On Monday, the government of Karnataka made a bold move and banned a specific food colour, rhodamine-B, which, according to many studies, causes cancer. People used to use the colour, especially in cotton candy and gobi manchurian, for the better colour position.
According to the reports, rhodamine-B is used in dying clothes and metal, and many companies use it in cosmetics. It appears green, but after mixing with water and other substances, it changes colour to pink and red, which causes cotton candy pink and Manchurian red.
Karnataka is the first state to ban this colouring; Goa, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, and Maharashtra have already banned the same substance from their food products, and Karnataka is the 5th state to ban the product in the food.
The health minister of Karnataka, Dinesh Gundu Rao, also said in an interview that those who use this colouring in their products will face jail terms as well as a strict fine. Across India, many food ministries are already alarmed about the colouring. In the reports, the labs found that it causes cancer, and rhodamine-B and tartrazine are cancer-causing agents.
Dinesh Gundu Rao also explained how their government collected more than 180 dish samples; out of them, 107 were unsafe for eating because of unsafe colouring. Only 64 dishes were safe to eat, which is quite concerning for all the people across India.
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