Open House: What measures can be taken to prevent food adulteration during the festive season?

Punishments must to check adulteration

During every festival season, food adulteration is generally at its peak because sweets made from khoya and paneer are a must for celebrations. Besides, sweets are exchanged and distributed among friends and families. But we must keep in mind that during the festivals shopkeepers often compromise on the quality of sweets, especially milk-based items, to rake in huge profits by mixing urea, detergents, etc, in food items. Food adulteration has become a cause for serious concern. To prevent shopkeepers and others from playing with the health of people, regular raids and alert vigilance by officials of the Health Department are a must. The civic body must institute mandatory quality control standards for all sweet-makers to follow. MC authorities should enforce strict rules and set up quality-test scales so that people can buy products after checking their quality. And as a customer, we have to remain vigilant while buying sweets. We must opt for branded or ISI-marked products. All said and done, food adulteration should be considered a criminal offence and authorities should impose deterrent punishments on greedy sweet makers who play with precious lives. Cancellation of licences of the erring sweet makers and levying heavy fines may bring some reforms.

EL Singh

Awareness by media can play vital role

To prevent food adulteration, awareness among customers is necessary. And to spread awareness among people, media can play a vital role. The state government should select officials to raise awareness among people through seminars at different places. The government can spread awareness through electronic media by issuing small advertisements and explaining them simple methods to identify food adulteration. The government should provide toll-free numbers to customers enabling them to call and register their complaints about food adulteration. When a customer makes a call, action should be taken immediately. Food inspectors should take samples from sweet shops. The government should engage maximum officials during the festive season to check food adulteration. If a shopkeeper is found guilty, he should be given instant punishment, besides levying a heavy fine on him and sealing his shop.

Anubhav

Govt officials should start sampling

As we know that the festive season is in full swing, would it be possible to celebrate Diwali without exchanging sweets. Food adulteration also peaks during the festival season. To get maximum profits, shopkeepers start food adulteration. On festivals, we buy sweets and other milk products. Shopkeepers mix dalda ghee, powders, colours, fats, etc, into one to make sweets. Such sub-standard sweets cause so many diseases among people. We should avoid buying sweets. The state government should start a special campaign to check food adulteration. The government should be fully prepared to check adulteration in milk products. Officials should raid every shop. They should start sampling. If the government is serious about stopping adulteration, they should keep a watchful eye on shops. If a shopkeeper is found involved in this illegal activity, his shop should be sealed and licence cancelled. Besides, a heavy fine should be imposed on him.

Pawanpreet Kaur

Admn must raid sweet shops

When the festival of lights is around, people start distributing sweets among their relatives and friends. But adulterated sweets cause only health problems. What is surprising is that India produces milk-products in such large quantities that one can hardly believe them (products) to be made of pure milk. Various substances like starch, urea, detergents, formalin and boric acids are used in preparation of milk products. And this practice is more rampant during the festival season because of huge demand for sweets in the market. The administration should raid the shops selling sweets on a regular basis. Samples of some of the products should be collected and analysed frequently. The material used in adulteration must be checked. Food safety standards must be shared with the public. Announcements for raising awareness of the general public against adulterated material must be made on a regular basis. Harsh punishments and fines should be imposed on those who play with the lives of humans in pursuit of quick and easy money. Small ready-to-use tool kits must be available with the administration at all times to conduct an on-the-spot analysis of a product for adulteration. Sealing of the shops of erring owners and strict punishment will help check food adulteration to some extent.

Khushkaran Singh

Prefer items having FSSAI-validated labels

Since the day the festive season has begun, celebrations are on in and around the holy city. In today’s era, food adulteration has become an unethical business strategy to earn maximum profit. Absence of an efficient food law coupled with lack of government initiatives has only emboldened confectioners to resort to food adulteration. To end this problem, professional individuals should monitor the storage condition of food items. A warehouse with a proper storage environment must be designed to minimize the risk of contamination. Food Safety Standards and Regulations should be strictly adhered to. The ink used on the package should be free from hazardous substances. The general public should always check and buy products having an FSSAI-validated label, licence number, manufactured date and its expiry.

