Adulteration has become a big business

With adulteration rampant in the food industry, consumers are at a disadvantage to know the quality of ingredients.

Grey market thrives as consumers look for cheap goods and overlook quality

Adulteration business is thriving, unnoticed by shopkeepers in a hurry. There is a duplicate for most of the popular brands in the market. Edible oil, cereals and auto spare parts... there is a duplicate for everything.

Despite stringent laws and periodical raids by officials, the grey market is thriving as a section of consumers are satisfied with the duplicate product as long as it is cheap, overlooking the quality factor. An edible oil manufacturer of a reputed brand said that Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) rules were clear and specific. But the ‘inspector raj’ was misused for financial gains to aid the grey market.

It is the unsuspecting consumer who falls victim to the evil designs of the grey market. One of the shopkeepers of the auto spare parts hub on North Veli Street said only a trained eye could pick out the duplicate from the original one - be it engine oil, tyre, bulb or even headlight assembly. Profits from fake goods were so attractive that many shops pass them off as originals. And many consumers also happily buy “genuine spares” at a cheap price without tax.

Justifying the trade, a dealer said they sold fakes only to those customers who insisted on low-priced goods and did not want quotation or invoice or bill or receipt.

Oil market

Many of the oil stores on East Masi Street, Sandaipettai, East Veli Street, Munichalai and around Meenakshi Temple sell substandard products. For instance, a gingelly oil packet in one of the shops had no brand name, price and date of packing.

The oil is also sold in ‘loose.’ For the brand-conscious consumers, there are oil packets with names that sound like a reputed brand. Even when there was an address of the manufacturer printed in the pack, it turned out to be fake.

Unholy smoke

A priest in Meenakshi Temple said that though officials maintained that as part of security measures, devotees were not allowed to light camphor in the sannidhis, the real reason was that the smoke from the poor quality camphor remained as soot and polluted the place.

Rajaraman who runs a restaurant on West Perumal Maistry Street said adulteration was rampant in the food industry. “Synthetic masala, which is dark red in colour, is widely mixed in idli powder, ‘kaara sevu’ and ‘cauliflower 65,’ he said.

Tamil Nadu Bakers’ Federation president S. Anburajan said that after branded products came to the market, bakeries, big and small, purchased only genuine raw materials.

There were exclusive vanaspati products available for making bread, cakes and cookies, he said. Tamil Nadu Foodgrains Merchants Association secretary S. Velshankar said that the number of complaints of adulteration from consumers was on the decline. But it need not be construed that adulteration had been prevented. It was because more consumers were aware of products and their shelf-life, and fewer victims.

Tamil Nadu Chamber of Commerce and Industry senior president S. Rethinavelu said manufacturers very well knew the consequences of adulteration. While the government encouraged branding, GST with its different slabs discouraged manufacturers. The government must issue clarification by bringing down the tax structure to 5%.