Food safety officials seize one tonne of adulterated jaggery in Vellore

Ahead of the Pongal festival, Food Safety Department officials seized around a tonne of adulterated jaggery while conducting a surprise inspection of shops and warehouses in Vellore wholesale market on Tuesday.

Officials of the Food Safety Department under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said that traditionally in the British era wholesale market, certain routes within the Corporation limits specialize in selling jaggery, especially during festival seasons in a year such as Deepavali and Pongal.

There are at least 50 jaggery godowns in narrow streets like Mandi Street and Kallukadai (Arrack store) Street. “Most of the jaggery consumed in Chennai, Tiruvallur and Kancheepuram districts comes from Vellore district. Over 1,000 tonnes are produced by farmers in the district throughout the year,” said S. Rajesh, food safety officer (Vellore). Hindu.

The surprise check, the first of the season, was conducted by V. Prabhakaran, Designated Officer (DO) of the Food Safety Department (Vellore), following complaints from consumers about fake jaggery.

Mixing the mash using kesari synthetic powder and wheat flour (maida) to impart more color and weight poses potential health risks that have led the department to conduct such surprise checks, especially during the festive season. P. Gnanavel, president of Vellore All Traders Association, said, “Some traders are damaging rag because they can sell more stocks in a short period of time during the festive season. Awareness is being created among wholesale and retail dealers against adulteration of rag.”

Currently, sugarcane is cultivated and jaggery is made in areas like Anaicut, Madhanur, Kavasampattu, Eraivankadu, Odugathur, Gudiyatham and Pernambut along the Palar river. Health officials said the size and weight of jaggery varies from region to region. For example, jaggery made in Salem, Dharmapuri and Vellore region is smaller in size and weighs between 250 grams and 500 grams. Tirupattur – Krishnagiri district, especially Uthangarai farmers produce jaggery at 1.5 kg each.

Food safety officials said that as per Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) norms, traders should not sell adulterated jaggery mixed with sugar, kesari powder and wheat flour.

Consumers can detect adulterated asperities from original ones, as the adulterated product appears much brighter, often orange, and larger in size. Genuine jaggery is reddish brown and lighter in nature.

Food safety officials warned traders sternly and emphasized that legal action would be taken against those who use chemicals for ripening purposes. The seized rag samples were sent to the Food Analysis Laboratory (FAL) of the Food Safety Commission in Guindy (Chennai). According to the report from FAL, action will be taken against the traders.

Health officials said adulterated jaggery may cause health hazards such as stomach upset, respiratory problems and increased risk of cancer.