Health Concerns
A formal dish (small size) of Lahpet contains 200 calories with 12 g of total fat, 50 mg of sodium, 4 g of dietary fiber, 10 g of protein (varies depending on amount of dried shrimps, fish sauce, fried beetle larva (Eretes sticticus, တွင်းပိုး), fried peanuts and fried beans as ingredient) and vitamins (depending on whether tomato, garlic, green chilli, toasted sesame seeds, Napa cabbage, juicy lime or other vegetables are added or not).
On 12 March 2009, the Ministry of Health announced that 43 brands of lahpet including the popular brands contained a banned chemical dye called Auramine O which could cause liver and kidney damage and possibly cancer. This was believed to arise from wholesale dealers using cheaper chemical dyes instead of the traditional food dyes. Singapore ordered a ban on 20 brands of lahpet from Burma, including 8 varieties marketed by Yuzana, which were not declared unsafe by the Burmese authorities. Businesses were hit by a dramatic drop in sales of this popular food considered indispensable at social gatherings and on special occasions. Malaysia also joined the ban, but not Thailand, which also has a sizeable Burmese population.
Read more about this topic: Lahpet
Famous quotes containing the words health and/or concerns:
“Even though I had let them choose their own socks since babyhood, I was only beginning to learn to trust their adult judgment.. . . I had a sensation very much like the moment in an airplane when you realize that even if you stop holding the plane up by gripping the arms of your seat until your knuckles show white, the plane will stay up by itself. . . . To detach myself from my children . . . I had to achieve a condition which might be called loving objectivity.”
—Anonymous Parent of Adult Children. Ourselves and Our Children, by Boston Women’s Health Book Collective, ch. 5 (1978)
“Universal empire is the prerogative of a writer. His concerns are with all mankind, and though he cannot command their obedience, he can assign them their duty. The Republic of Letters is more ancient than monarchy, and of far higher character in the world than the vassal court of Britain.”
—Thomas Paine (1737–1809)