Ice from untreated water, meant to preserve fish may be in your glass

 

CHENNAI: The city’s ice manufacturers have substantiated what customers have for long suspected: All is not well with the ice lumps in their drinks.

Blocks of industrial ice meant for storing sea food and handled by workers with bare hands are wrapped in soiled sacks and transported by trucks, autos and rickshaws to various parts of the city. TOI unearthed this chain by tracing the journey of a dozen such blocks from a freezer in Kasimedu fishing harbour to a market in Tondiarpet, before they were lumped with a coating of chaff and mud on the sands of Marina. Within two hours, all the blocks, broken into pieces with rusty screwdrivers and ice picks, were sold to juice vendors.

“We just sell our ice, we don’t ask clients what they do with it,” said J Chandrasekaran, who operates two ice plants in Kasimedu and Tondiarpet. While one unit pops out ice cubes made of reverse osmosis-treated water, the other moulds ice blocks, each weighing 150kg, from non-potable water. While restaurants, clubs and caterers are Chandrasekaran’s biggest clients for cubes, the blocks, which account for 70% of his sale, are sold to cold storage units in the harbour. With the ongoing two-month ban on fishing, one would assume his sales may have dropped. “During the ban we continue to sell around 45,000kg of blocks every day as opposed to 80,000kg otherwise. In contrast, we sell around 3,000kg of ice made with potable water, which remains standard through the year,” said Chandrasekaran, also secretary of Chennai Ice Manufacturers’ Association. There are around 12 such manufactures in North Chennai . “If the ice is in lumps, customers have reasons to suspect its quality,” added Chandrasekaran.

As if on cue, TOI spotted a truck being loaded with ice blocks at his manufacturing unit in Kasimedu. Two bare-torsoed men lay sprawled on the ice, seeking respite from the heat. The vehicle then wound its way through the dusty roads to reach Marina. All through the half-an-hour drive from Royapuram to Marina, the ice lay bare with a ragged cloth thrown over it.

At Marina beach, Allirajan waited behind the labour statue for the load. “My family is in the ice business for several generations,” said Allirajan, while keeping an eye on two youngsters who lowered the blocks on to tyres before dragging them to a shade. When asked who his clients were, his response was quick. “Fishermen, of course.” Chindhamani, his aged mother who made a living out of being a fortune-teller, scoffed. “Tell them the truth,” she said. “Sometimes we sell to vendors here too,” Allirajan said sheepishly. He said there were other “ice-breakers” like him operating out of Tambaram and Avadi bus-stops and behind the Lighthouse.

Within 15 minutes, a juice vendor sauntered to Allirajan’s spot and bought five lumps of ice for Rs 50. “I mix potable and non-potable ice because sometimes food safety officials ask for bills during inspections,” said the vendor.While summer is a busy time for food safety officials who step up their drive against contaminated water and food, they have turned a blind eye to the flourishing ice industry. “The quality of ice used by juice vendors is an issue,” said R Kathiravan, designated officer, food safety department, Chennai.

Senior paediatrician Dr Benny Benjamin said contaminated ice preserves disease-causing organisms. “Unlike heat, which impacts the cells of disease-causing germs, frozen water preserves them. They become active at normal temperature,” said Dr Benjamin, who sees an increase in stomach-related ailments, especially among children, in summers. Contaminated ice can carry fecal germs like E.Coli that are spread through poor handling.

Taking cognisance of the issue, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had issued a directive to all ice manufacturers to start colour coding industrial ice blue to differentiate between edible and inedible ice. “We’ve been asked to enforce this from June 1,” said a senior food safety official.\

Non-edible ice to be blue across India

Pune: The use of blue dye in non-edible ice will not be limited to Maharashtra. The Food Safety and Standards Association of India (FSSAI) issued an order on May 4, asking all other states and Union territories to implement the measure from June 1.

“Food safety commissioners of states/Union territories are requested to enhance surveillance/enforcement on the sale of non-edible ice to ensure compliance of this directive,” Garima Singh, director (regulatory compliance), FSSAI, stated in the order issued on May 4.

Usually, water used for making ice for industrial or storage purposes is not potable. To tackle this problem, the Maharashtra government in March made it mandatory for ice manufacturers to use blue dye in the ice meant for industrial, cooling and storing purposes to distinguish it from edible ice.

“The countrywide enforcement of this move will bring in uniformity, check misuse and accidental consumption of industrial ice,” said the state Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner, Pallavi Darade.

“If a food business operator is found selling blue ice, s/he will face strict action, including imprisonment,” said Chandrashekhar Salunke, joint commissioner (headquarters), state FDA.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) also welcomed the move. “The differentiation between consumable and non-consumable ice will help people,” said eye surgeon Sanjay Patil, the chairman of the hospital wing of IMA, Pune chapter.