Strict vigil needed
Kashmir valley is witnessing a surge in retail food outlets across the length and breadth. Almost every district is witnessing new food stalls and eateries being introduced as the commoners as well as the arriving tourists are helping this industry to grow.
Though this is a welcome move as many youth are earning their living through these means but at the same point we also need to see that these eateries stick to the schedules and hygiene that is needed t ensure the well being of the people.
In today’s busy world all of us are having busy and uncontrolled schedules. Amidst all this we are left with very little time to tend to our needs which includes the need to consume food.
People mostly the working class have taken an easy route to fill their bellies by visiting food outlets or eateries so that they get the things of their choice and that too at their own convenience.
However, while doing so we fail to ignore the rising trend of food adulteration. Food adulteration is not a new phenomenon in the Valley. Medical experts have been pointing to the fact that food adulteration is witnessing a phenomenal rise, which has led to a rise in patients with gastric problems and many other fatal diseases. Though food adulteration has been going on since centuries but the way this menace is turning ugly is a cause for concern.
Every food item which one consumes outside or even at his home has some element of adulteration. Be it milk, vegetables or any other item, adulteration has touched them all.
Food items including those which we consider as healthy including milk has witnessed huge adulteration and as such the healthy dinks or foods too have the tendency to prove more dangerous to the people especially our young ones.
Despite several government agencies also raising concerns about food adulterations at a massive scale, the topic is met with a tepid response from the administrators and the situation continues to remain as it is.
Though experts have been warning since years that the consumption of contaminated milk could lead to multiple gastroenteritis problems, food poisoning, endocrinological complications and several other chronic diseases, but no one is willing to seek or take action.
If milk is adulterated with water or some other commodity its health values can come down to a large extent, but the way other measures are resorted to, are concerning and need to be tackled.
Most of the dairy owners or those who breed cows for milk have resorted to the use of Oxytocin, an extremely harmful synthetic chemical. What has worsened the situation is that the ban on this and other harmful chemicals has been lifted by the government almost three years back which has added to the woes of the common man.
Oxytocin is a synthetic hormone which cow breeders use frequently to increase the milk output in cows. But the use of this synthetic hormone is detrimental to the health of human and especially the kids.
Another aspect of the food adulteration is the overuse and over dependence on food that we tend to consume in various eateries and other food outlets. The use of colouring and synthetic chemicals here is playing havoc with our lives with no system in place to check or even control the use of these synthetic chemicals.
Food adulteration is a menace, which all of us face regularly. Detection of adulteration in food is an essential requirement for ensuring safety of foods we consume. Although sophisticated lab techniques are accurate, precise and reliable, yet they are costly and time consuming. This gives those using these products enough time to escape the clutches of law.
Food adulteration can only be controlled through a strong legislation and for this the administration can work out a plan to come out with stringent laws. Besides, the authorities deployed to ensure food safety should also maintain a strict vigil to check on any malpractices followed by the food eatery owners.
KV News
