A recent inspection by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) revealed that nearly 22% of Pani Puri samples collected from across the state did not meet safety standards. This comes a few days after the food safety officials banned artificial colouring in kebabs, gobi manchurian and cotton candy. Recently, they also inspected Pani Puri stalls and some famous eateries. Samples were collected from 79 places in Karnataka. According to a Deccan Herald report, 41 of these samples were found to be unsafe as they contained artificial colours and even cancer-causing elements.
Another 18 samples were deemed to be of poor quality and unsafe for consumption. Chemicals such as Brilliant Blue, Sunset Yellow and Tartrazine were found in the samples collected by department officials.
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Speaking to the newspaper, Food Safety Commissioner Srinivas K. said the decision to check the quality of pani puri was taken after the authority received several complaints.
Srinivas said that since pani puri is a popular chaat, they received many complaints about its quality. Samples were collected from all kinds of shops, from roadside eateries to well-known restaurants, across Karnataka. The test results showed that a large number of samples were unfit for consumption.
The Food Safety Commissioner said that officials are currently analysing the results to better understand the impact of these chemicals. He also assured that FSSAI will enforce safety standards at small eateries and take action against violators.
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Dr Vishal Rao, Dean, Academic Research Centre, HCG Cancer Centre, said, “From general stomach upset to cardiovascular diseases, these artificial colours can cause a host of health issues. Some of these colours can even cause autoimmune diseases or kidney damage. It is very important that we stop using them as they have no other value except making food look visually appealing.”
Earlier, FSSAI had inspected more than 200 bus stands in Karnataka, which included more than 700 shops. These shops were selling expired products or were operating without FSSAI license. A senior FSSAI official told The New Indian Express that during the inspection, they found a shop at Malur bus stand in Kolar district, where only expired products including chips, soft drinks, juices, snacks and biscuits were being sold. FSSAI has temporarily closed the shop.