Nimish Sehgal

Administration should be consistent

I remember, four decades back, irrespective of the festive season, the district administration would constitute teams to regularly raid the halwai shops, hoarders, weedicides and insecticide shops, liquor vends, grocery stores, medicine shops and the black-marketeers.The entire business establishments would be closed in the flicker of an eye.There would be fear of the administration. Over a period, with the massive increase in population and business establishments and the deadly paralytic attack on the regulatory system, the regulation of eateries and food items has gone haywire.The Punjab State Food Commission and the consumer laws have proved unequal in coping with the rot. Presently, the health department deals with the onerous duty of ensuring unadulterated food items and the world knows how badly this system works. Whenever some festival is nearby, reports of raids on the sweets shops, dairies, milkmen and producers of milk products, dot the newspapers. In 1966-67, Dharamvira, ICS, was the Governor of Punjab, when it was felt for the first time, by one and all, that there was an administrator who had eliminated adulteration of all products, hoarding of essential commodities and above all black marketing. His efforts were consistent and regular and not seasonal and a mock drill to please the gallery. Off and on, the administration garners transient praise for catching those who endanger lives by manufacturing milk from chemicals and milk products but the system needs to be more consistent.

Hardish Sandhu

Use AI to check adulteration

Food adulteration, especially of milk and its products such as khoya, paneer and curd etc is a cause for concern. Moreover, neither government agencies nor the people are concerned about its ill-effects on the health of the people. During the lockdown imposed because of the Covid pandemic, functions such as weddings and other events besides restaurants, eating joints were closed for months to prevent gatherings. These were places where milk products were used in plenty but surprisingly those supplying milk never made any complaint of milk being wasted due to less consumption. It clearly shows that milk and related products are manufactured by artificial means. Vegetable oil is mixed to increase the fat content but as it does not dissolve in milk, detergent powder is further mixed to dissolve it. It is alleged that urea and other harmful chemicals are used to manufacture adulterated milk. How to prevent it? Years ago, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, developed a strip which cost just Rs 10 to check the adulterated milk and this test is completed within 10 minutes. But the people are not aware as to from where to buy it. Recently, a pharmaceutical expert, Prof Ashish Baldi from Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University, developed a first of its kind mobile phone application to detect adulteration in unprocessed spices and herbs. It is the outcome of a project funded by the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. Artificial intelligence is the basis for this innovation. Further, it is claimed that it can detect adulteration in food items also. It is time to develop such techniques to check milk adulteration because the old techniques to check such adulteration cost Rs 5 lakh to Rs 80 lakh to set up one lab. Above all, stringent punishment like life imprisonment for an offence like adulteration in milk or its products can be a good deterrent.

Naresh Johar

People must exercise caution

The twilight that sends the rooks to their nests, sends the foxes to prowl. The festivals that remind the populace of the arrival of winter and to declare the event by feasting and sharing, tempt the adultrators and other anti-social elements to make a quick buck by cheating and stealing. During the season, there is an increased footfall in the city because of the birth anniversaries of Guru Nanak Dev and Guru Gobind Singh. The demand for everything, particularly eatables, also increases. On Diwali, it is customary to exchange sweets. People are cautious, but not cautious enough. Artificial khoya, artificial cheese (paneer), use of toxic dyes and other colouring agents in confectionery attract the innocent buyers. Health authorities remain vigilant and frequently raid suspicious manufacturers and sellers, but the criminals somehow succeed in pushing their products. Only standard and well certified products should be patronised and those too with caution as to the date of packing. Ideally, milk and meat products should be avoided to the extent it is possible. By and large, it is a pleasant period. People want to move out, meet friends and relatives, to see places. Malls and markets are so inviting and are mostly places to spend and have fun.

