- Every Indian must be nodding in agreement with what has been known for ages now. We have been brought up on stories of how unscrupulous elements with nary a thought about ethical, moral, and/or responsibility towards society indulge in maleficence practices resulting in avoidable incidents, including the adulteration of food and beverages. Several such instances of grave concerns have been reported over the years but unfortunately, they keep repeating with alarming regularity. Yes, it’s an open secret how business conglomerates, behemoths, and big enterprises in the food industry find themselves noticed by indulging in such acts that go against the hallowed value systems that we are proud to bandy about on any given opportunity.
PC: Health
- Whatever food products are out there must be carefully inferred by the people simply because the usage of preservatives in processed food is concealed for the general understanding of the commoners. Experts may be in a position to decipher those fine prints but trust me, the majority of us would be unaware of the fine prints. The entire nation must have felt cheated when the news reports of alleged animal products were found to be used in the Tirupati Laddu prasadam. The faith of millions of people will be hurt by this dastardly revelation. The Tirupati controversy reminds us how common adulterated food is in the country and how little is done about it. Expectedly, the serious issue of adulteration of temple prasad has spawned a political slugfest.
- Various places of worship and organizations that distribute cooked food, investigators, and food adulteration safety inspectors need to review food checks and controls forthwith. Places of worship are vested with deep trust. Following the Tirupati allegations made in public, all supplies were reportedly suspended, and vendors replaced, including those for ghee. But adulteration itself needs further scientific probe – from the place of procurement of samples to the period of adulteration. It also needs to be seen what quality checks high footfall places such as Tirupati have in place, how frequent is the food monitoring, and the SOP in the event of a breach. How frequently do state regulators oversee food inspections in places of worship, nationwide?
PC: Vijaya sweets
- Mind you, adulteration is institutionalized nationwide. Community feeding as a mass activity is common across states, the mass distribution of cooked meals is also a state activity. The successful mid-day meal scheme is hobbled with cases of adulteration where kids have fallen severely sick. Leave aside fertilizer/pesticide residue in veggies and fruits, antibiotics in poultry, or lead and arsenic in water. Spices and cooking mediums remain among the most adulterated items. The food inspection network is woefully lacking, failing to tackle adulteration by rooting it out. What typically happens is a rash of raids, seizures, and bans follows any instance of adulteration that goes public. Indeed, the alleged Tirupati contamination is a breach of people’s trust. The regulators should step in now to address this rot that has embedded deep and wide.
