Adulteration is a major concern
Adulteration of food is a major concern in most third world countries, and India is no stranger to it. A lot of food products are mixed with foreign agents for a variety of reasons. Milk is often mixed with water, milk powder, and even detergent so that more milk can be saved to sell another batch. Vegetables and fruits are adulterated with dye to make the stale variety appear fresh. Adulterated food can be life threatening and can lead to multiple health issues that can be life threatening.
Seizing of adulterated edible oil
A new entrant to the adulterated food list is edible oil. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seized around 1500 litres of unlabelled cooking oil, on suspicion of it being adulterated. The oil tins were stocked in a warehouse near a town called Anur, Coimbatore, and were immediately seized. The warehouse belonged to a resident from Kariyagoundanur village, near Annur.
The raid
The surprise raid was conducted on Monday, 27th August, and it was found that the business was being run by a father-son duo, who were adding refined palm olein, a high fat liquid component of palm oil, to groundnut oil, coconut oil, and sunflower oil. Dr. K. Tamilselvan, Designated Officer of FSSAI in Coimbatore, said, “We have lifted samples of the oils, which will be tested in a Government food laboratory. Further action will be taken based on the test results.”
The business
The duo was mixing super olein, which costs ₹70 per litre, and selling the adulterated groundnut oil for a price ranging from ₹240 to ₹280 per litre. They were selling the oil to many areas within Coimbatore such as Annur, Mettupalayam, Sirumugai and Periyanaickenpalayam, without having obtained a license from FSSAI to carry out the business. This had been going on for four years, and all the oil tins were unlabelled. The warehouse was sealed after the raid.