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KVA asks Kerala food safety dept to expedite pepper adulteration probe
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Friday, 21 June, 2013, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Abhitash Singh, Mumbai
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The Kalimirch Vyapari Association, an assorted group of traders from Madhya Pradesh, has urged Biju Prabhakar, Kerala's food safety commissioner to expedite the investigation into the adulteration of pepper at warehouses of the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) in the southern state and submit its report soon.
NCDEX and a bunch of pepper traders from Madhya Pradesh are involved in probably the biggest-ever dispute in the the former's decade-long history over the poor quality of pepper delivered. In its letter to Prabhakar, KVA highlighted the five-month delay in testing black pepper sealed at NCDEX-authorised warehouses for traces of mineral oil. The net worth of the 6,800 tonne of pepper locked up at the warehouse at Rs 300 crore.
When KVA filed a petition before the Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court seeking a direction to the exchange to revoke an order directing the traders to take the delivery of pepper and deliver fresh pepper at current market prices. The association wants either wholesale pepper contracts amounting to Rs 300 crore scrapped or a new consignment of the commodity fit for human consumption delivered.
After complaints from KVA, Kerala's food safety authority sealed the consignments of pepper mixed with mineral oil and delivered to the warehouse. The authority appointed the Spices Board of India to conduct the test on the entire stock rather than taking samples. P S S Thampi, chairman, Spices Board of India, said, “We have tested 1,000 tonne of pepper and already submitted our report to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and now it is upto them to take further action.”
When quizzed, K V Thomas, minister of state (independent charge) for consumer affairs, food and public distribution, said, “Yes, I received a letter from KVA, but there is nothing I can do about it, and therefore the stocks of pepper have been sent to the Spices Board India, and they will do the needful.”
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