Tuesday, August 21, 2012

FOOD: ADULTERATION

Prosecution is a must for control

These contracts are low on transparency and reek of the kind of corruption that has plagued almost every government department across the country. Even spurious drugs are rampant, especially in smaller towns and cities; where curbs are even more conspicuous by absence.

Adulteration is a menace that can only be clamped down by strict policy controls. India should learn from the Chinese example. The Chinese government executed a dairy farmer and a milk salesman in November last year for supplying tainted milk. These two men had tried to augment their profits by selling melamine-laced milk powder that led to the deaths of 6 children and affecting a whopping 300,000. Besides, the Chinese authorities have punished various people accused in several incidents involving food adulteration that included drug-tainted fish, industrial dye used to colour egg yolk red and pork tainted with banned feed additives in the last one year. In India, such cases are largely overlooked. The law is strong, but implementation has to be even stronger.


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posted by Editorial at 5:17 PM