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| No check on use of colour additives | | | Early Times Report
SRINAGAR, July 22: The Food Safety Department has failed to regulate and monitor the use of colour additives by street vendors, since the Srinagar Municipal Corporation has not demarcated and monitored proper vending zones.
The use of harmful chemicals as colour agents is also still widely used in the street foods and eateries in Srinagar thereby posing a health risk to the consumers.
The High Court sought a status report from Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) regarding the creation of specific zones for hawkers and vendors.
In 2014, SMC had prepared a list of 2911 street vendors found to be conducting business in different parts of Srinagar city on roads/streets.
Even after the passage of four years, the idea of bringing the street vendors in a specific setting has fallen flat on its face. With no supervision, the vendors selling food items have been found to add an excessive quantity of harmful coloring agents to their food.
The artificial colors like Carmoisine, Tartrazine and sunset yellow are used widely in the market despite a ban by High court after a report was submitted by SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura.
The report had shown the presence of harmful colouring agents in samples collected from three food processing companies and termed it "shocking and hazardous" for health.
An official in the Food safety Department said that "In local foods, the coloring agents are present in damaging proportions".
However, another senior official that "We can't enforce laws on vendors till separate vending zones are not created. Often, vendors selling street food keep on changing places."
He said that "to check the level of colours used in street foods, we need to have separate vending zones."
An official of Srinagar Municipal Corporation said they have stressed upon having earmarked spaces for vendors so that they could be registered and regularly inspected about the method of food preparation, hygiene-wise, and concentration of synthetic additives used.
He said that "Our job is to provide vending zones so that footpaths and other walkways are not used by vendors as it causes a great inconvenience to the public."
He said they are in the process of "identifying vending zones".
He said that "Even though only the zone at SRTC-Partap Park has yet become functional, 2000 street vendors have been rehabilitated." |
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