Jaggery banned for sale on suspicion of adulteration

ERODE: Food safety officials banned sale of five tonnes of jaggery brought to the weekly jaggery market at nearby Chitode following suspicion of adulteration, an official said today.

During a surprise raid, the officials examined the about 15 tonnes of jaggery and jaggery powder, kept for sale by sugarcane farmers, and found five tonnes of it appeared to have been adulterated with sodium hydro sulphate, Food Safety Department Designated Officer Karunanidhi said.

He said sodium hydro sulphate was added during conversion of sugarcane juice into jaggery for colouring which will attract the buyers, but was injurious.

A notice under the Food Safety and Standards Act was issued to the market authorities and samples of the jaggery collected for testing, he said.

The market authorities were instructed not to sell the jaggery suspected to be adulterated until further orders.