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New Delhi: Jackfruit 365, a brand of jackfruit flour sold for health benefits, has tested negative for an allopathic drug. The test results were shared with ThePrint by Krishna Kumar TS, who works as an analyst at the government drug testing laboratory in Thiruvananthapuram, where the test was conducted.
Before that, a lab report roam What appears to be happening on WhatsApp is that the product contains metformin, a drug used to lower blood sugar levels.
Marketed by Kerala-based Jackfruit 365, jackfruit flour is sold as a nutraceutical to control diabetes. By definition, a nutraceutical – food or part of food that provides medical or health benefits – should not contain any allopathic medicine. The approval process for nutraceuticals is also less rigorous than for conventional drugs.
However, a lab report, commissioned by an unidentified person, was doing the rounds of doctors’ groups on WhatsApp, making it appear that a sample of this flour had tested positive for metformin. The person who took the test has not been identified as the name was blacked out on the image reported on October 11.
Krishna Kumar Hadi earlier confirmation Reports to ThePrint that the image was not fake, and that the samples sent by the person did in fact test positive for metformin.
However, he had said that there was no way to ascertain how the sample was collected and whether it was adulterated before being sent to the laboratory, and thus the report did not have a legal basis.
The laboratory followed up according to standard procedure, which resulted in negative for metformin.
In a post on social media portal LinkedIn last week, Jackfruit 365 founder James Joseph defended the product, saying it contains only jackfruit flour.
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‘100% Ripe Raw Green Jackfruit’
“Jackfruit 365 Hara Jackfruit Flour is a single ingredient as declared in the pack, made from 100% ripe raw green jackfruit, with no additives or flavourings. And it helps control blood sugar due to an increase in carbs, calories and fiber, relative reduction in rice or wheat,” he wrote in the post.
“We confirm that our jackfruit flour contains only jackfruit. Any other suggestion is wrong and unscientific,” he said, making no mention of the lab report, or why he was posting this message on LinkedIn.
Jackfruit365 is an initiative under God’s Own Food Solutions Pvt Ltd promising year-round access to Jackfruit. Its flour has thousands of reviews on e-commerce platform Amazon, suggesting a wide consumer base.
(Edited by Polomi Banerjee)
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