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Adulterated jaggery posing health threat to consumers


Published : 08 Dec 2022 07:25 PM | Updated : 08 Dec 2022 07:25 PM

Due to adulteration of sugar and harmful coloring agents, famous date-molasses(jaggery) of Rajshahi is posing a health threat for consumers.

It is learnt that a section of dishonest traders are engaged in mixing sugar, flour, toxic coloring agents and artificial flavor with date juice to prepare date-molasses. By consuming those molasses, people are being exposed to long term health hazards.

According to sources, from early winter, extraction of date juice and preparing date molasses started in the villages of Charghat, Bagha, Puthia and Durgapur upazilas of the district. Date molasses has a tremendous demand among people of all ages as a sweetener and as a necessary ingredient of preparing winter sweetmeats.

The date molasses prepared in Rajshahi are also sent to various places of the country.

Some of the adulterated molasses makers who are locally known as ‘Gachhi’ at Charghat Bazaar informed, during boiling the date juice, sugar and flour are mixed and when those becomes sticky, chemicals Hydrous, colouring agent and Alum are mixed so that the colour of the molasses looks bright and attractive.

Another molasses maker at village Domadi under Puthia upazila informed, they mixed an equal quantity of sugar with the molasses so that they can make a profit of at least taka 20 per kilogram by selling those.

Another gachhi Abdul Haque of Maleka crossing under Charghat informed, at present, there is a little profit in selling pure date-molasses. As a result, they were making date molasses by mixing sugar. 

He also said, some people were also mixing flour with sugar to make the molasses. As pure molasses was not making more profit, almost all people engaged in preparing gur were following the same technique that is adding sugar with date-juice.

Alam Hossain, a wholesale trader of molasses at Baneswar hat under Puthia upazila informed, at present, most of the date-molasses sold at various hats and markets are mixed with sugar. Only a few were making pure molasses which were very hard to identify.

He further informed, date-molasses usually looks a bit dark in colour but to look bright and clear, people were using toxic Hydrous and alum with it which are posing health threats. Due to adding sugar with it, the taste and flavour of the molasses is also being changed. He also demanded to stop making adulterated date molasses and an action against the makers of those molasses.

According to an official of Puthia Upazila Health and Family Planning Office, each 100 gram of date-juice contains 4.1 gram of Carbohydrate, 11.4 milligram of Iron, 365 milligram of Calcium and a high quantity of Phosphorus. He suggested, date-juice as well as molasses was beneficial for the patients suffering with anaemia.

Regarding adulteration of sugar and other chemicals in date-molasses, he said, sugar was not harmful for human beings but alum and hydrous can cause cholera, diarrhea and other stomach ailments.

Operation of the mobile court against the dishonest adulterers of date molasses should be started by the concerned authorities, he added.