Mumbai, Nov 24 (NationPress) Shiv Sena UBT MP Priyanka Chaturvedi has expressed grave concerns regarding the illegal incorporation of Auramine, a carcinogenic dye, into roasted chana and various food items in a letter directed to Union Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda.

The MP referenced recent investigations revealing that this industrial dye, primarily utilized in textiles and leather, is illicitly introduced into food products to improve their visual appeal, breaching the Food Safety and Standards Act.

Chaturvedi underscored alarming evidence indicating that Auramine is being wrongfully added to roasted chana (chickpeas) to intensify its color. She labeled this not only a breach of food safety regulations but also a significant threat to the health, safety, and trust of millions of Indian citizens, highlighting a failure in regulatory oversight by the FSSAI.

She pointed out that Auramine is strictly banned under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and is identified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO) as a potential carcinogen associated with various cancers, including those of the liver, kidney, and bladder, alongside neurological damage.

"Despite these evident dangers and prohibitions, this adulteration persists without control," she remarked.

Highlighting systemic enforcement failures, the Rajya Sabha MP pinpointed several deficiencies, such as weak market surveillance, insufficient routine testing, delayed public alerts, poor enforcement, inadequate compliance checks, and a lack of accountability for violations.

“These deficiencies have permitted an outright illegal and hazardous practice to endure without scrutiny or consequences," she observed.

Chaturvedi has called upon the Ministry to take swift action on various fronts.

She demands that the Ministry issue a nationwide health alert regarding Auramine contamination, conduct extensive testing of roasted chana and related food items to detect contaminated batches, enforce stringent measures including inspections, lab tests, license revocations, penalties, and imprisonment for offenders, instruct state health departments for concurrent testing and enforcement, and carry out an internal audit of FSSAI protocols to pinpoint systemic failures that allow such violations.

“The inclusion of carcinogenic dyes in food is an intolerable violation of public safety. It is imperative for the Ministry to intervene urgently to safeguard public health and restore consumer confidence in food safety systems," asserted Chaturvedi.

The MP's letter comes at a time of escalating concerns regarding food adulteration in India, raising significant questions about the effectiveness of food safety regulations and enforcement mechanisms in the nation.

This matter has been flagged for immediate ministerial attention, with Chaturvedi advocating for rapid and decisive action to protect the health of millions of Indian consumers who regularly consume roasted chana and similar food products.