Beware; imported fruits may contain carcinogens

Banned Calcium Carbide used rampantly
Govt sitting on report of 20 units using cancerous ripening agent

Srinagar: Five months after a survey by municipal authorities revealed that a banned carcinogenic chemical was being used to artificially ripen imported fruits in Srinagar, no action has been taken to stop the deadly practice.
According to the survey conducted by a designated officer of the Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) and submitted to the Divisional Commissioner - Kashmir in June this year, almost all the traders associated with imported fruit storage and distribution in Srinagar use the harmful and proven carcinogenic Calcium Carbide to ripen the imported fruits including Mango, Banana, Orange, Pineapple and others.
Calcium Carbide is known to have cancer-causing properties and if consumed for long it may cause neurological disorders, memory loss and cerebral edema.
“On the orders of Divisional Commissioner, we conducted the survey and we found that all the twenty fruit storage unit holders in Srinagar use Calcium Carbide to ripen the imported fruits early and the chemical is easily available in the market,” said a Food Safety Officer (FSO) of SMC who declined to be identified. “We submitted the report before Divisional Commissioner in June this year but so far no action has been taken.”
He said that these units existed in the summer capital in areas like Parimpora Fruit Mandi, Magarmal Bagh, Lal Chowk Bund, Hari Singh High Street, Old Bus Stand and others.
He also said that the practice of using Calcium Carbide is banned in India but in Kashmir it was being used freely.
“As per Food Safety and Standards Act which was introduced in Jammu and Kashmir last year the practice is banned and offenders are liable to face both imprisonment and fine. But so far we have only stopped issuing licenses to these traders and we don’t have orders to act against them or close these units down,” said the FSO.
Divisional Commissioner - Kashmir, Asgar Samoon declined to comment on this issue when contacted over phone.
Fruit traders while accepting its usage said that they use about 200 grams of Calcium Carbide to ripen 30 kilograms of fruits which is wrapped in a paper and placed in enclosed box. The chemical produces a gas which enhances early ripening.
“These imported fruits are (fast) perishable fruits and can’t be transported when ripe and the market for these fruits is so high that we can’t wait for their natural ripening. The Carbide can ripen the fruit in almost 24 hours,” said a trader wishing anonymity.
However, he said that there were few private ethylene gas chambers in Kashmir but it is expensive for them to ripen the fruit there.
“We have been using carbide for last several decades, if there are health problems arising out of it we are ready to stop such practice but government needs to provide avenues to traders to use alternatives. Installing ethylene gas chamber is expensive, but we are ready to install them if government provides us loan or give some subsidy,” said trader.
Deputy Director, Department of Horticulture Planning and Marketing, Kashmir division, Qazi Ajaz Ahmad said that usage of Calcium Carbide was not so rampant in Kashmir and if it is in practice somewhere then Food Safety department can take action.
“Our department is ready to provide any help to traders in this regard if they want to install their own ethylene gas chambers they can come to us and we can forward their cases to National Horticulture Board for subsidy loans,” said Qazi.

Watch out before you buy milk-based sweets

Think twice before you bite into a milk barfee this Diwali. It could be made of adulterated milk or milk substitutes which may do more harm than good.
"Since milk is in huge demand and in short supply thanks to the festivities, many of the local halwais (sweet shops) use milk powder and mix them with glucose, textile whitener and sulphuric acid to make milk cakes," said an official from the Delhi government requesting anonymity.

