Tag Archives: Bread

The scary truth about commercially produced bread – By Bunmi George

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Last Christmas, I decided to prepare stuffing from scratch to take along with my turkey to our family Christmas dinner. I went ahead to buy four loaves of bread from our neighbourhood supermarket. I used three loaves to prepare my dish, leaving one loaf on my kitchen counter for almost 3 weeks, but to my surprise, the bread didn’t grow any mold. It was as soft as the day I bought it. This got me really concerned as I examined the length and breadth. Immediately I knew the bread was full of preservatives. Preservatives are bad, and I try to avoid them at all cost.

When bread is freshly-baked, it is usually very soft and a bit moist, now this moistness serves as a good breeding ground for mold. Although you cannot see these molds, millions of their spores are found in the air around you as they are airborne. These spores settle on the bread when exposed to air and when the bread is stored in your cupboard or on the provision shelf, the spores begin to multiply. Mold on bread reproduces as long as there is a food source. Sometimes, mold reproduces very rapidly and can sometimes double in size in an hour.

Bread should mold, when it doesn’t, there is a problem. Remember, it only takes 4 ingredients to make bread – flour, yeast, water and salt. Most commercially-produced bread these days are full of ingredients that are not healthy such as dough conditioners – these are unnecessary in traditional bread making and only make the process faster and cheaper for the food industry to make bread in big machinery. Many dough conditioners like azodicarbonamide (which is banned all over the world), DATEM, monoglycerides, diglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate are linked to health issues. Many dough conditioners start with manipulating fat– like soybean oil or corn oil, which is also most likely GMO.

GMOs – Most commercially available bread contain one or many genetically modified ingredients like soy lecithin, soybean oil, corn oil, corn starch or soy flour. GMOs have not been tested long term on humans, however, we know that the pesticides sprayed on them are toxic and considered to be poisonous. Some GMOs are created by inserting a toxic pesticide into the seed itself to make an insect’s stomach explode when they try to eat it.

Added sugar – This is where you really need to watch out. There’s nothing wrong with a little honey to bring out the sweetness in bread, but most manufactures are using excessive sugar, and this can pose health risks. Almost all commercially-baked bread brands have some form of added sweetener. Watch out especially for “light” breads, which often contain more added sugar.

Remember to always choose bread that is made with real, certified organic ingredients. The wheat that is used to make most bread is heavily sprayed with pesticides and by choosing certified organic products you will avoid exposure to GMOs.

Jega criticises bread, sachet water production in Nigerian universities.

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The former Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, Attahiru Jega, has criticised the trend where universities engage in bread and sachet water production to generate funds.

Mr. Jega, who is the Pro-Chancellor, Plateau State University, Bokkos, expressed displeasure over the trend at the opening of the three-day 2016 Nigerian Higher Education Summit on Monday in Abuja.

Organised by the Association/Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (AVCNU/CVC) and TrustAfrica, Dakar, Senegal, the summit has “Exploiting Diversity, Differentiation and Quality Assurance in Revitalising the Nigerian Higher Education System” as its theme.

According to Mr. Jega, the crisis of funding in Nigerian universities is acute but the primary responsibility of funding universities is that of government.

He said that “putting universities in such a dire situation where they have to be doing things like producing and selling sachet water is sad; frankly, it is not the business of universities.

“We want young unemployed youths to be involved in such entrepreneurial activities to generate income for themselves and to build businesses.

“For a university to become in dire and desperate need for money as to bake bread and produce sachet water is unwholesome and needs to be discouraged.

“Government needs to provide sufficient funding to universities,” Mr. Jega, former President of Academic Staff Union of Universities, said.

The don said universities were in the business of knowledge production and should strive to produce patents or prototypes which they could engage Nigerian industries to manufacture.

He added that the problem was not that government lacked money but for it to re-arrange its priorities so that it recognised the importance of education and provide commensurate funding to universities.

The former INEC boss said there was also the need for the management of Nigerian universities to have an inclusive and transparent process of managing resources.

According to him, it is unhealthy for universities to be struggling to generate funds to carry out their mandates.

He said that for strikes to be avoided, there should be mutual respect between the Federal Government and the unions.

“It is important for government to bend over backwards and it is important for unions to be realistic in their demands in order to find solutions,” he said.

On his part, Michael Faborode, the Secretary-General, AVCNU/CVC, said a lot had been achieved by Nigerian universities despite the numerous challenges.

He said that out of 22 centres of excellence in Africa, 10 were in Nigeria, noting that this was worth celebrating.

“The fight against Ebola virus spread was led by the Centre for Infectious Diseases in Redeemers’ University, Osun State and they have some of their products here to display.

“Let us bring all these into the fore; it is not all about mourning the Nigerian university system all the time; we need to celebrate the successes,” he added.

In a keynote address, Benedict Oramah, the President, African Export Bank, said there was need for Africa to move away from the colonial-style education it inherited.

Represented by Stephen Keuma, the Director, Human Resources, AFREXIM, Mr. Oramah said the way forward was to refocus on technical education that would equip the continent for manufacturing.

Rising Bread, Power, Meat Prices Push Inflation To 18.3%

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The inflation rate, which began its upward streak over one year ago, has again accelerated to 18.3 per cent (year-on-year) in October 2016, with 0.48 per cent points higher from the rate recorded in September of the same year (17.9 per cent).

The  report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday said that food index was the major contributory factor as it rose by 17.1 per cent (year-on-year) in October, up by 0.47 per cent points from 16.6 per cent recorded in September.

During the month, all major food groups, which contribute to the food sub-index increased with fruits recording the slowest pace of increase at 11.5 per cent.

