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Kathmandu Saturday May 05, 2001 Baishakh 22, 2058.
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Major food,
beverage adulteration detected
By Shree Ram Subedi
KATHMANDU, May 4 – Central Food
Laboratory’s upcoming Public Analyst Report 1999/2000 has recorded a marked rise in
cases of major food and beverage adulteration in Nepal.
The soon-to-be-published Report summarises a
substantial rise in adulteration of mustard and rapeseed oil with Argemone Mexicana.
According to the lab-test conducted by Food
Technology and Quality Control Department (FCQCD), Ministry of Agriculture and
Co-operatives (MoAC), over 66 per cent of the samples were found contaminated. Out of 149
mustard and rapeseed samples, 98 of them were contaminated with Argemone, said the Report.
The trend shows a marked rise because similar
test last year had detected only 28.9 per cent samples of the samples similarly
contaminated.
Argemone Mexicana is a poisonous black seed
that grows along with the mustard in the fields. The Argemone Mexicana seed is quite
similar to mustard seeds in appearance. However its contamination could sometimes be fatal
to human since it contains a toxic alkaloid called "sanguinarine" that causes a
diseases commonly known as "dropsy" leading to renal failure.
"Presence of Argemone to this extent is
a serious concern and its consequences could be fatal at any times," says Dr Tika
Bahadur Karki, Executive Director at FCQCD.
"Our advise is not to consume mustard
oil which is not quality tested," said another senior official at the department.
About three years ago, a similar
contamination is believed to have caused dropsy and created a furore in Nepal and India.
Though, thankfully nothing of that type is likely to happen now, experts warn that
constant exposure to Argemone could invite grave situation in future.
The initial symptoms of dropsy are vomiting,
fever, loose motions and swelling of the lower limbs.
Food analysts at the department say that not
only the mustard oil, but a score of other food items were also found sub-standard to the
extent that they could easily hit hard the health of the consumers.
General food commodities like mustard oil and
other edibles like pasteurised milk, vegetable ghee, ghee, black pulses, chocolates are
also found highly adulterated.
Out of nine pasteurised milk samples tested,
seven (77 per cent) were found contaminated with dysentery causing micro-organism
"coliform". However, the consumers can take solace on the fact that coliform
bacteria die when boiled. Though the department declined to name the concerned dairy, they
accepted that majority of the dairies have ‘coliform’ problems.
Similarly, 44 per cent of black pulses sample
were found adulterated with coal tar and other inedible mix. Last year, the adulteration
figure was only 12.5 per cent. The report also says that 40 per cent of ghee (milk fat) in
the market is contaminated with vegetable fat and high concentration of fatty acid. While
27 per cent of vegetable ghee in the market is contaminated due to the use of low quality
raw materials. However, the adulteration trend in ghee is an improvement over the past
record. The percentage of adulteration of ghee and vegetable ghee in the previous fiscal
years was 61.9 and 34.7 per cent respectively.
Likewise, 54.5 per cent of the samples of
papad was also found to be adulterated. Referring to the general trend of adulteration Dr
Karki said, "On average, twenty per cent of all food samples in the market are
sub-standard."
Amid the growing trend of food adulteration,
officials at the department accept that the quality control enforcement mechanism is weak
and lacks concerted effort.
"Food Act has been enforced in all 75
districts since last years," says Dr Karki but the number of food inspectors
including those at the six laboratories in the country amounts to just 16 and the number
of food analysts stands at 30. "There has to be minimum of 70 food inspectors in the
country," says Dr Karki adding that then only it is possible to bring down the
present level of 20 per cent adulteration to 10/12 per cent.
He also emphasised the need to establish an
autonomous food quality and safety council unit to co-ordinate all quality control
activities, regulation and enforcement. "Time has come to think about the overall
health of people and take the right decision," stresses Dr Karki.
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