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NEW DELHI : Adulterated food has become more common in India.
In the latest revelation, authorities seized thousands of hormone injections, given to cattle to increase milk production.
If nature had its way, farmer Chanchal Singh's crops would have failed.
Erratic rainfall and fluctuating temperatures usually result in crops that fail to bear fruit.
But Mr Singh's vegetables look ripe and juicy.
In reality, these fresh vegetables are laced with drugs.
Oxytocin - a hormone that plays an important role in female reproduction - is frequently injected in vegetables in Punjab state.
This causes them to ripen overnight and nearly double in size.
Mr Singh said: "The fertilisers are expensive. So we use hormone injections instead. This way, the vegetables swell up quickly. We cannot afford to buy fertilisers, so we have to use these injections to prepare the vegetables. Their size becomes considerably large in no time with these injections."
Milkmen also use these injections to increase milk production.
One injection costs less than a cent, and is widely available in drugstores.
In a recent raid, police seized nearly 13,000 hormone injections from various dairies in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.
The problem is so widespread that the state has ordered regular sampling of milk to check adulteration.
Prahlad Singh, sub-divisional magistrate, Kanpur City, said: "We got information that milk dairies were using oxytocin injections to produce more milk. We have formed eight teams to conduct raids at various places in the city, and to check milk adulteration. The teams are checking if any more milkmen are using oxytocin, or whether they are mixing the milk with detergent, urea, or sugar to adulterate it."
There are long-term health effects to consuming milk and vegetables laced with drugs.
It can cause loss of hearing and poor eyesight.
In rare cases, an overdose of oxytocin may even cause cancer.
But when faced with a failing crop and increasing prices, oxytocin seems to be the easiest solution for farmers.
Food adulteration is a rampant practice in India. Though laws exist that ban harmful substances, the country does not have any food safety standards.
The government is now working to bring a tougher food quality law and also to ensure vigorous testing of food items, raw materials and hygiene practices in food industry and its related business. - CNA/ms
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