Colored Cotton Candy & Gobi Manchurian faces ban Health Minister of the state Government of Karnataka ordered a crackdown on the prepara...
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| Colored Cotton Candy & Gobi Manchurian faces ban |
Health Minister of the state Government of Karnataka ordered a crackdown on the preparation and sale of the most sold and well-known artificially colored food and snack dishes that are served both on the curbside as well on the restaurants.
Gobi Manchurian and Cotton Candy came under direct fire after many samples were found to have carcinogenic chemicals used for artificially coloring it to please the eyes of the consumer. Dinesh Gundurao, Health Minister of State, however ruled out a total ban on the sale of these items on an immediate basis.
Food safety officials of the Karnataka health department have said to have obtained 200+ samples from Bengaluru and other parts of the state, subjected those samples to analysis and many were found to have containing cancer-causing chemicals. The crackdown came right after the neighboring state governments of Tamil Nadu and Goa, who recently imposed a full-scale ban on the sale of cotton candy and gobi manchurian respectively who found had similar results,
It is a well known fact, being documented by many food influencers that these food items were prepared using artificial coloring agents to please the eye of the potential customers, even at the cost of the consumers' health. Explaining the test results, Health Minister revealed,
“Out of the 171 gobi samples, as many as 107 samples tested positive for carcinogenic chemicals such as Tartrazine, Sunset Yellow, and Carmosine color. Similarly, out of the 25 samples of cotton candy, about 15 samples tested positive for artificial and cancer-causing chemicals like Tartrazine and Rhodamine-B.”
What is shocking is the fact that despite the knowledge of these chemicals being used, the food safety & health department officials who had turned a blind eye on such practices either until the minister or the neighbours take action.
Further elaborating the statement, Dinesh Gundurao gave out a warning to the kitchen/restaurant operators.
“Any violation of this order by food vendors, eateries, and hotels/restaurants will attract punishment, including imprisonment for 7 years to a life term and a penalty of ₹10 lakh, besides canceling the trade licenses.”
Also to note that it is not just these two eatables that contain such coloring agents, also more than a quarter of the dishes prepared outside use such chemicals. Be it red or hariyali kebabs, tandoori meat, multiple gravy dishes, even cakes, candies, ice-creams, etc use such coloring and taste enhancement chemicals that are known to be harmful to our health.
Minister also ruled out imposing any ban on the sale of these food items, saying.
“Gobi is a nutritious vegetable and people should eat it. We are only acting against those who resort to using artificial and synthetic chemicals. Similarly, non-colored candy (white) has also been permitted for sale.”
When asked how the department would ensure non-usage of such chemicals as people may not be knowing, the minister said,
“The food safety wing of the health department will take up statewide awareness and campaigns to drive home the message against the usage of these chemicals. We will deploy more personnel for sampling and regular checks of stalls and eateries. Furthermore, after the random sampling, the department will also start legal sampling of these eatables for documentation.”
However, it is the consumer who needs to educate themselves on the choices of these wrongly prepared food items that could do serious damage to their long & healthy life. Not just coloring agents, but even tasting agents do equally, if not more harm to your health.
Remember, that once a wise man said,
“Eat food to please your 20+ feet gastro-intestinal system, and NOT to please the 2+ inch tongue.”
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