While the State authorities continue to take token action against the increased sale of adulterated food items during festivities, an alarming proportion of the items being sold in Dehradun are adulterated. laboratory tests of samples collected from different parts of the State capital by the Society of Pollution and Environmental Conservation Scientists (SPECS) has revealed that about 74 per cent of the samples were adulterated.
According to SPECS secretary Dr Brij Mohan Sharma, between October 18 and 22, the society collected 218 samples of various food items from Hanuman Chowk, Saharanpur Chowk, Patelnagar, Paltan Bazaar, Karanpur, Krishnanagar, Dharmpur, Rest Camp, Rajpur Road, Panditwadi, Railway Station, Hathibadkala, Dakra Bazaar and other places. Of these samples, 163 (74 per cent) of the samples were found to be adulterated. Eighty per cent of the milk samples were adulterated, 75 per cent of Mewa samples, 70 per cent of paneer, 80 per cent of laddoos, 70 per cent of milk cake, 90 per cent Gulab Jamuns, 66 per cent Kaju Barfi, 50 per cent biscuits, 90 per cent mustard oil, 100 per cent vermillion, 70 per cent refined oil, 80 per cent turmeric and 90 per cent red chilli powder samples were found to be adulterated. According to Sharma, of the 20 milk samples tested, 16 were adulterated of which six were found to be completely synthetic containing urea, detergent, dried milk, refined oil and starch while two samples contained the industrial chemical formalin. Mewa was found adulterated with boiled potato, dried milk, refined oil and dalda; paneer was adulterated with butter oil, corn flour, urea and soya flour; milk cake was adulterated with alum, dried milk, refined oil and urea; white petha was found to be unadulterated while its yellow version was found adulterated with industrial dyes; mustard oil was found to be adulterated with industrial dye, motor oil and castor oil while vermillion was found to be adulterated with lead chromate.
Sharma further informed that SPECS had been conducting lab tests of food items and raising awareness on food adulteration for more than a decade now. Though the authorities conduct sampling drives, no concrete action is taken to stop sale of adulterated items.