Poisonous Foods:The Slow Motion Killer

Government Must Act Against Adulteration

BIJAYBANTAWA
While price of essential commodities is rising in the present market by leaps and bounds, the adulterated and poisonous foodstuffs, like canned vegetables, dried or green fruits, junk foods and more than that the adulterated foodstuffs are harming the health of the mass population, it is particularly making more harm to the people belonging to the middle-class groups, All Poverty Level (APL) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) group. How much the people consume daily such contaminated and adulterated foodstuff daily as their essential commodities, it is beyond estimation, however, the harmful consequence that such foodstuff makes on the common people and thereby make the great loss and impact on the national economy is a matter of serious concern. There are always some kind of greedy people, who out of their fantasy and obsession to become rich overnight are the real culprits who make profit out of black market, storing foodstuff and making the scarcity of essential commodity and hiked the price and then sell their goods in high rate and more than that the offence of adulteration of foods and sell the consumers.
Some years ago, sugar sold at the open market in Siliguri and Sikkim which was fully adulterated by mixing broken grains of rice with sugar at the manufacturing factory. When it is cooked or during the time of preparation, the soluble part of the sugar found dissolved while some part of the sugar surprisingly turned to be pieces of rice. Some people might have thought that it was due to the mixing of small amount of rice with sugar at food godown or during the time of transportation of foodstuff; but it was not so, if carefully examined, the pieces of rice was coming out of the pieces of sugar, which means it was adulterated at the sugar factory. Similarly, in a recent instance, a video showing how the sugar is adulterated and mixed with harmful chemical and plastic went viral. The person who posted the video on social media claimed that the sugar now available in the Indian market is all mixed with poisonous plastic. The plastic is transparent like sugar, it can be dissolved while heating or boiling with water, but when it is not dissolved with cold water. Some parts of sugar are dissolved while vigorously ringing it but the remaining parts remain as such. If it is touched and examined, it is a tiny particle of transparent plastic. What he suggested was that the sugar the people consumed is more poisonous, the people must be conscious enough to use such killer foodstuff.
There are fascinating and rough varieties of foodstuff in the market varying their rate for the same thing. The affluent and person having purchasing power always stress on the quality of foods and never compromise with quality, while the middle and lower class people have to maintain their budget, as such, they definitely like to buy the same food with lower price without considering the danger of the compromising with the quality and therefore, they became easy victim of such poisonous foodstuff. While the Very Very important persons (VVIPs), the leaders, and top brass officers of the country easily can buy and the merchants also make easy access to them the best quality or the imported quality of best foods, the people, in general, suffer due to such black marketeers and greedy businessmen. The leaders of the country are, therefore, unaware of the growing danger of the public health and unhygienic condition and food poisoning of the people at large, because they never go with such fact and incident by themselves.
In the recent incident of the country, within a month, there was the death of 103 children at Kota, Rajasthan where the children were admitted due to severe fever and other reasons, instead of tackling the matter, the political parties started playing politics without coming with the solution. There is always a lack of coordination among the people and the government authority, the unhygienic condition, food poisoning, impure water, pollution everything made the miserable life of the common people. There is something wrong in the system, which must review, introspect by the government and the political leaders also must come with a timely solution, constructive suggestion, instead of making shout and sloganeering in the street in every such incident. The people can voluntary donate blood, involved in fundraising and buy medicine, while some may go for cleaning the village, compound and hospital also. There is a tendency to log horn on such vital and serious issue by various political parties for gaining their political mileage, but the political parties also must make manifesto henceforth, that they will also work for humanitarian service in the hour of such urgency and natural calamities. However, they are many idealistic thinkers only and there is a dearth of performers. Many politicians speak about an idea and claim also that they will do in that direction, but in reality, they do very little work or not work at all in the end; most of their sole motives being in power and position only but not do service to the people. Once they are elected, they think about their agenda first, they always linger the work for the welfare of the people.
The various manufacturing factories of foodstuffs must be periodically or regularly monitor, inspect and the manufacturing or processing of such foods which are fully or partly adulterated must be banned. The edible oil, the refine oil etc. are also full of adulteration. The chicanery of products is growing at large in most of the cities and some food processing factories are reportedly operated in most of the nearby town area. There must be the role of the government authority from the Health Department regarding the inspection of various essential commodities which are now accessible in the open market elsewhere. The edible oil, the junk foods, the various kind of foods stuff available in the open market must be examined from time to time; the price of essential commodities must be maintained through a strong mechanism. It is reportedly known that the authority visits for such inspection, but they must act more seriously, and if needed, strong action must take against the culprits. The foodstuff of old stock, the medicine with expired date must not be allowed to sell, but in the small market, such thing reportedly happens thereby making ill health of the people in the neglected and backward region still today. If the citizens are conscious, then there is no problem, but where there is the poor, ignorant, illiterate or semi-literate persons, the government, the social NGOs must come forward and do something useful work for the well being of the whole masses.
There are many dreadful diseases spread due to adulterated foodstuff, the food poisoning and death of the persons directly associated with adulteration, but most importantly, due to unhygienic behaviour, living style, eating habit and unhealthy foods, people suffer from such diseases. Therefore, it is said that foods always be like medicine and nectar for human consumption, so, the people also must inculcate the habit of taking the right food at the right time and ages. It is also advisable from the food specialists that green vegetables, fruits, carrots, broccoli, soybeans with rich protein, milk etc. are ideal food for human health, but as it is already mentioned that all foods must be safe for consumption and better health. Due to enormous use of fertilizers and pesticide in the vegetation, the green vegetables, fruits and even tea have been found with the high content of harmful fertilizer for the health, therefore, the concept of taking organically produced food, vegetable and fruits have emerged now. It is better to use and consume organically grown foodstuff, but if it is not accessible all the time, the people must avoid using at least adulterated foodstuff and lead a natural life than to be the victim of the slow-motion killer.