Written By: Bhavyajyoti Chilukoti | Published : October 13, 2017 12:37 PM IST
In India, most reputed confectioneries and bakeries and sweet shops use permitted colours within the prescribed limits. However, small sweet shops, ice-cream and savoury makers in small towns and rural areas use non-permitted colours either out of lack of awareness or because these colours can be bought at very cheap rates. Consumers should be aware of the adverse health effects of Non-Permitted Colours, says Dr Saurabh Arora, Founder of Foodsafetyhelpine.com, Director of Auriga Research and Arbro pharmaceuticals. You may also like to read about chandi-ka-vark (silver leaf) on sweets significance and side effects.
Here are a few harmful effects of non-permitted colours -
Since permitted natural colours are expensive, a number of unlicensed vendors and sweet shops continue to use non-permitted colours deliberately to reduce the cost of the product, seeing the competition and demand during festivals like Diwali. The onus of using the natural and permitted synthetic colours lies with the Food Business Operators (FBOs) who incidentally are also consumers. They must ensure through self-inspection that they are using the right colours and get them tested from time to time so they know they are being supplied only permitted colours and not the banned ones. Here's more on why artificial food colours are bad for your health.
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