As a number of people have fallen sick due to consumption of buckwheat flour, the Uttarakhand government has cracked down on adulterators and also formed a committee to investigate complaints.
Buckwheat flour (kuttu aata) is consumed by those who are fasting for Navratri when grains are not to be eaten for nine days.
#WATCH | Uttarakhand: On food poisoning incident due to consumption of Buckwheat flour (Kuttu Atta) in Dehradun, Garhwal Division Commissioner, Vinay Shankar Pandey says, "The entire administrative machinery became active and the Chief Minister himself took cognizance of this… pic.twitter.com/YE9E9WIcnJ
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On Tuesday, a massive operation across the state was launched and the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department raided 1,500 shops, issued notices to over two dozen of these and destroyed large amounts of buckwheat flour.
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More than 100 people have fallen sick in Dehradun itself.
As demand of buckwheat flour rises during Navratri, often old flour is sold off. The shelf life of the flour is two to three months, after which it can go bad unless refrigerated. Reports of people falling sick due to its consumption come in every year from different parts of the country. Of the 20 varieties of buckwheat grown in the country, only nine have the requisite nutritional value and are fit for human consumption. Mixing of other varieties is a common method of adulteration.
On the instructions of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, a joint investigation committee of the food safety and the health department has been formed and it is to submit its report in three days. The committee will investigate the cases of all those who have been admitted in hospital due to the contamination. It will also give suggestions to prevent recurrence of such incidents in the future.
The administration has also appealed to the general public to be cautious in purchasing food products and immediately inform the concerned department about any suspicious food item.
Additional Commissioner of the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department Tajbar Singh Jaggi said shopkeepers selling adulterated flour will be dealt with strictly and not be spared under any circumstances.
The campaign against adulteration is to be a continuous one as the Chardham Yatra will start later this month.
