No escape from the spree of adulteration

Like it or not, it is a land of adulteration. There is hardly any conscious people who does not think twice before making a purchase of the consumables. Whether it is the staple, vegetables, fruits, eggs, fish, meat, cooking oil, milk, molasses, bakery items, sweetmeat, toiletries, cosmetics---everything is suspect. Those who are extra health conscious confront a tough time while buying anything from the market.
Gone are the days when people did not have to give a close look at the rice husked from the two varieties of Aman and Aus by the manually operated 'dheki' or even the low-capacity husking mill. Now people have very fine varieties of rice, only God knows from which paddy. These parboiled kinds of rice shine like plastic. A common belief is that the coarse varieties of rice are shaped into the finer ones by cutting their edges. Although, some authoritative sources tried to dispel this claim, people are hardly convinced of no foul play in this regard.
So far as coarse flour is concerned, people suspect there is more to the whole grain wheat. When it comes to the packet flours ---coarse or fine---customers try to depend on brand values. But this is more like one's religious belief than something based on an objective and scientific analysis.
When the primary food items are thus subjected to random manipulation, how can one feel assured of the whole range of foods humans consume? 'Machhe-bhate' Bangalee now visit the fish market with trepidation. Bangladesh may have achieved tremendous success in fish farming to hold the third slot in the world but the indigenous fish species that grew in natural water bodies are rare indeed. Fishermen would pass the cultivated ones as the original varieties. Even Hilsha fish of origin in sea with no taste can carry the tag of Padma variety.
Chickens available in the market are a mystery. Without discerning eyes, it is impossible to identify which breed is what. Apart from the broiler type, others are not easy to recognise, particularly when it comes to the pure local stock. There are Sonali, so-called Pakistani cock (God knows why it is called so when these are raised locally) and some large brown breed. All of which are confused with the original domestic variety. So far meat is concerned, there is no way of knowing if you are purchasing buffalo meat in place of your intended beef. If there are people fastidious enough over cow beef and ox beef, it is a continuous wrangle over mutton ---whether it is from a male goat or a female goat. If the butcher is not a trusted one, chances are that you end up purchasing the latter in the name of the former.
Consumers have more or less accepted the types of white or brown eggs which never produce baby chicken. Those who look for domestic varieties of eggs are often deceived because the type of eggs that carry the stamp of local origin are in fact not so.
These are dishonest practices but at least are free from direct adulteration to which cooking oil is subjected. Soybean oil in its loose form is often adulterated with palm oil because the latter is cheaper. In the same way mustard oil is hardly available in pure form. Ghee, another item used for preparing biryani, polao etc; is a much-maligned adulterated item the Bangalees consume regularly ---if unwittingly. Several brands of this costly dairy item were found to contain harmful ingredients by the authorities after drive against spurious foods in the market.
There was a furore over the chemical contents in packet milk as well as powder milk. Laboratory tests carried in several renowned facilities in the country found harmful chemicals including lead but then there was an eerie silence over the results. Why?
The list of adulteration is long and it is time only a few more are brought under the scanner before concluding this piece. Even a few highly reputed bakeries were heavily fined for malpractices by mobile courts. What about the ordinary bakeries is anybody's guess. Use of rotten eggs in cakes and pastries, biscuits and other items was reported earlier. Colour used to give a nice look to bakery foods is that of the textile dyeing instead of the food grade which is many times costlier. Similarly, sweetmeat is prepared with artificial chemical sweetener. In this context, it may be relevant to note that original and pure molasses and honey are as rare as the milk of tiger.
The black art of adulteration has been taken to its summit in this part of the world. No wonder, health ailments, including cancer, are on the rise. Apart from the familiar type of adulteration, there is the danger from vegetables grown from lands laden with chemical fertilisers and then treated with high doses of pesticides. People's lives are really at risk.