Food adulteration

Almost 3000 food samples have failed the quality parameters in Jammu and Kashmir till early 2020. This shows how alarming an issue food adulteration is turning into. The increasing number of food adulteration cases has come to the fore despite several court directions to the successive governments to set up proper mechanism on the ground to check the quality of the food consumed by the people. Official data shows that over 300 people since 2016 has been convicted in cases involving food adulteration, and serving and selling substandard food products in the state. As per the consumer protection laws, states have to undertake regular monitoring, inspection and sampling of food items to check compliance of the prescribed standards and take penal action when the products are found adulterated, misbranded or are of an inferior quality. Food adulteration is an issue that encompasses the entire society or at least the majority of its people. The increasing consumerism, which in turn is drastically pushing the demand and supply needs, is one of the main reasons why people resort to food adulteration. Lack of proper quality inspection mechanism and less number of workforce too impacts the overall idea of curbing this menace. If the same continues, the consumers will have to think twice before purchasing chilli powder, edible oils and other daily-used food items in the market, as the city and its suburbs have become a hub for adulteration of various commodities. Though food safety and task force officials are conducting surprise checks, the adulteration is continuing unabated. According to the Food Safety and Standards Act 1955, the chemicals used in food items need to be labelled. But many traders and shopkeepers fail to do so. However, the move to make the labelling mandatory is a step in the right direction. Doctors are warning against consuming such products as it damages one’s health. According to food safety department officials, adulteration of food can occur at various levels such as production, entrepreneurship or sale. Consumer vigilance is the need of the hour.  There have been reports of chili powder being adulterated with brick; salt with powdered glass. It is alarming that around 68.7 per cent of milk and milk products sold across India are not as per the standards laid down by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).  The World Health Organisation (WHO) had, in 2018, issued an advisory to the Government of India stating that if adulteration of milk and milk products is not checked immediately, 87 per cent of citizens would be suffering from serious diseases like cancer by the year 2025. Consuming adulterated food is one of the major reasons behind increasing number of life-threatening diseases. Kashmir is witnessing an increase in the number of cancer patients. Research shows that there is a clear link between consumption of sub-standard and adulterated food can be one of the reasons of a person falling prey to this dreaded disease. The government needs to take up the issue on a serious level and ensure that any loopholes in the existing mechanism of food safety are properly plugged and safety of the consumers is given utmost priority.