee secretary Sheikh Ismail Hossain.

"The production after that has improved a bit but still the demand is not as it was before the report was out... Production is still 10-15 per cent less to what it was earlier," Hossain said.
In West Bengal, there are about 4,000 bread manufacturing units, of which 3,500 are small-scale units, 450 are medium sized and 50 big-scale units like Modern, Britannia.
The CSE report had claimed that while one of the chemicals is a category 2B carcinogen (possibly carcinogenic to humans), the other could trigger thyroid disorders but India has not banned their use.