Chennai, February 17: Tamil Nadu on Saturday banned the sale of the colourful pinkish cotton candy after it came to light that it was being adulterated with Rhodamine-B, a cancer causing industrial dye, illegally used as food colourant. The cotton candy is widely sold across the state at popular hangouts including beaches and exhibitions. Food Safety officials tested samples of the cotton candy after a recent finding in nearby Puducherry that it was being adulterated with Rhodamine-B.
Health Minister Ma Subramanian pointed out that using Rhodamine-B as a food additive in manufacturing, packaging, import and sale and serving food containing it at weddings/functions/public events was a punishable offence under the Food Safety and Standards Act. The Commissioner of Food Safety has directed the enforcement officers of the department to take strict action against violators, he added.
About Rhodamine-B:
According to the Food Safety Department’s Designated Officer, Chennai, Satheesh Kumar, Rhodamine-B, is an industrial grade dye, which is used in leather colouring and paper printing.
If used in foods, it can can cause fullness of the stomach, itching and breathing problems. “When consumed for a long duration, the dye can stay in the body for up to 60 days,” he said and explained that it would get deposited in internal organs such as kidney, intestine and liver and cause "irreversible damage". Over a period, it turns cancerous.