"Similarly, fermented and spurious unsold sweets, collected from sweets shops of the city, are mixed with chemicals and other substances and then fried to make sweets such as 'Doda barfi'," he explained.
The Delhi government is also conducting raids in various parts of the city to prevent milk adulteration.
"These raids are a part of our routine exercise to check any kind of adulteration in milk or milk products. This year, there haven't been many instances, but in the past, we have penalised small-time traders for unfair practices in sweet making," said Dr AK Walia, Delhi health minister.
"Last year, I bought two kilograms of ras malai for my family. When we opened it by the evening, the milk had split. It was such a mood spoiler, " said Nupur Satnam, who lives in Green Park.
Lajpat Nagar resident Kalayani Kamra had a similar experience with Khoya Barfi.
"I bought five kilograms for consumption at home from this big sweet shop in my area. I felt so embarrassed when a relative said that she could feel the taste of sugar crystals and milk powder granules in the barfee, and that I had not prepared the sweet well," she said.
"Next day, when I went to complain, the sweetmaker said that maintaining quality during festivities wasn't possible.
He, however, denied the use of powdered milk," she said.
To avoid stomach upsets and nausea, it best to eat home cooked sweets or just satiate your desire with a fistful of dry fruits or fresh fruits, which are nutritious, healthy and safe.

Adulterated sweets factory unearthed in Patna

Food Safety and Standards Authority (Bihar) officials in association with Patna Police unearthed an adulterated sweets factory at Bigrahpur under Jakkanpur police station area in Patna on November 6, 2012. The factory was allegedly recycling rotten sweets to make them new one by mixing industrial chemicals and imported flavours. One person was arrested in this connection.

Diwali spoiler: Beware of spurious sweets this festive season

New Delhi: With just two days to go before Diwali, a crackdown on spurious sweets has begun across the country. But the fear of adulteration hasn't hampered business. Fifteen quintal spurious mawa seized in Moradabad, 20 quintal adulterated sweets recovered in Jaipur and sweets worth Rs 12 lakh found in Thane. With the sale of thousands of kilograms of sweets, adulteration too is on the rise in this particular season every year.
Food Health Inspector Vinod Sharma, Jaipur, said, "The mawa is being prepared without any milk at all. It's made of vegetable oil and semolina. We have to get it destroyed."
In Mumbai, ahead of Diwali, Maharashtra FDA has seized 5274 kilograms of adulterated mawa worth Rs 10 lakhs. The FDA's drive started 20 days ago but it has intensified in the last week. Like every year, max adulterated mawa in Mumbai has come from Gujarat.

There have been instances when milk has been mixed with white paint, rotten wheat, toilet paper crushed and mixed with khoa.

In Delhi, so far only 234 samples of food items have been tested by the PFA (Prevention of Food Adultration department). Out of which seven samples were found unfit to eat. Two were found of substandard quality.
According to the new food safety and standards act the punishment for selling adulterated food is seven years imprisonment and Rs 10 lakh fine, for selling sub-standard food you could face a maximum fine of Rs 10 lakh. And a death by eating adulterated food could land the offender seven years to life imprisonment for offender.
But that has hardly been a deterrent. Adulteration is big business during the festive season. A kilogram of milkcake that one buys for say Rs 250 can be prepared for just Rs 55 using adulterated ingredients. There have been instances when milk has been mixed with white paint, rotten wheat, toilet paper crushed and mixed with khoa and ghee adulterated with animal fat. So this Diwali be careful, you could be taking in a deadly mix.

Enjoy right kind of sweets during Diwali

JAIPUR: With Diwali festivities round the corner, the fragrance of sweets and delicacies are already in air. However, doctors and dieticians are advising against overeating and suggesting healthy alternatives of sweets. They also suggested a strict exercise regime for those who are vulnerable to heart disease or have diabetes.
Craving for sweets could be irresistible but the after-effects of it in form of weight gains and high sugar intake can be disastrous. "The most common problem that happens after Diwali is sudden increase in weight. This happens because of bingeing on sweets and calorie rich food. People also tend to withdraw from their exercise regime during festivities," said Anjali Phatak, a consultant dietician at Fortis Healthcare.
But there are alternatives to enjoy the festivals without the fear of getting heavier or getting diabetic. Dieticians and doctors suggest that the urge for sweets can be assuaged with healthier, low calorie alternatives like fruit yoghurts, dry fruits and dark chocolate. "One can choose healthier alternatives like dates, bitter chocolates or nuts. Mathri, which is widely cooked during Diwali, can be nutritious if cooked in multi-grain," Phatak added.
A little effort to ensure that buying and gifting the right kind of sweets will also be very helpful for people to keep themselves healthy. With an assortment of sweets spread out before them, even the most health conscious people end up gorging on them during Diwali. "Sweets all around during Diwali compel anybody to binge on it. The best thing is not to store any sweet at home. Instead one can distribute it to those who need them more," said Dr Manju Sharma, a private practitioner.
Every year, adulterated sweets flooding Jaipur markets to meet the huge demand are adding to the woes. Doctors advise that it is better to make sweets at home. "Artificial colours, which can be toxic, as well as adulterated milk and other ingredients are widely used. We always suggest that making sweets at home is safer. At least you can pick the ingredients yourself," added Dr Rajendra Sharma of Tongia Hospital.

