FOOD ADULTRATION – AIMING AT CHILDREN

I am writing this with reference to the incident which took place in Cochin – Kerala and the news in the newspapers. Shops were selling aduterated pickle laced with drugs.It would be surprising to know that these pickle packets cost only Rs.1/- and after consuming about 3 to 5 one gets hooked to them and cannot do without them. School children were the regular buyers…and nobody really knew …infact the shopkeeprs themselves did not know as it was the manufactures who were responsible.

A boy was taken to hospital by his parents complaining of stomach ache …and even after doing umpteen tests and scans etc no diagnosis was possible……it was then that the child casually said the pain would stop if he ate pickle ..not just any ordinary pickle but the Rs.1/- sachet available in the shop near his school. The stomach ache was actually withdrawal symptoms of the drug used in the pickle…….it affected children more as most adult users bought this pickle to use with alcohol …the drug might not had any effect on them after the consumption of alcohol.

The govt has now seized variuos low brands of ice-cream , sip -ups etc form these shops and sent them for testing.These people who are targeting our children – the future of India should be given the maximum punishment possible….

How safe are our children….we have to control what they buy and eat and also their pocket money…? We have to send them to good schools which do not let them out in the intervals and also see that they go straight home after classes. There should be no small shops etc near schools which depend on the school children for business