Karnataka health department bans artificial harmful colours in kebabs

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], June 25 : The Karnataka health department issued a notification order on Monday that no artificial colours should be used in the preparation of kebabs including vegetarian, chicken, fish and others.
Rule 59 of the Food Safety and Quality Act-2006 is punishable with imprisonment from 7 years to life term and a fine up to Rs 10 lakhs Penalty.
It has been reported in the media and by the public that the quality of kebabs being sold across the state is poor due to artificial colouring, which is causing adverse effects on public health.
Against this backdrop, 39 samples of kebabs sold across the state were collected tested and analyzed in Karnataka laboratories, and the result was that sunset yellow and carmosine artificial colors are unsafe and hazardous to health, the release said.
In March, Karnataka Health Minister Dinesh Gundurao banned the food colouring agent, Rhodamine-B which is widely used in dishes such as 'Gobi Manchurian' and cotton candy.
Addressing the rising concerns over the presence of harmful chemicals in various food items, the health minister said, "We have done a special drive on the gobi manchurian dish and found that harmful Rhodamine-B is being used to make the dish. It is a health-hazardous colouring agent."
Pointing out the risks posed by unsafe food practices, Gundurao said, "Many samples were tested positive for Rhodamine-B. Tartrazine, Carmoisine and Sunset Yellow were some of the other artificial colours found in the samples."
"Stringent action will be taken against restaurants that are found to be using such chemicals for food preparation," he said.