The formalin scare has gripped the nation, after huge quantities of fish laced with the substance—a known carcinogenic chemical primarily used for stopping decomposition of corpses—have been seized across the country. This has not only taken fish off the household menu but, more importantly, brought into focus the problem of food adulteration.
The crackdown on formalin, however, has been restricted to banning fish from the breeding states rather than trying to uproot the menace. The half-baked reaction of governments to the wilful contamination of fish is symptomatic of a deep-seated malaise. Food adulteration in India has reached dangerous levels with nothing edible spared from the unscrupulous practice. Rampant adulteration using toxic chemicals and synthetic colours is ruining people’s health.
The figures presented by the health ministry in Parliament earlier this year are a glaring pointer. Almost one in four food samples tested in 2016-17 has been found to be adulterated. And it is rising—from 19.5 per cent in 2014-15 to 23.4 per cent in 2016-17.The Supreme Court has said that access to food free from harmful substances such as pesticides is a fundamental right. Consumption of adulterated food might be playing a role in the alarming rise of heart, kidney and liver diseases, diabetes and cancer in the country. Sadly, this aspect is the most overlooked and of the lowest priority, for the Central as well as state governments.
A lack of awareness among the public notwithstanding, the regulatory, monitoring and enforcement mechanisms are just not up to the mark. Prevention is the key, and it can only be achieved with the help of a robust quality control system and action against violators. The new Consumer Protection Bill with stringent punishment for adulteration should be passed in Parliament, and the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India’s proposal for life imprisonment sentences for adulterers be implemented. For the fear of punishment can be an effective deterrence.
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