FSSAI of India bans Silver Leaf (Chandi ka warq) of Animal Origin in Food Items
FSSAI bans Silver Leaf (Chandi ka Varakh) of Animal Origin
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has banned the use of any material of animal origin in silver leaf (chandi ka warq/Varakh), commonly used in confectioneries (sweet meat) and sweets like barfi for decoration and also in paan and packaged supari.
This news is reported by the Times of India-Aug 2, 2016 and I have provided some links of actual news from various newspapers at the end of the e-mail.
The FSSAI authority of India has banned this item because in the manufacturing of silver leaf (Varakh), cow’s or other animal’s ox-gut (intestine) is used which is obtained from the slaughterhouse. The intestine (ox-gut) is smeared with blood and mucus when is pulled out from the slaughtered animal by the butcher and sold as is to the Silver Leaf manufacturers. The small thin strips of silver placed between layers of ox-gut and are hammered to produce the glittering foil. This manufacturing process is under very filthy surroundings. This is the main reason the FSSAI authority of India has banned the Silver Leaf (Chandi ka warq or varakh) on the food product.
Veggie Silver Leaf (Varakh)
Recently several companies have advertised that they produce the Veggie Varakh without using cows’ intestine. This process is costly and hence in the country like India, one can easily obtain false certification and sell the regular Varakh as cheap veggie Varakh. Also the Varakh decorates the food/sweets only but does not add any nutritional value to it. The best alternative is to avoid the Varakh on the food.
Where to Report/Complain about Violators
FSSAI encourages to post complains/comments about food safety issue related to adulteration, contamination, poor quality, improper packing, insufficient information on label, misleading advertisements, incomplete information about food, clarification from food operator on license, etc etc" by going to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) websitehttp://www.fssai.gov.in/ or click the link http://www.fssai.gov.in/Feedback.aspx and Fill in online the “Consumer's Complaints / Suggestions / Queries Form”
The FSSAI will be every much happy to help you as well guide you. Please insert your e-mail and identify yourself to receive a suitable reply.
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India is the World’s Largest Beef Exporter
CNN money news of August 5, 2016 published that India is the world's largest beef exporter. The article indicates that the large number of animals are needed to keep India's huge domestic dairy industry going. Because of the existence of this huge dairy industry, there are plenty of grown-up cows and buffaloes are available to slaughter for beef. The dairy cows and buffaloes are significantly cheaper than the animals which are raised for beef only, because the dairy animals produce income during their growth period of first 5 years. Hence 5-year-old dairy cow and buffalo is much cheaper than non-dairy cow or buffalo raised for beef only.
In other words, Jains and vegetarian Hindus who consume milk and other dairy products directly support the beef industry because every milk producing Cows and Buffaloes are slaughtered after about 5 years of age to support beef export industry while their life expectancy is about 20 years. I have also compiled the CNN’s article at this link for easy reviewhttp://www.jainelibrary.org/$india_beef_export
Baby Calf’s Milk is Stolen from Mother Cow by Humans
Any drop of milk that we use or consume is stolen (taken without the permission) from mother cow or buffalo that was meant for her baby. Nature has not made cows or buffaloes to produce more milk than the need of their babies unless we feed them hormones and genetically modify their genes. With the continuous use of hormones, we have forced the bodies of the mother cows and buffaloes to produce three to four times more milk than their natural need of their babies. Because of this reason, cows and buffaloes body breaks-down in five years and milk production yield drops significantly. At this time, we send them to slaughter-house.
Summary
We Jains and vegetarian Hindus use Silver Leaf (Varakh) and milk in Tirthankara’s/God's Puja, other religious rituals, and almost all sweets served in Jain functions. Such items are very Himsak (Violent). It is obtained by torturing and indirectly or directly killing Cows or Buffaloes or other five sensed animals.
In today’s environment, the production of milk (other dairy products), wool, silk, and pearl are as Himsak (violent) as the production of meat and silver leaf. We Jains and vegetarian Hindus should banned all such items in our religious rituals and religious functions. We have banned such items in our JAINA Pathashala Educational books of North America (USA and Canada). More than 3000 students are in Pathashalas of North America.
“We must Practice our Religion based the Time, Place, and Environment we live in” and “We must accept the truth from whatever source it comes.” This is the essence of Lord Mahavir’s preaching.
The Book of Compassion
In the year 2000, Pujya Paramodaben Chitrabhanuji and I (Pravin K Shah) have compiled several such types of articles in English in a book named “The Book of Compassion”. Later the book was translated in Gujarati and Hindi languages. You can download the soft copy of any of these books from the following links of the Jain eLibrary website (www.jainelibrary.org).
Following the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) notification, the ... Fine silver foil or silver leaf, is used to decorate sweets and ... any animal material of animal origin at any stage of manufacturing process.
FSSAI bans on silver leaf from animal parts ... New Delhi: The food regulator of India, FSSAI has banned the use of silver foil with ... silver leaf cannot be manufactured using any animal material of animal origin at any stage.
Ritwika Sharma and Alok Prasanna Kumar, fellows at the Delhi-based Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, compiled all State-level legislation and amendments on the slaughter of cows and other types of cattle for The Hindu.
The data shows that Indian States can be classified into five categories — north-eastern States with no restrictions on cattle slaughter; Kerala with no law but a caveat; Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Assam which allow the slaughter of cattle with a certificate; Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Goa and Odisha which ban cow slaughter, but allow the slaughter of other cattle with a certificate; and the rest of India which bans the slaughter of all cattle.
Beef is less popular than other meats, The Hindu’s analysis of data from the 2011-12 National Sample Survey shows, with just four per cent of rural Indians and five per cent of urban Indians saying that they consumed beef within the last week. However, consumption varies widely by State; the average person from Nagaland eats half a kilo of beef in a month, while the average person from Punjab, Chhattisgarh and Himachal Pradesh doesn’t eat any.
Correction
The graphic accompanying “Cattle slaughter in varying degrees” (March 4, 2015) erroneously says that Karnataka has banned all cattle slaughter. Actually, the State permits the slaughter of cattle other than cows with a 'fit for slaughter' certificate. The graphic has been corrected on March 4, 2015
