Atta elasticity cooks up row

Hyderabad: Wheat flour or ‘atta’ marketed by popular food companies has come under the scanner for containing rubber-like elements in packets sold.

Bhagi Sravani, a resident of Sanathnagar, shot and uploaded a video of kneaded dough kept under running water dissolving away in a few seconds but leaving behind a rubber-like substance.

“Curious about the elasticity of the dough, I kept a ball of dough under running water. While a majority of it dissolved instantly, a small portion just wouldn’t. That portion was wet but changed colour when left to dry. From the usual wheatish brown, it turned darker. I rubbed it on paper, only to see black strands developing,” said Ms Sravani. The video spread online and led to many people checking the flour and dough, the way Ms Sravani had done.

Naresh Kumar, a resident of Gachibowli, said, “I saw the video and decided to try it out myself. I had bought a different brand and was very surprised to see the same result. I burnt the leftover substance from the dough to harden it, and then tried rubbing it. I could see the colour change.”

Subsequently, many more consumers watched the video and experienced the abnormality for themselves. Several returned the 5kg bags of ‘atta’ they had bought back to the stores. Sumesh Charan, a manager at a retail store, said, “Many worried customers came in to return their purchases. But we could not accept opened packets despite customers claiming that it was not up to standards. We can do that only after the manufacturer officially recalls the product.”

Meanwhile, in light of the controversy, Aashirvaad Atta, a leading producer of flour, issued a clarification. The company claimed that the sticky material left behind was gluten that is present in wheat and other grains. The company said that when flour is made into dough, polymerisation binds it and its protein content lends it elasticity. It said that the rubber-like substance was in fact a protein that was mandated by FSSAI as a content in ‘atta’.

“All packets proclaim that the product is 100% pure wheat. Any substance added should be mentioned on the packet as part of contents,” said Ms Sravani.

Meanwhile, the special operations team, which conducts raids over food adulteration, said that wheat is normally found in adulterated form when it is sold loose, and rubber is added to increase elasticity.