A lab report enclosed with the RTI response reveals harmful chemicals in curry powders of prominent brands that are widely used in Kerala.
Published Sep 05, 2022 | 12:52 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 06, 2022 | 12:09 PM
Spices (Wikimedia Commons)
The people of Kerala are consuming powdered spice products that contain ethion, a chemical pesticide used in farming, an RTI response has revealed.
The spiked products include those sold by prominent brands and are used daily across the state.
The RTI response, which also lists bottled water brands found unsafe for drinking, was provided by the Regional Analytical Laboratory in Kakkanad, Ernakulam.
The RTI was filed by Kannur-based environmental activist Leonard John.
VR Vinod, Kerala’s Commissioner of Food Safety, told South First that the companies found guilty would be prosecuted.
The Kakkanad lab report, accessed by South First, lists products of daily use such as chilli chicken masala, turmeric powder, coriander powder, chilli powder and packaged drinking water.
Among the popular brands are Kitchen Treasures, Melam, Eastern, Sarah’s, Brahmins, Double Horse, Popular, Vijay, Devon and Shakthi.
The lab tested samples from Alappuzha and Palakkad districts.
As per its report, among the chilli powder brands found to have the highest ethion content was Eastern at 3.36 mg/kg, followed by Brahmins at 2.21mg/kg, against the permissible tolerance limit of 0.01 mg/kg.
A joint study by several US universities has found that the side-effects of consuming ethion, classified as an organophosphate, include nausea, cramps, diarrhoea, blurred vision, and abnormal heartbeat.
Prolonged oral usage can even lead to the death.
Environmental activist John said despite the damning evidence in the report, the guilty companies did not fear any action as they believed the state machinery would shield them.
He also accused television channels and newspapers in Kerala of not highlighting the lab report as they were dependent on the ad revenues from these companies.
“One major brand offered me a huge sum of money for not disclosing the details and filing a case against them. I told them why don’t you use this money and buy natural chilli from the farmer?” said John.
Popular Malayalam actress Manju Warrier is a brand ambassador for products from Kitchen Treasures, one of the companies whose offerings are listed in the Kakkanad lab report.
John also said he declined an invitation from the office of the food safety commissioner for a meeting on the issue, saying he did so as he suspected it was to reach a compromise.
Food safety commissioner Vinod said his department had withdrawn the contaminated batches from the market, and that it would soon take the guilty companies to court.
“We can’t do anything more than withdrawing the products from the shops and filing a case,” he told South First. “We don’t have the power to ban brands from the state.”
As for the invitation to John, Vinod said his department was hoping for “inputs” from him.
