WHAT SHINES IS NOT HEALTHY

Neatly stacked, glossed up and vibrantly colourful – it might seem like the ideal place to pick your fruits and vegetablesfrom, but beware, for everything that shines is not gold. In this case, definitely not healthy either. 

That perfect shiny brinjal or the plum red apple could actually be covered with a coating of artificial colour, dangerous for human body. No matter how loyal your local fruit vendor is to you, he himself may not be aware of the harmful effects of such colours used to gloss up these fruits. Cityplus digs deep to find out.

The colour code

Health experts complain that the Directorate of Prevention of Food Adulteration of the State Government hasn’t taken any action against those involved despite knowing that coloured vegetables and fruits contain

hazardous substancesand sold boldly in wholesale and retail markets and outlets. Usually by the time, fruits and vegetables come from the farmers, their shine and freshness is compromised upon due to the time lapse and transportation from one place to another. To give these a fresh look, it has been known that suppliers are applying artificial colours on them and chemicals are put on their skins to maintain the sheen. The most common artificially coloured and shining vegetables and fruits in the market are pumpkin, ladyfinger, cucumber, eggplant, wax gourd, apple, pear and guava.

A wholesale fruit seller Sajid Abbas tells CityPlus, “We get these fruits from the local mandis. The fruit changes several hands from the time it is sold by the farmer until it reaches the fruit seller. We sell the fruits as they come to us.” 

Vijay, a vegetable vendor at Ameerpet reveals, “In dry weather vegetables look stale and customers refrain from buying these. I apply light oil on brinjals and parwals (wax gourds). Anyway these are washed before cooking.” 

Harmless as his claims may be, what he does not know that usage of oils and other substances on vegetables and fruits are punishable by law and equally harmful forhuman health. 

The rules

As per rule 48-E of the PFA Rules, 1955, fresh fruits and vegetables shall not be rotten and also not coated in wax, mineral oils and colours. However, there is a provision for coating fresh fruits with food additive such as bee wax. But how many vendors actually use it? A vegetable seller at Begumpet’s Friday market says, “We are poor daily wage earners. We usually use some oil that we get at a cheap rate from factories.”

Nalini Jayathi, a home maker from Banjara Hills, also frequenting Himayat Nagar often says, “The other day I bought apples from a local vendor. After washing it, the moment I cut the apples, light pink colour stained my hands. The very next day I asked the vendor as to why he had coloured the apples to which he replied that he buys the stock from the wholesaler and isn’t aware of what’s going on.”

Regulation of Food Law

Cityplus decided to speak to the AP Commissionerate of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regarding this. K. N. Swarup, the Deputy Food Controller told, “Till date we have not come across the colouring of fruits and vegetables. Those who have faced such problems can send us a complaint and we will conduct a raid, test the sample and strict actions will be taken against those who are found guilty. Yes, we have dealt with cases where prohibited artificial colours are found in food items such as sauces, sweetmeats and fried stuff.” 

Other foods also not spared

Rahul Kakkar, a businessman and foodie says, “The other day I saw local eatery cooking sweet rice which is yellow in colour. I saw the cook using a yellow colour from a box that read ‘STRICTLY FOR INDUSTRIAL USE’. I asked him why he’s using it when it is forbidden to which he said that ‘a pinch will not harm anyone’. Now I am extremely careful about where I buy my food stuff from.”

Beware 

Buy fruits and vegetables from known dealers. 

Do not buy and consume cut fruits from open market. 

Always wash the fruits twice or thrice under running water. 

Avoid eating very brightly coloured food items.

"In dry weather, vegetables look stale and customers refrain from buying these. I apply light oil on brinjals and parwals (wax gourds).vijay, vegetable vendor "