Chromium in food chain

A drive conducted by a mobile court, assisted by the members of the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Friday last in the city's Hazaribagh, country's main tannery hub, reminded the millions of consumers of the dangers they are exposed to all the time. The RAB members caught red-handed a clandestine unit engaged in manufacturing fish and poultry feed using the waste materials of nearby tanneries. The magistrate heading the court meted out punishment to two employees of the unit for their crime. There is nothing wrong if waste materials used in production of feed or anything were not harmful. But the tannery waste contains many chemicals, including chromium, that are highly toxic and potentially harmful to human health.

The problem concerning the manufacture of adulterated fish and poultry feed did not end with the punishment given to one Hazaribagh unit. There are many more such units in the same area. Following the Friday's raid, the units would invariably go underground and resurface after a few days. Besides, the technique of producing similar feeds with tannery waste, allegedly, has been picked up by a good number of poultry unit and fish farm owners and they themselves are doing it at their own places. Just to save a few bucks on account of feeding the poultry birds and fish, a section of unscrupulous people has been taking recourse to such a dangerous and evil practice.

Experts say the presence of chromium, a heavy metal, in poultry or fish feed should not be more than 30 ppm. But the feeds produced using tannery waste are found containing chromium as high as 5000 ppm. The figure itself is enough to raise serious concern immediately. The entry of chromium in the food chain leaves a long-lasting ill-effect on human health. A part of the metal remains deposited in the fish and poultry meat and the same is passed on to humans when the latter consume the same.

Consumers are worried but they are left with little option other than consuming the chemical-contaminated foods. They eat every food item, may it be a banana or a piece of vegetable, with suspicion. Courtesy of the media most people are familiar with the names of a few chemicals, including formalin and carbide. The name chromium is not widely known. But soon it will be. Notwithstanding the fact that the average longevity of the population has been on the rise, the number of people afflicted with serious diseases, namely, diabetes, cancer, kidney failures, liver cirrhosis etc., has gone up in recent years. Doctors and medical experts do blame the large-scale entry of a good number of harmful chemicals in the food chain responsible for the spread of these diseases.

The use of formalin in food is now on the decline, primarily because of strong media campaign and some official actions. But in the case of use of other harmful chemicals in food, the same is not true. The number of incidents involving a serious crime such as acid-throwing has declined because the offence is now punishable with death. The drive against food adulterators has been sporadic and the punishment meted out is not enough to create fear among the culprits involved in this nefarious act. The agency created in the recent past to protect consumers from the misdeeds of adulterators is also not visible. So, what is necessary at the moment is the launching of strong and decisive actions against those who are poisoning different foods including eggs.