BENGALURU: After cracking down on bakeries for alleged excessive use of additives and colouring, the Food Safety and Standards Department of Karnataka has now picked up multiple samples of garlic after numerous complaints that “Chinese garlic” is being mixed with organic garlic and is being sold across the state.
As Chinese garlic is banned because of its high pesticide content, the department conducted a mass survey over the last three days and has sent the samples to labs for tests.
An FSSAI official said Chinese garlic is harmful because of potential contamination with pesticides and heavy metals.
“This variety is being exported from Afghanistan and is usually treated with chemicals that cause liver damage, gastrointestinal issues and weakened immune function,” the official added.
Additionally, with Dasara around the corner, the department has also started collecting samples of sweets.
“Even at some of the best shops across the state and city, inspections revealed that the preparation and storage practices were shockingly filthy,” an official said. Excessive amounts of colours are used that leave hands stained for days, raising serious concerns over food safety and hygiene, he added.
On the recent inspections which revealed that popular varieties of cake like red velvet and black forest contain cancer-causing ingredients, Food Safety Commissioner Srinivas K told TNIE that inspections of various cake samples revealed “highly unsanitary and pathetic” preparation methods, with additive usage exceeding permissible limits by 10-16 times in most cases.
“Consuming a single slice of such a cake loaded with that high chemical is beyond harmful and is like ingesting more chemicals in one bite than one would consume from eating cake for an entire year,” the commissioner said.
After the Tirupati laddu incident, the department had recently collected ghee samples from across the state. While detailed reports are awaited, officials told TNIE that the majority of the samples were safe for consumption.