A day after Food & Drug Administration (FDA) found adulteration in common food items sold in the city markets, activists and citizens have demanded better monitoring of the food and swift action against the erring manufacturers and traders for selling adulterated food.
Laboratory tests conducted by the Nashik division of FDA found presence of nickel in vanaspati ghee and oil, soluble colours in chilli powder, urea in milk and bacteria in packaged drinking water. Activists and citizens told TOI that as buyers, they are unable to detect whether the food is safe for consumption. Unless the government deals the issue with an iron hand, people will be at the receiving end, they contended.
Consumer activists claimed that the FDA action against these spurious food items is just an eyewash and officials were not making any sincere efforts to curb food adulteration. They claimed that most vegetables are mixed with colours so that they look fresh and fruits are ripened with help of some chemicals.
Vilas Deole, secretary of Nashik Zilla Grahak Panchayat, said the worst part is that the consumer does not have the right to lodge a complaint if he suspects that the product he has purchased is adulterated. "The departments concerned take the information from customers and only give assurance to investigate the matter. Such complaints do not reach any logical conclusion," Deole added.
It is also mandatory for the civic administration to conduct checks of the stables from where milk is sold twice a month. However, the departments concerned are least interested in conducting the checks, he alleged.
Activists said buffaloes were injected with steroids by some owners, which ultimately lead to poor quality milk. The activists cited reports in TOI according to which a bench of the Supreme Court referred to reports of the Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI) of 2011, which said that over 68% of the milk sold in the market was adulterated.
Many citizens said there were certain brands in the market which sold genuine products. Even when the price of the product of different companies is the same, the shopkeepers keep only a particular brand for sale from which they can earn more profit. Many citizens suggested that FDA should start a free laboratory in the city, where any person buying a product can get it tested to check if it is safe for consumption.
FDA officials said they take up continuous action. However, the staff crunch prevented them to take up more cases.
