Beware! Coriander you consume may contain horse dung

IF you consume coriander powder not certified by Agmark, there are chances that it may contain horse dung. A whole lot of other powdered spices, including chilli and turmeric, are also prone to adulteration, according to experts.

Speaking to Express after a demonstration on detection of contaminated food products, organised for government employees by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) here on Wednesday, P Mani, chemist with the Regional Agmark Laboratory, listed some of the most commonly adulterated food products.

Vanaspati is mixed with ghee and castor oil is added to coconut oil. What is alarming is that some of the adulterants mixed with powdered spices are carcinogenic and may cause serious illness too.

Senior chemist C Mahesh of BIS said Sudan Red, a carcinogenic additive used to colour petrol ‘diazo conjugate’ dye, with an orange-red appearance, is mixed with chilli powder.

Again, a carciogenic, ‘metanil yellow’ dye is added to turmeric. “This colouring makes the fake one better than the original,” he said.

Horse dung that resembles coriander in colour is mixed with the spice. Jaggery or sugar syrup are added to honey.

“Consumption of horse dung may cause acute gastroenteritis,” said Mahesh.

To a question, he said it may be very difficult for the common man to detect adulteration. “The best option is to go

for products that have an Agmark tag, a Union government certification guaranteeing quality standards,” he said.

Dr C Naresh Kumar, Head of Dairy Science, Madras Veterinary College, said besides water, other adulterants used in milk are starch, cane sugar, hydrogen peroxide and sodium bicarbonate and urea. “Better awareness is the only solution,” he emphasised.