Source : The Hindu Date : 07.07.2009
Tambaram municipal officials destroy “wax polished” apples
Special Correspondent
Health hazard: The apples seized by Tambaram Municipality on Monday.
TAMBARAM: Officials of the Tambaram Municipality on Monday seized nearly one tonne of “wax polished” apples from the main market of the town.
Officials said they were acting on complaints and reports that a huge quantity of apples that were polished with wax, used for making candles, were being sold by pavement vendors along Shanmugham Road and at some shops inside the market.
After confirming that the apples did have a layer of wax coating on their skin, several baskets and cartons of the fruit were brought to the office of the Tambaram Municipality and destroyed.
They said consumption of the wax polished apples could cause stomach pain and vomiting and other serious health problems. They said ever since the market was flooded with imported apples, wholesale distributors and middlemen procured apples cultivated in hilly areas of Tamil Nadu and other States, polished them with wax to give them a shiny, bright red colour. This made the apples look juicy and succulent. On top of it, they would affix stickers making them appear like imported apples, officials said, adding that a kg of the fruit was sold between Rs. 90 and Rs. 120.
They had started with pavement vendors and the raids would extend to supermarkets and department stores within the municipal limits. They had let off the vendors with a warning not to sell such wax polished apples again and if the traders persisted, appropriate action against them would be initiated, officials added.