Spending a few seconds, poring over the tag of any product, will make a lot of difference in the way people buy them. Not all packets of groundnut oil have the same content, according to a recent finding of Consumers Association of India (CAI).
In a meeting held on Wednesday, CAI members said 14 samples of edible oil collected across the State, including Chennai, carried pictures of groundnuts on the packs. However, tests revealed shocking details — only one of the six samples had 10 per cent of groundnut oil, while the rest of it contained palm oil and cotton seed oil.
G. Santhanarajan, director (Food safety), CAI, says: “Customers are targeted with cheaper oils that are sold as groundnut oil. We could test only six samples as it was an expensive process.”
Only 36 per cent of the samples tested had Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence number and 21 per cent had FSSAI logo – a requirement as per Food Safety Standards Rules, 2011.
Moreover, 42 per cent of the packets did not carry Agmark logo, which is also mandatory. “We also tested a sunflower oil brand and found it contained cotton seed soil and palm oil. Consumers must read the contents on the and complain if not satisfied,” he cautions.
