Shiv Sena (UBT) MP urges Nadda to check use of carcinogenic contamination in food items

New Delhi, Nov 24 (PTI) Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday sought Health Minister J P Nadda's immediate intervention on reports that Auramine, an industrial dye used for textile and leather, is being added to roasted gram and other food products.

In a letter to the health minister as well as the food processing minister, she sought urgent action in the matter to ensure public health safety.

"I urge the ministry to issue a national health alert on Auramine contamination. Nationwide testing of roasted chana and related foods to identify contaminated batches and sources. Strict enforcement, including inspections, lab testing, licence cancellation, fines, and imprisonment for violators," she said in her letter to Nadda.

"Directions to state health departments for parallel testing and enforcement. An internal audit of FSSAI protocols to identify systemic lapses enabling this violation," she also said.

Chaturvedi said the use of carcinogenic dyes in food is an unacceptable breach of public safety.

"It is incumbent upon the ministry to urgently intervene to protect public health and restore consumer confidence in food safety mechanisms," she stressed.

The MP said this is not merely a violation of food safety norms -- it is a threat to the health, safety, and trust of millions of Indian citizens, and a failure of regulatory oversight by the FSSAI.

"With contamination of cough syrup having led to several deaths, it is high time we prioritised public health," she said, adding that market surveillance has been weak, routine testing inadequate, public warnings delayed, and enforcement poor. PTI SKC SKC NSD NSD