Prof Mohan Singh

Awareness drives must be carried out

With the festive season just around the corner, authorities must remain alert to food adulteration practices in Amritsar. Regular checking drives must be initiated at random establishments to check any adulterated items. Hefty penalties must be issued for violators to ensure that people have access to good food. A mobile application should be launched using which people could upload pictures or videos of adulterated items and the sellers for quick action by the authorities. Regular awareness drives must be carried out so that people are made aware regarding food adulteration.

Jatinderpal Singh Batth

Rope in social activists to keep check

Come October and there is a season of celebrations and festivities. With this, the demand for Indian delicacies shoots up. Catering to huge demand, the raw material especially milk and other dairy products can’t suffice. Hence there appear adulterated food items. Despite checks and raids by government officials, the process goes on. Sorry to say, unconscientious food control staff can be easily bribed. The halwais/confectioners just aim to get maximum profit during the festive season. The administration should keep a strict vigil on the sweet-meat dealers. The erring staff should be dealt with an iron hand. Easy-to-handle kits for food quality control systems should be spared for social activists. Voluntary service from NGOs should be solicited. As it is said, spare the rod and spoil the child. Similarly, if the administration means business, the accused should be dealt with IPC under attempt to kill. After all, playing with human life is not an act to deal with softly.

Madhu Sharma

Implementation of laws should be ensured

Most eatables are adulterated to earn profits. The man of today has become blinded by his greed for money. The festive season is an appropriate time for filling food samples and checking the rate of adulteration in sweets and other milk products. The FSSAI should take strict action against the vendors who sell adulterated eatables. If the FSSAI imposes a fine on the erring shopkeepers and cancels their licence, it would go a long way in checking the quality of milk products and other sweets. Such steps are the need of the hour.

Anita

Penalise violators to check adulteration

With the intention of earning bigger profits, some people eatables with harmful chemicals. Food adulteration poses a risk to public health. It is the duty of every state in India to check adulteration. State Governments should take this issue seriously. The demand for milk is remains high, thanks to its heavy daily consumption. The demand shoots up during the festive season. In order to meet the supply of milk, some people turn to adulteration. The World Health Organisation has even flagged the problem of milk adulteration in India. A major portion of the population might face serious diseases by 2025. Seasonal festivals are arriving soon, and there is going to be a rise in adulteration in milk products like sweets, paneer and khoya. The state authorities must stay alert. A few days ago, the Chief Minister of Rajasthan had announced action those involved in adulteration. The Food Safety And Satandard Authority of India makes tough laws against adulteration but the implementation of those laws remains lax. Adulteration is a serious issue in India. Government of India should come up with new guidelines to check adulteration. The Food Safety And Standard Authority of India should conduct regular raids during the ongoing festive season.Those found guilty should be punished. Their licences should be cancelled, and a heavy fine should be imposed on the violators.

Sucha Sagar

Quality checks of dairy products a must

In order to prevent food adulteration during this festive season, the authorities should conduct surprise raids on all shops selling dairy items. If they found anything wrong in their raids, they should take strict action against the guilty vendors by imposing fines, seizure of their dairy products and restricting them to sell their dairy products in nearby future. Secondly, before selling dairy products, quality checks of each dairy products by health officials should be made compulsory by the authorities whereby product could be sold by vendors of dairy products only after they get it tested by health officials. Officials should be directed in return to paste stickers on dairy products checked by them mentioning “Approved/OK” on them and also put validity dates of it.

Sanjay Chawla

QUESTION

The state government has allowed a two-hour window for bursting ‘green’ crackers on Diwali and Gurpurb. e-commerce sites have been prohibited from selling or delivering crackers in the state. Will these moves be successful in curbing air pollution?

Suggestions in not more than 200 words can be sent to amritsardesk@tribunemail.com by Thursday (October 20)