How to check if green veggies are adulterated with cancer-causing Malachite Green

While we talk about eating healthy and living healthy, the question of concern is -are we getting healthy fruits and vegetables too? Well, we all know the answer! To keep the demand and supply chain in place, market players are extensively adulterating our foods with malachite green, copper sulphate, rhodamine B, calcium carbide, and many more chemicals. In such a scenario, expecting to live a healthier life is not possible. So, what’s the solution? Well, we can’t control the market practices, but we can definitely assure that what we eat is unadulterated. To promote the same practice, the Food Safety & Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recently shared a test video, which talks about how to check if your greens are adulterated with malachite green or not. Have a look. (Image: Pixabay)

In simple words, Malachite Green is an organic compound, which is widely used for dying purposes and also as antimicrobial in aquaculture. If we go by reports, it was first prepared by Hermann Fischer in 1877 by condensing benzaldehyde and dimethylaniline in the molecular ratio 1:2 in the presence of sulfuric acid. (Image: Pixabay)

In 2006, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) detected the use of malachite green in seafood imported from China, and that is when its use in aquaculture was banned. (Image: Pixabay)

According to food scientists, the use of malachite green, which is a well-known carcinogen, is still practiced in the Indian food industry. It is often used to make chillies, cucumber, peas, ladyfinger, and spinach lush green. Keeping the dangerous side effects of the compound in view, FSSAI recently shared a video, which demonstrates a simple trick to check if your greens contain malachite green or not. (Image: Pixabay)

According to the FSSAI video, all you need to do is take a cotton piece soaked in liquid paraffin. Rub/dab the outer green surface of a small part of the lady finger. No colour change observed on the cotton means your greens are unadulterated, while the cotton turning green denotes that greens are not safe for consumption. (Image: Screengrab of FSSAI tweet)

According to experts, the toxicity of this dye increases with exposure time, temperature and concentration. It has been found that it may cause carcinogenesis, mutagenesis, chromosomal fractures, and even respiratory toxicity in the body. (Image: Pixabay)

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