Also, it said price movements recorded by the all items less farm produce or core sub-index rose by 18.1 per cent (year-on-year) in October, up by 0.4 per cent points from rates recorded in September (17.7 per cent).

Also in  the month, the report noted, the highest increases were seen in housing, water, electricity, gas and other fuels as well as fuels and lubricants for personal transport equipment and education.

“Significant price movement under the Core Sub-index was also recorded for clothing and footwear, which recorded an increase of 17.8 per cent year-on-year. The groups with least growth pace recorded in October were communication (5.7 per cent), restaurants and hotels (9.4 per cent) and recreation and culture (10.3 per cent),” the report said.

It should be noted that the headline index is made up of the core index and farm produce items as processed foods are included in both the core and food sub-indices; this implies that these sub-indices are not mutually-exclusive.

Also,  on a month-on-month basis, the headline index rose by 0.83 per cent in October, higher from the rate recorded in September (0.81 per cent). The urban index rose by 19.9 per cent (year-on-year) in October from 19.5 per cent recorded in September, and the rural index increased by 16.95 per cent in October from 16.4 per cent in September.

On month-on-month basis, the urban index rose by 0.81 per cent in October from 0.79 per cent recorded in September, while the rural index rose by 0.84 per cent in October from 0.83 per cent in September.

“The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the 12-month period ending in October 2016 over the average of the CPI for the previous 12-month period was 14.2 per cent, higher from 13.5 per cent recorded in September. The corresponding 12-month year-on-year average percentage change for the urban index increased from 14.4 per cent in September to 15.3 per cent in October, while the corresponding rural index also increased from 12.6 per cent in September to 13.3 per cent in October,” the report further explained.

Credit:

http://sunnewsonline.com/rising-bread-power-meat-prices-push-inflation-to-18-3/

Father sentenced to death in Pakistan after murdering daughter who couldn’t bake ‘perfect bread’

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A father has been sentenced to death in Pakistan after he confessed to killing his daughter because she wasn’t able to bake perfect bread.

Khalid Mehmood admitted murdering his daughter Aneeqa before dumping her body outside the Mayo Hospital in Lahore.

According to prosecutors, he then told police that the girl was missing and feared she had been abducted, claiming she had failed to return home after going out to buy food.

However, according to the Express Tribune, officers later discovered that the girl was actually killed by her father after she failed to perfect the recipe for making gol roti.

The bread is a type of chapati that is usually round and flat and eaten everyday with curries and chutneys.

Roti Flatbread - West Indian Style Paratha Roti. (Photo: Marian Blazes)

Police later arrested Mehmood and his son Abuzar when they confessed to killing Aneeqa by beating her to death.

They also admitted dumping her body as well as filing a false missing persons report.

A judge at a court in Lahore then awarded Mehmood the death penalty and also fined him 500,000 Pakistan rupees (£4,000).

The case comes just a week after another man who murdered his daughter and her boyfriend in a so-called honour killing was allowed to go free after he pardoned himself and his accomplices.

Faqeer Muhammad was accused of shooting dead his daughter Kiran Bibi and her alleged lover Ghulam Abbas, ‘to save family honour’ due to their relationship in Lahore in 2014.

Muhammad and the daughter’s mother Azmat Bibi were the legal heirs to the girl, meaning they could pardon anyone accused of killing her.

Mrs Bibi and another son then lodged an application to have Muhammad pardoned, which he agreed to and it was accepted by the court.

Two Arrested In Lagos With Crushed Human Heads Hidden In Bread

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Jamiu Alabi, 24, and Yemi John, 32, were apprehended on Saturday night at Church Bus Stop, Ipaja.

They were alleged to have concealed three human heads inside loaves of bread.

The suspects were said to have sandwiched the heads in the breads with and inscribed names and amount on each.

While one of them had Danjumo N20,000 written on it, the others had Yusuf N70,000 and Alhaji Mumuni N10,000.

Police spokesperson Dolapo Badmos, a Superintendent (SP), said the case was under discreet investigation.

Badmos also confirmed the arrest of suspected armed robbers arrested along Shibiri/ Imude road in Ojo, after dispossessing one Ifeoluwa Francis of her belongings.

Segun Ariyo, 17 and Michael Adetona, 16, she said, while armed with a knife, robbed the victim of N20,000, a BlackBerry Z3 phone and recharge cards.

Badmos said the suspects were arrested while trying to share their loot.

Woman Who Made Bread Using Yeast From Her Vagina Ate The Bread

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British Blogger Zoe Stavri whipped the Internet up into a frothy bread mix frenzy earlier this week, after writing about a sourdough loaf she’d begun to make from scratch, leavened with yeast from a vaginal infection. She sourced the yeast with the help of a dildo.

Her first tweets on the subject chronicled her yeast making her dough rise — “IT’S ALIVE”! she wrote, in an acceptable use of all caps — and a blog post also documented the criticism she’d received on social media in response. Noting much of the hate came from apparently grossed-out men, Stavri argues that “the vast majority of the utter horror about my sourdough isn’t anything to do with ignorance on food hygiene, but more to do with a general mistrust and horror at vag.”

Credit: Cosmopolitan

Woman Makes Bread Using Yeast From Her Vagina

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Feminist blogger Zoe Stavri, who writes at Another Angry Woman, woke up on Saturday with the typical signs of a yeast infection, she wrote in a blog post.

But due to her self-described “slightly perverse sense of humor,” she decided to try baking bread with her yeast. So she retrieved some yeast using a dildo, combined it with flour and water, and covered it up so the yeast could do its job. She started making the sourdough starter on Saturday afternoon, and so far, so good… see result above.

 Credit: Cosmopolitan