Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Dec 20: The Director and owner Kanwal Group of Industries, Farooq Amin today claimed that Sounf power of the company is not adulterated and is fit for human consumption.
While addressing a press conference, Amin claimed that Dr Shafqat Khan, Health Officer of SMC was not personally satisfied with the report filed by Public Analyst Kashmir Province, the sampling lab in Kashmir, which had found samples taken from Kanwal products in the market as unadulterated and fit for consumption and therefore sent the counter samples of Sounf powder to the Central Testing Laboratory Kolkata to counter verify the samples for chemical characteristics to “malign the image of company”.
“The report furnished by Kolkata laboratory claimed that it has found colour additives like Carmoisine, Tartrazine and Sunset Yellow in the Sounf powder, which is not true as these additives are more costly than the Fennel product and doing so will be stupidity as costly items can’t be added with cheaper items for more gains,” Amin said.
“It was the mishandling of samples by SMC and no rules and regulation were followed in sample picking,” Amin alleged.
However, SMC health officer, Dr Shafqat said these claims are hollow.
“SMC has professional people here to lift samples every day in the market and send them to the testing. Whatever we reported was based on samples tested from a credible laboratory,” Dr Shafqat said, adding, the company had every legal right to contest it in the court.
SMC has found carcinogenic chemicals added with the fennel powder, which has created panic among consumers here.
Dr Shafaqat said the industry can’t question the credibility of India’s top Government testing laboratory based at Kolkata.
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