Adulteration in Holicolours, food items

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 23

A staggering 85 per cent of food and colours available in markets has been found adulterated. This was revealed through samples collected by NGO Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists (SPECS).

A total of 490 samples of food items and 62 samples of natural and herbal colourswere collected from 12 habitations such as Dehradun, Vikas Nagar, Sahaspur, Doiwala, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Rajpur, Mussoorie, Haldwani, Almora, Nainital and Pithoragarh from March 17 to 21.

Dr Brij Mohan Sharma, secretary, SPECS, said volunteers collected 62 samples of colours being sold as herbal or natural colours. After testing, we found that mercury sulphite in red colour, copper sulphate in green colour, chromium iodide in purple colour, aluminium bromide in silver colour and lead oxide in black colour. “These colours are toxic and can cause skin cancer, eye allergy, temporary blindness, bronchial asthma, allergies, renal failure, learning disability and cancer,” Dr Sharma said.