Beware of Fake Sweets

With the onset of festive season, how can adulteration be far behind? Increased consumption of sweets means more demand for dairy products providing an opportunity to unscrupulous elements to make quick money by selling substandard stuff. Moreover, with a low conviction rate the repeated raids by the health authorities fail to act as a deterrent to check food adulteration.

No Diwali spread is ever complete without a variety of traditional sweets and mithai. All of us have been guilty, at some point or the other, of over-indulging in Diwali-ki-mithai; be it motichoor ke ladoo or the simple khoya barfi, kaju katli, pista barfi and so much more. Thanks to the festivities in the air, these become irresistible and before you realise it, you’ve polished off more than you would have liked! Most mithai shops are now loaded with Diwali sweets, these fly off the shelves as customer after customer walks out with kilos of mithai. However, do spend a few minutes mulling over what goes into the making of these traditional sweets; how are they actually made in bulk to meet the increasing demand and what is the quality of ingredients used? Increasing demand could often lead to some shops compromising on the quality through adulteration.

Around 70% of the samples of paneer, gulab jamun & milk cake were adulterated with soyabean flour and starch. Samples of mustard oil were found adulterated with metanil yellow (non-permitted food colour) and lead chromate (a compound that emits toxic chromium fumes upon heating). Samples of raj bhog, pethas and laddoos were also found adulterated with metanil yellow. Samples of turmeric and chilly powder were found mixed with lead chromate and Sudan dye respectively. Coriander powder was found mixed with dust. Half of the bakery products were found adulterated with substandard flour and low grade fat. “Urea, detergent, refined oil, dry milk and starch was found in milk samples. In two samples, formalin (a preservative) was also found. Drinking such adulterated milk can lead to stomach disorder, liver-kidney problems, nutrient deficiency, skin diseases and hair loss. Mustard oil can be replaced with sesame oil while roli can be replaced with turmeric.

Here are five sweets suggested by Team Gozo that you should be most careful of during any festival season:

1. Khoye ki Barfi
Most mithais that are consumed during festivities are made with khoya. When the demand of khoya is on the rise, some vendors, in order to meet these demands, may indulge in adulterating the dairy product by using harmful chemicals. If you are buying khoya from outside or buying a mithai made with khoya, there is a chance it is not safe for consumption. None of us can detect adulterant in the khoya or mithai visually as they are concealed carefully. The khoya may be adulterated with starch, blotting paper and fine flour. It can also contain urea, detergent or water in the milk that was used to make khoya.

2. Motichoor Ladoo: Vendors use bright and sometimes non-permitted colours of sweets and savouries. These vendors use artificial colours because they are less expensive, more stable and long lasting and give the product an appealing bright colour.” Motichoor ladoo is one such mithai that must only be bought from reliable sellers this festive season.

3. Kaju Katli: Kaju katli has silver varq on it which adds to the appeal of this popular traditional mithai.Adulteration often raises its head during the festive season and the unaware consumer can fall prey to it. Adulteration in Silver Leaf or chandi-ka-warq has been often detected by food regulators which include:
1. Substitution of silver with aluminium.
2. Poor quality of silver used which may not be of 999 purity.
3. Unhygienic preparation methods.
4. Unsanitary conditions in workshops can cause contamination which poses a risk of food borne diseases.
5. Traces of heavy metal contamination like nickel, lead, cadmium have been detected.

4. Kaju Pista Roll: If you think you are eating sweets made using real pista and cashews, you should probably think again. Not real nuts, what ends up being used mostly are artificial or synthetic flavours. Pistas and cashew nuts are expensive nuts, so this is done to cut costs and make the mithai last longer.

5. Paneer Barfi: The paneer that is used to make the barfi could have excessive corn starch in place of milk extract. In some cases, harmful chemicals and urea are also mixed in it. Therefore, it is imperative to take any paneer mithai from a trusted source or just make it at home. The lack of awareness among small vendors selling edible items about the Food Safety and Standards Act that provides for mandatory registration of shopkeepers dealing with sale of edible items is another area of concern. As per the Act, those associated with the food business and having turnover of `12 lakh per annum and above have to procure licence. Outlets having annual turnover less than `12 lakh have to get registration done under the act. Be careful of what you buy next and always buy your share of Diwali and other festival sweets from trusted vendors and seller.

Stay healthy and enjoy! Happy Diwali!