Iftars with lethal dyes haunt people

Orgy of adulteration to rob Ramzan of holy grace
Like in the previous years, textile dyes such as carbide and ethopene are feared to be used this year too for colouring different iftar items including the reddish Jelapi, the saffron Beguni, Peaju and potato chops, different kinds of sweetmeats and even Biriyani to allure unsuspecting customers. Urea fertiliser is also going to be used while frying one of the popular iftar items Muri (puffed rice) to whiten it posing a serious health hazard to the innocent masses, Institute of Public Health  (IPH) sources said.
Mangoes, pineapples, papayas and bananas are artificially ripened using a carcinogenic chemical called ethylene oxide. In the case of bananas, another chemical called calcium carbide is used. Calcium carbide is Acetile gas, and when a food item having a mix of it is eaten, it releases heat into the body. A toxic artificial dye is also used to colour other fruits and vegetables to give them a fresh and attractive look, sources said.
Brick dust is routinely mixed with dried-chilli powder and a poisonous yellow additive is mixed with turmeric powder to make it more yellow. Water and salt are also being mixed with these spices to increase their weight while selling. Cyanide is used to give mustard oil extra pungency, the sources added.
Cooking oil that is so commonly used to deep-fry items should only be used once, but many food vendors and restaurants ‘recycle’ burnt oil. Once the oil is used for cooking, it becomes oxidised. The more the oil is used, the more pre-oxide is created which is quite harmful for the body. The oil turns more poisonous with repeated use.
According to IPH, more than fifty per cent of food samples they have tested are adulterated.  
Professor Dr A.F. Mohiuddin Khan of the Dhaka Medical College Hospital told this correspondent yesterday, “The children would be the worst sufferers for taking in different chemicals and textile dyes in the ifter items.
“The natural growth of intelligence as well as bodies of the children might be affected due to eating of the adulterated food items mixed with chemicals and dyes,” he said. “They would have to suffer metabolic diseases in the future,” he said.
“The kidney function of a man or a woman may fail due to eating of the adulterated foods which will create other complications like high blood pressure,” he added.
“The mindless adulteration should be stopped right now and for this we will have to make people aware about the consequences of eating foods mixed with textile dyes and different chemicals,” he said, adding that the media should play the major role.      
Talking to The Independent, Professor Dr Sheikh Nazrul Islam of Institute of Nutrition and Food Science of Dhaka University said yesterday over telephone, “Consuming textile dyes and other chemicals in the form of food items and fruits like mangoes, bananas is injurious to health.”
“It should be stopped right now, otherwise the nation would have to suffer in the long run.
The government should take effective measures to stop it,” he said. 
 
Courtesy of The Independent