.Older people, teenagers, children and people with compromised vital organs and immune systems are at a greater risk of acquiring cancer-related health complications, if they are exposed to food packed in such material.This comes after Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare J P Nadda had directed FSSAI to issue an advisory restricting the use of newspapers as food packaging material.Beside chemical contaminants, presence of pathogenic microorganisms in used newspapers also pose potential risk to human health, according to the advisory. Printing inks may also contain harmful colours, pigments, binders, additives and preservatives.

Using newspapers to pack or serve food - a common practice among street vendors - is a safety hazard, according to the country&China automatic liquid soft packaging machines Manufacturers39;s food regulatory body which has warned that consumers are slowly being poisoned by cancer-causing agents and microbes.Foods contaminated by newspaper ink raise serious health concerns since the ink contains multiple bioactive materials with known negative health effects, the advisory said.Wrapping food in newspapers is an unhealthy practice and the consumption of such food is injurious to health.

There is an urgent need to discourage the use of newspaper as food packaging material by creating awareness among businesses, especially unorganised food business operators and consumers on its harmful effects.Newspapers and paper or cardboard boxes made of recycled paper may be contaminated with metallic contaminants, mineral # oils and harmful chemicals like the phthalates which can cause digestive problems and also lead to severe toxicity.Newspapers should not be used to wrap, cover and serve food or to absorb excess oil from fried food."Wrapping food in newspapers is an unhealthy practice and the consumption of such food is injurious to health, even if the food has been cooked hygienically," The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) said in an advisory.

The FSSAI has directed Commissioners of Food Safety of all States/Union Territories to initiate systematic campaigns for generating awareness among all the stakeholders to discourage the use of newspapers for packing, serving and storing food items.Suitable steps need to be taken to restrict control and use of newspapers for packing food material.Printing inks may also contain harmful colours, pigments, binders, additives and preservatives