During summers, hitting an ice-gola cart is quite common but many of us don't know that a lot of ice-gola sellers use contaminated ice which is not fit for consumption.
This ice is no different than edible ice as it tastes the same and is transparent. However, this inedible ice carries E Coli bacteria which cause diarrhoea, urinary tract infection, anaemia and even kidney failure.
According to civic officials, in April 2017, Govandi alone reported 97 gastroenteritis cases out of 916.
In order to prevent people from consuming inedible ice, the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has asked the owners of the ice factories — who produce ice in the four months of summer — to dye inedible ice with blue colour, which will help people in differentiating.
On October 4, FDA officials decided in a meeting to dye inedible ice in blue colour, said Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, joint commissioner (food) of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). He added that the report has been sent to the state government for an approval.
If the proposal is accepted, edible ice will remain transparent and the commercial ice will be dyed blue. If we find any companies selling inedible ice as edible then we will take action against such companies. In no case, we will not entertain dyed ice in market,” Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, joint commissioner (food), FDA.
Edible ice is made from potable water while inedible ice is made using contaminated water.
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