Bhubaneswar: Turmeric is one of the most important spices of the Indian market and Indian food. Without turmeric the Indians can not imagine to prepare food, at the same time the golden spice has numerous medicinal value. It is a traditional Ayurveda approved yellow spice used for various health issues like to cure oxidative stress, inflammation in the body etc. The priceless spice can also be dangerous for human body is hard to imagine. There are various reports stating the dilution of turmeric with different toxic leads.
The toxic leads are found in the turmeric sold in the markets of Asian countries like India, Pakistan and Nepal. The research has reported that the amount of toxicity found in the turmeric of these countries is more than 1000 micrograms, which is 100 times higher than the approved safety kind by the Indian Food Security and (FSSAI). The Stanford University of America, the Freedom Employability Academy of India and the Environment and Health related organization, ‘Pure Earth ‘ have done this study collaboratively. The report was published by the title of ‘ Science of Total Environment ‘ in a reputed environmental science weekly. In this study the turmerics that are sold in the markets of the countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka.
Studies indicate the major sources of lead in turmeric was lead chromate, a yellow pigment used in paints, rubber, plastics and ceramic coatings. The FSSAI’s Food Safety And Standards (Contaminants, Toxins And Residues) Regulations, 2011 sets the standard limit for availability of leads in turmeric whole and powder can be 10 μg / g.
The consumption of turmeric with lead at such high content levels would result to lead poisoning, which is dangerous for both adults and kids. Research says the most appropriate way to consume turmeric having the least amount of adulteration would be buying the organic dried pieces of turmeric and churn them into powder manually. This way one can avoid the poisonous impacts of the already packaged turmeric powder available in the market.
-OdishaAge
