Child Health

More to junk food than meets the eye

Junk food is junk by its very definition. But how bad is it and what is it that companies do not tell people about this food? This is what the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) laboratory checked. The results were both predictable and alarming. What was equally predictable was the response of big food companies and their spokespersons—denials and dismissals. But they are missing the point.

Does Formula Feeding contribute to childhood obesity?

National Coordinator, Breastfeeding Promotion Netwrok of India Dr JP Dadhich answers.

Heavy metal

Vaccines with mercury can cause autism, but removing the metal is uneconomical for developing countries such as India

Inaction discourages positive change in industry

It was in early 2008 that my colleagues at the Centre for Science and Environment had tested household paints for lead content.

CSE Lab Report: Phthalates in Toys

Delhi NGO Centre for Science and Environment tested 24 toy samples of major brands for the presence of phthalates. In October 2008, it randomly purchased toy samples from markets in Delhi. Fifteen were soft toys and nine hard toys made in four countries.

ICMR committee to test heavy metals and phthalates in toys.

A committee formed to test toxicity of heavy metals and phthalates in toys will begin their investigation soon.

Think before you drink

By Savvy Soumya Misra

Studies confirm energy drinks like Red Bull can be unsafe. India yet to limit their caffeine content

ICMR committee to test heavy metals and phthalates in toys.

A committee formed to test toxicity of heavy metals and phthalates in toys will begin their investigation soon. The 11 member committee formed by the Indian Council for Medical Research on the behest of the Ministry of Health was formed in November, 2009 after the Supreme Court ordered the testing of level of heavy metals in toys.

Toxic toys

We generally take toys for granted but this may no longer be the case atleast not if we are concerned about the health of our young children.
A recent laboratory study by the Centre for Science and Environment shows the presence of phthalates, a highly toxic chemical, in toys sold in the Indian market.

2010: choose your future today

A new decade. For me, three decades of work in environment. I wonder: have matters improved since the early 1980s, when I began? Or, are things worse off? Where do we go from here?