It has come to fore that use of colour additives increases manifold in Kashmir during marriage season which usually starts early September and ends in November.
The traditional cooks use the additives to add colur and taste to the dishes they make.
Pertinently the use of colour additives was banned in Jammu Kashmir but its use continues unabated during marriages, by vendors and restaurant owners.
The experts have warned against continued intake of the additives. According to them, prolonged use of such chemicals can cause deadly diseases including cancer.
The High Court has already sought a status report from Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) regarding the creation of specific zones for hawkers and vendors.
Four years ago, the SMC prepared a list of 2911 street vendors doing business on roads. However, no follow up has been done till date and bringing the vendors in a specific setting remains a distant dream.
The artificial colors like Carmoisine, Tartrazine and sunset yellow are used widely in the market despite a ban by High court after a report was submitted by SK Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura.
The report had shown the presence of harmful agents in samples collected from three food processing companies and termed it “shocking and hazardous” for health.
An official in the Food safety Department said that the colouring agents are present in damaging proportions in local foods”.
“We can't enforce laws on vendors till separate vending zones are created. Often, vendors selling street food keep on changing places,” he said.
He said that “to check the level of colours used in street foods, we need to have separate vending zones.”
An official of SMC has suggested earmarking of spaces for vendors for their registration. This, according to him, will ensure monitoring of the products they sell to the gullible public.
Creation of vending zones will solve another problem as well, said a local adding by doing so they would not use walkways and footpaths.