HC flags concern on contaminated fruits

HYDERABAD: Agreeing with the concerns raised by the amicus curiae that consuming fruits today is akin to consumption of poison, the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday sought to know from AP and Telangana the number of food safety officers, food inspectors etc they have appointed to ensure that the food sold in the market is free from chemicals and adulteration.

The number of raids conducted and the results yielded too should be furnished, said the bench of acting Chief Justice Ramesh Ranganathan and Justice G Shyam Prasad, which had in August 2015 suo motu converted media reports about ripening of mangoes through calcium carbide into a public interest litigation. The court also appointed senior counsel S Niranjan Reddy as amicus curiae to assist the bench in the case. After the HC took up the case, the two Telugu states conducted flash raids on fruit markets and filled up a few food inspector posts.

When the matter came up for hearing after a long gap, the bench told the states that "as all of us consume fruits, we are all bound to suffer the ill-effects of ripening through chemicals. You need to come out with a clear plan, policy and solution to the menace". Niranjan Reddy furnished various reports to the court explaining the methods of artificial ripening. He also suggested recommending relatively harmless chemical ripeners as alternatives that will also address traders' concerns. The court expressed serious concern over the long-term impact of such fruits on the health of humans.

Niranjan also told the court that even daily essentials like milk, sugar, rice and salt, too, are being adulterated with harmful substances. Stating that pressing into service adequate number of food safety officers (FSO) will yield better results, the senior counsel said Telangana and AP were lagging behind in recruiting adequate number of such officers. While Tamil Nadu has 554 food safety officers, AP has just 28 and Telangana, too, is faring poorly with 20, Niranjan Reddy said. the bench sought details of FSO machinery from the two states within a week.