MAALAI MALAR

Boy held for duping hotelier with 'cockroach trick'

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A teenaged boy landed in trouble after he put fried cockroaches in biriyani at a hotel here in a bid to extract money from the owner, cashing in on the government crackdown on unhygienic eateries.

According to police, the student came to a small hotel and ordered biriyani during the busy lunch hours on Friday.

After eating half the plate, the boy all of a sudden stood up and started shouting that there was a cockroach in his biriyani.

Some other customers also joined the boy as he showed them the 'unsavoury fry' in his plate, which led to heated exchange between customers and the hotel staff.

As the hue-and-cry continued, the boy told the hotel owner that he would not lodge complaint with the food safety authorities if he was given Rs 1,000 as compensation.

The boy's eagerness to 'settle' the issue made the hotelier suspicious and he called up the police.

When the police grilled the boy, he admitted that he had purposefully put the cockroach in the food to dupe the eatery owner and garner some money from him.

Police also recovered a handful of fried cockroaches from his bag. Police took him to police station and called his parents before letting him off after a stern warning.

The Food Safety Authority and Health officials in the state had recently cracked down on scores of hotels and eateries across the state following a spurt in food poisoning cases.

About two months back, a 25-year-old youth died after eating stale 'shavarma', an Arabic food, bought from a city hotel.

The incident caused public concern about the hygiene of hotels foods, prompting the authorities to closely monitor the situation.

DINAKARAN

Coloured sweets to be inspected in Ranchi

RANCHI: Sweets of various designs, shapes and colours are seen arranged in the sweet shops of the city tempting passersby to buy them. The demand for sweets is usually high during Diwali as it is not just required to offer prayers to idols but also as gifts. As a result, many sweet shops have sprung up on the roadside to display the variety of sweets.

As demand increases, some shopkeepers tend to use adulterated ingredients or colours for more profit which often leads to various ailments.

Dr N N Aggarwal, director of Gurunanak Hospital, said, "During Diwali most of the sweets are made of 'khowa' (thickened milk in lump form) and hence its adulteration is optimum. The confectioners often add maida (refined flour) and blotting paper to add volume to the sweets."

Various kinds of colours are also added to the sweets to lure customers. Dr Aggarwal said, "Some of the colours have carcinogenic properties which mean that they may lead to cancer. In case someone spots any kind of adulteration in sweets he should immediately contact the assistant chief medical officer."

The district administration has also been working on samples from various sweet shops.

ACMO, Dr Sengupta said, "We have already started collecting samples from sweet shops and covered more than 110 sweet shops under a special drive for Diwali. Out of these, some were adulterated and the most common adulteration was found in laddoos."

Dr Sengupta said, "We found that metaline yellow colour has been added to laddoos to give them a better colour. This colour is used only for industrial purpose and is not edible. When eaten in high quantity it may lead to brain and liver damage."

Food analyst of food sample testing centre at Namkom, Dr Jitendra Singh, said, "We are accepting and examining all samples under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Many samples have been already tested and the reports of many others would be submitted by November 15."

Complaints against sweet shops where sweets were found to be adulterated would be submitted to the deputy commissioner. Deputy Commissioner, Vinay Choubey said, "Once we get all the reports appropriate action will be taken against the shop owners under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006."