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If nature had its way, farmer Chanchal Singh’s crops would have failed. Erratic rainfall and fluctuating temperatures usually result in crops that fail to bear fruit. But Mr Singh’s vegetables look ripe and juicy. In reality, these fresh vegetables are laced with drugs. Oxytocin – a hormone that plays an important role in female reproduction – is frequently injected in vegetables in Punjab state. This causes them to ripen overnight and nearly double in size. Mr Singh said: “The fertilisers are expensive. So we use hormone injections instead. This way, the vegetables swell up quickly. We cannot afford to buy fertilisers, so we have to use these injections to prepare the vegetables. Their size becomes considerably large in no time with these injections.” Milkmen also use these injections to increase milk production. One injection costs less than a cent, and is widely available in drugstores. In a recent raid, police seized nearly 13,000 hormone injections from various dairies in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The problem is so widespread that the state has ordered regular sampling of milk to check adulteration. Prahlad Singh, sub-divisional magistrate, Kanpur City, said: “We got information that milk dairies were using oxytocin injections to produce more milk. We have formed eight teams to conduct raids at various places in the city, and to check milk adulteration. The teams are checking if any more milkmen are using oxytocin, or whether they are mixing the milk with detergent, urea, or sugar to adulterate it.” There are long-term health effects to consuming milk and vegetables laced with drugs. It can cause loss of hearing and poor eyesight. In rare cases, an overdose of oxytocin may even cause cancer. But when faced with a failing crop and increasing prices, oxytocin seems to be the easiest solution for farmers. Food adulteration is a rampant practice in India. Though laws exist that ban harmful substances, the country does not have any food safety standards. The government is now working to bring a tougher food quality law and also to ensure vigorous testing of food items, raw materials and hygiene practices in food industry and its related business. Related article: 22/08/10: Indian minister warns of fruit and veg hormone injections
Indian farmers are injecting a hormone, sometimes given to women during childbirth, into vegetables and fruits to make the produce ripen sooner and gain weight, an Indian minister has warned. In a letter to health ministry officials seen by AFP, junior health minister Dinesh Trivedi demanded a nationwide crackdown on the illegal use of the prescription drug Oxytocin, which he said can cause serious health problems if taken over a long period. “These hormones may cause irreparable damage to our health, if taken through these vegetables, over a period of time,” he stated, listing heart disorders, sterility, nervous breakdowns and memory loss as possible side effects. He said the hormone, used to induce childbirth and lactation in women, is injected in pumpkin, watermelon, aubergine and cucumber plants to make them bear bigger fruit. The injection can also be administered to fruit and vegetables just before they come to market to make them appear more plump and fresher. Though the drug is banned for use in animals, it is often illegally used in cattle to boost milk production. India’s health ministry banned Oxyotocin for public sale after a series of media reports about the drug being administered to underage girls in rural Rajasthan to make them look older before their marriages. In neighbouring Bangladesh, sex workers are often given the steroid drug Oradexon, a form of Oxytocin, for the same reason. Despite the ban on public sales of the drug in India, the hormone is still easily available from fertiliser and pesticide vendors, an official in the health ministry told AFP.  An vegetable vendor weighs produce at a wholesale market Indian farmers are injecting a hormone sometimes given to women during childbirth into vegetables and fruits to make the produce ripen sooner and gain weight, an Indian minister has warned. In a letter to health ministry officials seen by AFP, junior health minister Dinesh Trivedi demanded a nationwide crackdown on the illegal use of the prescription drug Oxytocin, which he said can cause serious health problems if taken over a long period. “These hormones may cause irreparable damage to our health, if taken through these vegetables, over a period of time,” he stated, listing heart disorders, sterility, nervous breakdowns and memory loss as possible side effects. He said the hormone, used to induce childbirth and lactation in women, is injected in pumpkin, watermelon, aubergine and cucumber plants to make them bear bigger fruit. The injection can also be administered to fruit and vegetables just before they come to market to make them appear more plump and fresher. Though the drug is banned for use in animals, it is often illegally used in cattle to boost milk production. India’s health ministry banned Oxyotocin for public sale after a series of media reports about the drug being administered to underage girls in rural Rajasthan to make them look older before their marriages. In neighbouring Bangladesh, sex workers are often given the steroid drug Oradexon, a form of Oxytocin, for the same reason. Despite the ban on public sales of the drug in India, the hormone is still easily available from fertiliser and pesticide vendors, an official in the health ministry told AFP. |
Sunday, 5 September 2010  Plant a tree It is good for the air, can keep you cool, and can increase your property value.  |
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In the latest revelation, authorities seized thousands of hormone injections, given to cattle to increase milk production.