Though hardly anyone celebrates Diwali without sweets, the alarming increase in the sale of adulterated sweets, milk and dairy items is a serious cause for concern.
The authorities conduct food sampling drives, but these are ineffective in tackling the adulteration as the products are already sold and consumed before the lab test report is received by the authorities.
The Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists (SPECS) has conducted two studies in the month of October this year to check adulteration.
The studies have highlighted the rampant adulteration in food items and mustard oil across the State prior to the festival of Diwali with more than 50 per cent of the samples being found tobe adulterated.
All the samples were tested at the SPECS laboratory in Dehradun which was sponsored by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
Apart from the sampling of sweets and food items, 283 samples of mustard oil from 22 cities in 13 districts were also collected and most of them were found to be adulterated.
The samples were collected from Dehradun, Mussoorie, Vikasnagar, Rishikesh, Haridwar, Roorkee, Srinagar,Rudraprayag, Karnprayag, Chamoli, Gopeshwar, Uttarkashi, Tehri, Chamba, Haldwani, Nainital,
Almora, Champawat, lohaghat, Bageshwar, Berinag and Pithoragarh. The adulterants found in the mustard oil include cyanide, castor oil and Mobil oil.
These can cause skin problem, heart disorder, dropsy, glaucoma, cancer, respiratory and stomach problems.
However, the president of Doon Udhyog Vyapar Mandal, Vipin Nagaliya said that checking for food adulteration is good but it should not be done during the festive season and should in stead be done at least a month before the festival.
Checks during the festive season affects the business of traders at the peak time. Such studies during Diwali create problems for the shopkeepers and also affect their profit margin.
He said that 99 per cent khoya and milk comes from different States and if these are adulterated, the shopkeepers cannot be blamed for it.
The authorities should conduct workshops regarding adulterated foods so they can teach local shopkeepers how to differentiate between adulterated and pure khoya and milk, added Nagaliya.