Authorities must intensify surveillance and sampling with stricter penalties

Many times, we are attracted to bright yellow sweets in the nearby sweetmeat shop or yellow chickpeas in the market. These appealing foods could be dangerous to our health. They may be adulterated with synthetic dyes, such as Auramine. Auramine O, an artificial dye not permitted for use in foods, keeps appearing in various food items, including bright yellow chickpeas, sweets, turmeric powder, street food snacks, and savoury items, and is a public health concern in India. Taking note of this problem, (1) the food authorities have recently come out with an order to initiate targeted enforcement actions, including inspection, sampling, testing, and subsequent actions for products that are vulnerable to adulteration by auramine in organised, unorganised sectors, e-commerce, for manufacturing, processing, storage, distribution, and sale of such products. Read More