If you are someone who chooses packaged drinking water over regular water in a bid to minimise the risk of contamination, you ought to rethink it. Authorities have found that among all food groups, packaged water in Gujarat was the most adulterated.
Hemant Koshia, Commissioner of the Food and Drug Control Administration of Gujarat, throws light on adulteration in the state and which items are best avoided.
A survey of over 1,000 samples from across Gujarat i.e. Veraval, Rajkot, Ahmedabad, Surat, etc tover a few consecutive years have confirmed that packaged drinking water is the most adulterated of all. Over 35%-40% of bottled water failed the prescribed standards.
The extent of adulteration
Koshia says the ramifications of adulteration depend on the extent and the consumer. “Its impact ranges from relatively harmless to fatal, depending on the severity of the infraction and who ends up consuming the food item. When it comes to food, most of it did not conform to our safety standards. Manufacturers not only fail to follow the prescribed rules but have also been found to flout quality guidelines in a few cases.”
During the survey, the bacterial contamination was not within acceptable limits certified for drinking purposes. And most manufacturers were from Gujarat. “Selling packaged drinking water from other states in Gujarat comes with a massive transportation cost and so, most manufacturers that were found flouting the guidelines are based in the state.”
There are six food-testing labs in Gujarat. The overall scale of adulteration that is hazardous to health has been recorded at 0.5% this year. “Wherever there is a gap in demand and supply of food, the food adulteration accelerates. We often take suo moto actions against restaurants and manufacturing units to safeguard the health of citizens.”
In rural Gujarat, local brands come up with first and second copies of established bottled water brands such as Bisleri to peddle sub-standard water. “To curb this menace is also something we are working on expeditiously.”
Interestingly, baby food items were found to be the least adulterated. Perhaps, the scammers have a heart.
Top five most adulterated food in Gujarat according to FDCC data:
1. Packaged drinking water
2. Milk
3. Oil
4. Ghee
5. Spices
Least adulterated food:
1. Infant or baby food
Surat tops in food adulteration?
Over the years, food adulteration in Surat has been notable. “Adulteration shoots up during Uttrayan. Jalebi and undhiyu (both Gujarati delicacies) are laced with non-edible ingredients. Initially, the adulteration percentage was in double digits but now it has come down to less than 5%. Consistent monitoring of food in Surat has helped reduce the food adulteration.”
Fast food and colours
The kind of food adulteration differs in rural and urban Gujarat. “In rural areas, artificial colours such as orange, red, yellow attract consumers better and therefore the vendors use these harmful colours in food products. The same strategy doesn’t work in the urban belt. In cities, people are health conscious, but they fall prey to bottled water.”
Plastic rice
There was panic and concern in Gujarat after reports of plastic rice began doing the rounds. Koshia promptly strikes them down. “Vendors only use cheaper alternatives to the product to cut down their cost. If they want to use an alternative for rice, they would have to look for substances that are cheaper and easily available. Plastic is Rs 100 per kg while rice retails at Rs 40 per kg on an average. Why will anyone mix plastic when it is costlier than rice? Also, India is one of the top producers of rice in Asia. There are restrictions on rice import. Plastic rice is purely a piece of misinformation on WhatsApp. We should verify such rumours.”
Food adulteration tricks:
· Brick powder, wood coated with synthetic colour is mixed in chilli powder
· Powder form of grass is mixed in coriander and cumin powder
· Soyabean oil and artificial colours are added to ghee
· Refined palm oil is mixed in groundnut oil
· Refined sugar is added to honey to lower its cost
· Water, chalk, urea, caustic soda and skimmed milk etc are added to milk
· Arhar dal is usually adulterated with metanil yellow
· Papaya seeds, blackberries are the common adulterants used in black pepper
· Butter can be diluted with water or partially replaced with cheaper plant oils such as palm oil, sunflower oil and soybean oil
· Ice creams are adulterated with pepperonil
· Saffron is adulterated by coloured, dried tendrils of maize cob.
· Sugar used in making sweets might be adulterated with tar dye
· Chalk powder is mixed in salt
· Palm oil, engine oils, argemone oil and paraffin are mixed in coconut oil
· Khoya and chenna used in making sweets are adulterated with starch
Have a complaint about food or medicines? Write to FDCA at:
Address: Office of the Commissioner,
Food & Drugs Control Administration,
Block No-8, 1st floor, Dr. Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar.
