
The spread of Coronavirus has raised the demand for immunity boosters across the globe while scientists battle to produce vaccines. Taking a cue from the situation, a girl in Kashmir valley has started making immunity-boosting bakery at her father's shop in Srinagar.
A Master of Science in food technology, Asma Mohidin, is hoping that her immunity-boosting bakery would be a star attraction on the coming holy Islamic festival of Eid. After completing her degree, she has been involved in innovating new bakery at her father's bakery shop.
She says by adding spices and seeds that are easily available in the market in Kashmir, she made these immunity-boosting cookies and other items which include Vitamin A, Vitamin E, B 6, Omega 3, Omega 6.
"I discussed this idea with my father. We thought to incorporate scientifically proven nutrients that are immunomodulators and have anti-inflammatory properties," Asma said.
The family is happy after a food lab in Delhi showed positive results as they feared baking might reduce the immunity-boosting property of the bakery. "We sent two samples to a lab in Delhi. We have been working on this for two months," says Sofi Mohiddin, owner of Hilo Makhbaz Bakery, adding that vitamin C has been added in low quantity fearing the biscuits would taste sour.
There have been growing COVID-19 cases in the newly formed union territory which has raised concerns with Srinagar topping the charts among 20 districts of Jammu and Kashmir. Authorities have reinforced a fresh lockdown in the Kashmir division after witnessing an upward trend in the COVID graph.