Meet Captain Khau, aka Rishi, who’s on a mission to demystify the microbial contamination of meals throughout his summer season trip. His first case: the mysterious closure of Yadu’s Pav Bhaji, adopted by an epic farm journey with Swapna Di. Within the Merck-Tinkle comedian guide Protected Meals, Protected Future, college students find out about microbial contamination and secure meals practices by way of Rishi’s adventures.
Underneath their #SafeFoodFirst marketing campaign, Merck Life Science launched the Protected Meals, Protected Future comedian guide on the Indian Institute of Science lately. The comedian books can be found in each Kannada and English. “I wished them to maintain it of their homes so that oldsters, grandmothers, and all people begins studying it,” says Janice Goveas, Communication Head of Merck Life Sciences. “Not all of them shall be fluent in English.” The objective was to make it accessible to their households so everybody might share and soak up the data, she provides.
Throughout the guide launch, Dr. Veena Panicker, head of biomonitoring at Merck Life Sciences, mentioned, “The objective right here isn’t to scare you about your meals decisions however somewhat to boost your consciousness of what you’re consuming. Once we are hungry, we regularly mindlessly seize no matter is at hand. Whereas this won’t have an effect on your well being if you end up younger, poor consuming habits can have penalties as you age. ”
After the guide launch, college students engaged in an interactive quiz on meals contamination with Merck’s CSR workforce, SPARK, adopted by a Q&A session. When requested concerning the addition of nitrogen gasoline to chip packets, Dr. Veena defined that it prevents spoilage by slowing oxidation, which might result in rank odours and tastes. Regulatory our bodies such because the FSSAI set pointers to make sure that secure merchandise meet these requirements.

Curious minds from authorities colleges taking part within the Merck SPARK program on the subject of ‘germ detection’ on the Protected Meals, Protected Future occasion
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“We have now two fundamental initiatives. First, we concentrate on the science of vaccines; final 12 months, we produced a video on this matter. This 12 months, we shifted to the science of meals security, which we remodeled into comedian books. Subsequent 12 months, we plan to cowl the science of pure water. Our bigger goal is to let individuals know that many organisations corresponding to ours, are working quietly behind the scenes. We’re those who allow science and create content material in public curiosity,” mentioned Janice.
“Nonetheless, whereas individuals devour meals from locations corresponding to McDonald’s surely, they typically ask us quite a few questions first,” she added.
Two dwell experiment periods adopted the Q&A session. The primary experiment helped college students distinguish between adulterated meals and pure merchandise utilizing milk and turmeric. By including iodine to take advantage of and diluted HCL to turmeric, college students noticed color modifications that indicated contamination.
The second experiment session centered on germ detection by utilizing COVID-19 as a context, highlighting its influence on human well being and the surroundings, and elevating questions on the reason for outbreaks and methods to forestall them. “We’ll show how germs, that are often invisible, may be seen with a UV mild. By making use of a synthetic germ substance on our arms, it is possible for you to to see it beneath an UV mild,” mentioned Sushma Jenifer Fernandes, SPARK volunteer, as she offered an indication for college students.

Dr. Veena P. Panicker, Head of BioMonitoring, Merck Life Science, Professor Shantanu Mukherjee and Professor Mrinmoy De from IISc, Dinesh Raveendraraju, Scientist at Merck Life Science, and Palaniraja Subramaniam, International Product Supervisor, Merck Life Science, unveiling the Merck-Tinkle Comedian guide on the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru.
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Particular Association
Printed – November 15, 2024 11:30 am IST







