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Plea for an immediate check on use of colouring agents on vegetables

DEHRA DUN: Nutrition experts and social activists have urged the Uttarakhand Government to immediately check the use of poisonous colours on vegetables like brinjal and bitter gourd as it is resulting in slow poisoning of the users.

Anuradha Singh and Alka Sharma, both nutritionists, said the brinjals available in the market these days were shining while the bitter gourd was a deep green. These colours do not appear naturally and the people should avoid buying and consuming such vegetables, they said.

State Horticulture Department officials admitted that farmers were not only spraying heavy doses of pesticides and insecticides but also using colouring agents to make the vegetables look more attractive.

Although the farmers are advised not to sell their vegetables for about ten days after spraying insecticides or pesticides, they are selling them off within two days to increase the shelf life of the produce.

Arvind Sajwan, a resident of Mussoorie, hoped the Government would immediately check the rampant use of colouring agents in vegetables.

“These days even the spinach when washed leaves the water green,” he said.

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Plea for an immediate check on use of colouring agents on vegetables

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