17 minutes agoAuthor: Sandeep Singh
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The holy festival of brother and sister Raksha Bandhan will be celebrated across the country on August 19. This festival cannot be imagined without sweets.
As the festival season approaches, the demand for sweets increases in the market. In such a situation, adulterators also become active.
In order to earn profit, adulterators sell sweets with fake and chemical colours, which can cause stomach infections and many serious diseases if consumed. Apart from this, adulterated sweets are also dangerous for the liver, kidneys and heart.
so today news of need I will talk about how to identify adulterated sweets during festivals? Along with that, we will also know that-
- What kind of health problems can eating adulterated sweets cause?
- What kind of precautions should be taken before buying sweets?
Expert:
Dr. Hari Prasad Yadav, Gastroenterologist, Medanta Hospital (Indore)
Chaturbhuj Meena, State Food Analyst (Jharkhand)
Question: What kind of adulteration is done in sweets?
answer- Food analyst Chaturbhuj Meena says that milk, mawa and ghee are required to make most sweets. During the festival season, the demand for sweets increases manifold. To meet this demand, adulterators add dangerous things like detergent, urea, refined oil in milk. Mawa is prepared from this, which is very dangerous for health.
Whereas, many chemicals including palm oil, animal fat and hydrogenated oil are mixed in making fake ghee.
Apart from this, silver foil is used to make the sweets shiny and attractive. But in adulterated sweets, foil made of aluminium chemicals is used, which can harm health in many ways.
Question: What kind of health problems can occur by eating adulterated sweets?
answer- Dr. Hari Prasad Yadav explains that by eating adulterated sweets, the good bacteria present in our intestines start to die, due to which immunity starts to weaken. Usually the symptoms of health problems caused by eating adulterated sweets appear after 12 to 24 hours. In such a situation, the victim should be immediately taken to the nearest hospital for treatment.
Understand from the graphic given below what kind of health problems can occur by eating adulterated sweets.
Question: Can adulterated sweets harm the heart, kidneys or liver?
answer- Dr. Hari Prasad Yadav says that generally eating adulterated sweets does not cause such problems. But if someone consumes them for a long time, the risk of heart disease increases manifold.
Apart from this, liver and kidney can get damaged because urea and palm oil are used in adulterated sweets, which is harmful for the body.
Question – How can we identify pure sweets?
answer- When you smell the real sweets made from mawa, you get the smell of milk. When you rub the real sweet on your palm, you don’t get the smell of chemicals.
Apart from this, if after adding yellow iodine tincture, the colour of mawa becomes black instead of yellow then understand that the mawa is fake.
Understand from the graphic given below how to identify adulterated sweets.
Question: What things should be kept in mind while buying sweets?
answer- One should avoid buying colorful sweets on the occasion of the festival because most of the sweets are colored by adding artificial colors.
Apart from this, it is important to check the certification of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on packaged sweets. FSSAI certification ensures that the product meets the standards of food safety and quality.
Understand from the graphic given below.
Question: Where can I complain if I suspect adulteration?
answer- Food analyst Chaturbhuj Meena says that if a shopkeeper sells fake sweets, you can complain about it to FSSAI. For this, complain on toll free number 1800112100.
To lodge a complaint online, you can visit FSSAI’s complaint portal or ‘Food Safety Connect’ app. The customer has to spend money on testing the food sample. If the claim is found to be true in the investigation, the customer’s money is refunded.
In many states, there is a provision of fine up to Rs 10 lakh and life imprisonment for adulteration of food items.
