Puducherry has banned the sale of cotton candy after the food safety department officials found the use of cancer inducing chemicals used in the preparation of these candy.
Puducherry is a place well known for its beaches and its scope for tourism. So, many people regularly visit Puducherry and cotton candy is marketed to their children. Especially, it is being sold in large quantities in coastal areas, this information has caused shock and fear among the people.
Governor create awareness
In this case, Tamilisai Soundararajan, the Deputy Governor of Puducherry has released a video in Tamil. In this, she said that it has been found that the coloured cotton candy that children eat contains toxic chemical substances. It turned out that some people from North India were selling this candy. Food safety officials enquired about their dealers and traced some shops. An order has been issued to check whether chemical-laced cotton candy is being sold in those shops, find out who is selling these candy and confiscate them.
Toxic chemical in cotton candy
In a test conducted by Food Safety Department officials on the 7th February in Puducherry, it was confirmed that the chemical ‘Rhodamine-B’ (RhB) was mixed in the cotton candy especially in the candies which are sold in ‘pink’ colour. This RhB chemical is a fluorescent dye compound and gives bright colour when used. It is reported that candy manufacturers used these RhB chemicals to get the bright pink colour for candies.
So, the Deputy Governor of Puducherry issued an order on 9th February stating that the food safety officials confirmed the presence of cancer inducing chemicals found in the cotton candy. So the sale of these candy has been banned throughout Puducherry.
She also added that candy sellers must get a quality certificate from the food safety department. After getting the quality certificate only the sellers can resume their business until then the sale of cotton candy is banned. And strict actions will be taken on those who violate this ban.
