Now, green grocers on FSDA radar
Dept to take action post complaints of chemical colouring, artificial ripening of fruits and veggies
Luscious tomatoes, crisp leafy vegetables, shiny brinjals and fresh pod peas are apt to tempt any customer at the green grocer’s. But just how many of us know that the vendors have used artificial colours, dyes, or chemicals to keep the veggies fresh and attractive for days?
Artificial things used to elongate the shelf life of veggies can have an injurious effect on human health.
So now the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) department is ready to crack down on vegetable sellers after a number of complaints regarding vegetables grown with the help of hormone injections and colours being used by vendors to make them look better.
The FSDA has banned specific artificial colours in the past, but the vegetable vendors, especially the wholesalers, keep on using the harmful colours, dyes and injections to maintain the freshness of the vegetables.
“Sometimes farmers inject oxytocin in pumpkins and cauliflowers to increase their size. The vegetable sellers use green colour to make pointed gourd, gourd and ladyfinger look more attractive,” said chief food safety officer SP Singh.
He added, “Wanton use of chemical colours and hormones contravenes their nutritional benefits. There have been reports of use of carbide, malachite green and rhodamine oxide to highlight colour and freshness. Frequent consumption of these chemicals can result in several diseases, including cancer.”
He said any citizen who felt that the vegetables were being coloured could report to FSDA and the department would take immediate action.
‘’The shiny green exterior of green vegetables like lady finger, gourd, pointed gourd, bitter gourd, peas and chilies is due to use of malachite green, which is a textile dye. This is a carcinogenic product, said prof Rakesh Kapoor, director Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences (SGPGIMS).
He said use of malachite green could cause cancer.
Some green vegetables are given a facelift by using copper sulfate, which adversely affects liver and kidneys. It also causes the formation of free radicals in the body, which intensify the ageing process.
Rhodamine B, is a known carcinogen, used to give red hue to cherries. It is also a skin irritant. Calcium carbide is also used to artificially ripen fruits like mangoes and bananas. ‘’It is also a reported carcinogen,” said professor Kapoor. .
The most worrying fact is this: washing does not eliminate the chemicals that have already penetrated into the interior of the fruit or the vegetable.
“Soon we will take action against those using artificial colours, dyes or chemicals in ripening, colouring or elongating shelf life of fruits and vegetables,” said the chief food safety officer.