Agartala, Sep 7 : To prevent rampant use of chemicals in food items for preservation, the Tripura Health Department has initiated a move to impart training to food inspectors to implement the Food Safety Standards Act 2006.Director, Health Service (Preventive Medicine) Dr R K Dhar said here today that Calcium Carbide was being used for preservation and early ripening of fruits while Melamine and Formalin were being used in sweet foods and beverage processing outlets in the state.
He said following latest communiqu of the Union Health Ministry, the state government appointed a safety officer and after extensive and rigorous training on the Act as well all related issues of food safety, food inspectors would be enforcing the law.
''Since Tripura does not have enough production of seasonal fruits, the traders were importing premature fruits from various parts of the country and the consignment is transported to the state almost after a fortnight. After reaching here local fruit dealers use Calcium Carbide for ripening that triggers serious health complications and pollutes the environment,'' Dr Dhar underlined.
Similarly, the sweet foods and beverage processing units here used Melamine in high concentration in milk and mixed Formalin to preserve perishable food items, Dr Dhar pointed out, adding that though Formalin directly affected the human body after consumption, Carbide generates harmful Acetylene gas when exposed to the atmosphere.
These kinds of chemicals not only reduce the food value but also cause diseases like Cancer, heart syndrome, liver and kidney related diseases and also affect the eye-sight of human beings, which had compelled the state government to think seriously on the issue.
Under Food Safety Standards Act 2006 all the food processing units and sellers and vendors need to have voluntary disclosure regarding non-use of harmful chemicals and at the same time, every seller, including hawkers and small vendors, would require to take license, Dr Dhar added.
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