Rampant adulteration in food items continues to pose a real threat to the life of people in the satellite city. Adulteration in Milk, food items and eatables are seen in every nook corner of the country. There is no one to catch hold of the miscreants. The crisis had taken a serious turn in the absence of adequate consumer awareness in the public domain. In general and residents, in particular, are benefited by the presence of MAFCO wholesale market in the vicinity. However, adulteration is the major cause of worry when people go for cheap products in the consumer market. People generally go for seasonal fruits and they enjoy the taste at a cheaper rate. We get plenty of fruits in the market and people go for Mangoes and grapes very much. Generally, they go for Box of fruits and store in their fridge to last longer. However, it is sad to note that these fruits are chemically ripened to get the early market sale and such fruits are not really good for health. So, it is of the utmost importance to wash the fruits very well before use. In a first in the history of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Maharashtra, a huge quantity of artificially ripened bananas was destroyed by the Inspecting Officials. Bananas were being ripened using a lethal chemical normally used in the wedding industry.
In the same way, Alphonso Mango’s export was banned due to artificial ripening of the prestigious fruit before export and send to the UK market for some time. Normally it takes any fruit at least 15 to 20 days to ripen. However, we had information about some shops doing ripening artificially. This can be caught by surprise check by the concerned administration. The fruits used to lie along with a chemical powder called calcium carbide. Generally, the bananas were ripened in the room within 12-14 hours due to the presence and effect of the compound in the room. Needless to say, the bananas no longer remained organic after the chemical reaction. It is noticed that raw bananas are brought and kept in a red chemical mix in a drum so that they ripen faster. They used to do this in broad daylight. During Festival time people will be using more fruits to appease God and by consuming such artificially ripened fruits people suffer from various diseases and harm the health directly. It is time to take care of your health by not buying such artificially ripened fruits from the market. It is time to curb adulteration in the open market and the health inspectors should have a close watch curbing such activities in the near future.
Even the milk we are using on a daily basis is adulterated and contains more toxic substances. We need to have a foolproof system and even 0.01 per cent is found to be adulterated then those milk farm owners should be penalised with a heavy fine for their offence. Thus, adulteration in the consumer market cause worry and the next generation of children will find it very difficult to survive in this adulterated country.
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
