Diwali brings the aroma of snacks, trays of sweets, and the rush to share them with relatives. To double the joy of the festival, people buy pedha, barfi, kaju katli, gulab jamun, rasgulla and khoya sweets in large quantities from the markets.But in the middle of this festive season, in order to match the bulk supply, some sellers are playing with the health of consumers. Artificial colours, poor-quality sugar and fake silver leaf are used to make sweets look more attractive, and they can pose a real health risk.To address this, Tukaram Mundhe, Commissioner of Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recently urged people to take extra care this Diwali. His office has been running a state-wide drive against food adulteration, and he has shared simple tips to help buyers spot warning signs, especially to differentiate between real and fake Silver varakh used to decorate sweets and delicacies.
Tukaram Mundhe shares tips to identify real silver varakh decoration on sweets
As Diwali shopping picks up, Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has asked people to be careful about the sweets they buy. Pedha, barfi, kaju katli and rasgulla are in high demand at this time of year. According to IANS, he appealed on Thursday, 5 November, while sharing details of a state-wide drive against food adulteration.Amid his issued warning, he gave people a tiny tip to identify the difference between real and fake shiny silver or gold leaf, known as vark, on sweets such as kaju katli.FDA has raised concerns about aluminium foil being used in place of silver. Mundhe offered a simple home test. He advised rubbing a little foil on your hand to check, and by doing this, he says real silver dissolves smoothly, while aluminium rolls into a foil-like sheet, and mentions that a “strict legal action will be taken against vendors using aluminium substitutes.”If the foil forms a separate thin sheet when rubbed, it is probably aluminium. But this test alone can’t tell you for sure whether the silver leaf is genuine. For a final answer, the sweets need to be tested in a laboratory.
Further warning about overuse of artificial colours
He says a sweet that looks unusually bright is not necessarily a fresh one. Mundhe asked consumers to avoid unlabelled, expired or excessively bright products, as well as anything treated with harsh chemical dyes. He said only permitted natural colours within safe limits may be used.