Doctored date molasses jeopardising legendary tradition of Rajshahi
Sunday, 28 December 2014
Our Correspondent
RAJSHAHI, Dec 28: Due to mixing of sugar and harmful dying agents, legendary date-molasses (Gur) of Rajshahi is posing a health threat for consumers.
It is learnt, a section of dishonest traders were engaged in mixing sugar, flour, toxic colouring agents and artificial flavour with date juice to prepare date-molasses. By consuming those molasses, people are being exposed to long-term health hazard.
According to sources, from early winter, extraction of date juice and preparing date molasses started in the villages of Charghat, Bagha, Puthia and Durgapur upazilas of the district. Date molasses has a tremendous demand among people of all ages as a sweetener and as a necessary ingredient of preparing winter cakes (pithas), Payesh and other sweetmeats.
The date molasses prepared in Rajshahi are also sent to various places of the country.
Some of the adulterated molasses makers who are locally known as 'Gachhi' at Charghat Bazaar informed, during boiling the date juice sugar and flour are mixed and when those becomes sticky, chemicals Hydrous, colouring agent and Alum are mixed so that the colour of the molasses looks bright and attractive.
Another molasses maker at village Domadi under Puthia upazila informed they mixed an equal quantity of sugar with the molasses so that they can make a profit of at least Tk 20 per kilogramme by selling those.
Khairul Ataturk, Puthia Upazila Health and Family Planning Officer informed each 100 gram of date-juice contains 4.1 gram of Carbohydrate, 11.4 milligram of Iron, 365 milligram of Calcium and a high quantity of Phosphorus. T contains 240 calorie of energy. He suggested, date-juice as well as molasses was beneficial for the patients suffering from anaemia.
Regarding adulteration of sugar and other chemicals in date-molasses, he said, sugar was not harmful for human beings but alum and hydrous can cause cholera, diarrhoea and other stomach ailments.
Alamgir Kabir, Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate of Rajshahi informed they would soon start a mobile court operation against the dishonest adulterers of date molasses.
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