July 22: According to Mr M. Surender, senior inspector of food with the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, adulterated food is found in all kinds of eateries. If coloured chicken preparations have been recovered from smaller restaurants, a well-known hotel at RTC Crossroads was found using artificial colour in their biryani, which is supposed to contain only natural colo-urs like kesar or saffron.

“Actually, colour adulteration is more often due to ignorance than intentional. In the last three years, we have booked about 25 cases against eatery owners from the city and court proceedings are on. Every year around 500 samples are collected from small and big hotels, restaurants, bandis, bakeries, confectionaries and sweet shops all over the city. The banned colours usually used in these eateries are Rodamine B, Sudan 1 and 3 and Metalyn Yellow,” says Mr Surender.

Records of Institute of Preventive Medicine show that in Andhra Pradesh 220 courts deal with PFA cases and 2,176 cases were awaiting trial in 2009. Twenty-six cases under PFA ended in conviction and 237 cases in acquittal last year. Violators can face a jail term of six months to three years and a fine of up to Rs 2,000.

Given the lack of awareness among consumers and instances of food adulteration taking place all over the city, booking just 25 cases in three years seems to undermine the gravity of the situation.

A GHMC official says there are “administrative problems” associated with collection of samples. “In Mumbai, there are around 50 food inspectors on the lookout for adulterated food whereas for the entire Hyderabad area there are just five GHMC food inspectors. More posts need to be sanctioned for the purpose. Each inspector has to submit at least eight cases per month. It becomes quite difficult with inadequate staff support,” he points out.

Even the State Food Laboratory has just 25 scientists for testing food and beverage samples from the entire state. “Within 40 days, we have got to submit a report of the 1,000 samples received every month. Naturally, it would be better to have more analysts in the team,” Ms Sailaja Devi, chief public analyst at the State Food Laboratory, Institute of Preventive Medicine, AP.

It remains to be seen if the new Food Safety and Standards Act will make any difference or whether this is just a case of new wine in old bottle.