adulteration

Milk... that ever-enduring milk. For time immemorial it had had been the basic staple food right from our growing up stage, to when we have grown up. As a child we need it for growth and as a grown up we need it for replenishing our nutrition daily. Tired and bogged down, need something to rejuvenate... take a glass of milk. But even this has not been spared.Turmeric is the basic ingredient of all our Indian cooking. Any Indian dish is not complete without it. But before you buy your next quota of this "masala" be careful of what you are buying. It may be adulterated with, Lead chromate, (which adds color as well as weight to it, being heavier), Metanil Yellow dye Or any starch based items like flour or rice powder or even industrial starch. Except flour or rice powder, all the other adulterants are health hazardous and cause irreparable damage to our system when eaten at regular intervals for a long period of time. Take for instance Lead chromate, it is one of the most toxic salts of lead. It can cause anemia, paralyses, mental retardation and brain damage in children and abortion in pregnant women. Metanil yellow dye which is another non-permissible toxic colorant, is used mostly to color Besan or gram flour, pulses, miscellaneous prepared foods namely sweetmeats like ladoo, burfi, jelabi, dalmoth, papad, etc. to get that attractive deep yellow color. Food grade colors are available in the market but being more costly, traders take advantage of the lackadaisical approach of the law enforcing authorities and substitute it with the said cheap and non-permissible dyes and colors.