![Cotton candy: Pink sugary sweet sets off alarm bells in India – Travel India Alone Cotton candy: Pink sugary sweet sets off alarm bells in India – Travel India Alone](https://travelindiaalone.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/132708525_gettyimages-457983278-768x432.jpg)
- By Cherylann Mollan
- BBC Information, Mumbai
Picture supply, Getty Pictures
Cotton sweet is offered at many Indian seashores and parks
Can cotton sweet provide you with most cancers?
Some Indian states assume so and have banned the sale of the pink, wispy, sugary-sweet deal with.
Final week, the southern state of Tamil Nadu carried out the ban after lab exams confirmed the presence of a cancer-causing substance, Rhodamine-B, in samples despatched for testing.
Earlier this month, the union territory of Puducherry banned the candy deal with whereas different states have begun testing samples of it.
Cotton sweet, additionally known as buddi-ka-baal (previous lady’s hair) in India due to its look, is common with youngsters the world over.
It is a fixture in amusement parks, gala’s and different locations of leisure frequented by youngsters, who prefer it due to its sticky, melt-in-the-mouth texture.
However some Indian officers say that the sweet is extra sinister than it appears.
P Satheesh Kumar, meals security officer in Chennai metropolis in Tamil Nadu, instructed The Indian Categorical newspaper that the contaminants in cotton sweet “may result in most cancers and have an effect on all organs of the physique”.
His group raided sweet sellers at a seaside within the metropolis final week. Mr Kumar stated the candy offered within the metropolis was made by unbiased sellers and never registered factories.
Just a few days later, the federal government introduced a ban ban on its sale after lab exams detected the presence of Rhodamine-B, a chemical compound, within the samples. The chemical imparts a fluorescent pink hue and is used to dye textiles, cosmetics and inks.
Whereas banning cotton sweet in Tamil Nadu, Well being Minister Ma Subramanian stated in an announcement that utilizing Rhodamine-B within the “packaging, import, sale of meals or serving meals containing it at weddings and different public occasions can be punishable beneath the Meals Security and Requirements Act, 2006”.
And earlier this week, the New India Categorical newspaper reported that meals security officers in Delhi too have been pushing for a ban on cotton sweet.