The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : Customs officials concerned over import of adulterated food products

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Monday, Oct 19, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Customs officials concerned over import of adulterated food products

P.Oppili and Ramya Kannan

CHENNAI: The increased import of duplicate electronic goods, fake cosmetic products, hazardous toys, duplicate two-wheeler spare parts, mobile phone accessories and adulterated food products is causing concern among Customs officials.

But none is more worrying than adulterated food products that cause harm to those who consume them.

Adulterated sweets — usually imported from the southeast Asian region — are being increasingly imported into India via Chennai, they say. C. Rajan, Commissioner of Customs, Seaport (Imports), said that since March this year a large quantity of fake products have been brought in.

While some of them were meant for Chennai, a couple of products were imported by traders in Mumbai through the Chennai port.

Earlier this month, a surprise check by the Customs authorities resulted in the seizure of adulterated chewing gums, jelly sticks, biscuits and candies imported from Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China.

Samples of these products were sent to the Food Analysis Laboratory; King Institute, Guindy; and Central Food Laboratory, Mysore. Results revealed that some contained hazardous chemicals beyond permissible limits.

In all the cases, the authorities noticed that the content of the products was not clearly mentioned and also the labels contained misleading information.

As far as candies were concerned, the words ‘Added Flavour’ should be printed to describe such a product. However, sugar-boiled confectionery was described as ‘Guava Candy.’ This was only a sample, Mr. Rajan said, adding that about a dozen more containers had arrived in Chennai and were lying in various Container Freight Stations.

Most of these products have melamine in them, says T. Jeyakumar, the former State officer for prevention of Food Adulteration, and Joint Director, Public Health. Melamine is a nitrogen-rich chemical used in the manufacture of fertilizers, which is banned in foods, but they have been added to show an apparent hike in the protein value of the product, he says. It is found in products such as ice-creams, chocolates, infant feed and biscuits, Dr. Jeyakumar adds.

It has been established in the U.S. that prolonged consumption of products contaminated with melamine can even lead to kidney disorders.

Food colouring

Another issue is with the use of “permitted food colouring” according to him. “Permitted colours are clearly specified, but we often find products (even local) that use non-permitted colours. For instance, Sudan Red, VRS Blue and Metanin Yellow are a strict no-no, but we have found them during raids,” he says.

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