Samples of Dhara mustard oil were collected from various grocery shops and sent to the Public Analyst (PA) for inspection, which confirmed the presence of Argemone oil, an adulterant which can cause dropsy, glaucoma and even blindness in humans. The matter was also taken up in the Lok Sabha in 2000, which led to the ban of loose sale of mustard oil to avoid more health hazards among the people. Additionally, the court also imposed a fine of Rs 60 lakh on Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd which was assigned for distributing the product. The counsel for NDDB had contended that agremone seeds look similar to mustard seeds and so traces of the poisonous seeds might have been mixed with the oil but it was not intentional. The contention was made while deciding on one of the cases, where the sample of mustard oil was picked up from a Departmental Store in Munirka.

Source: dna August 20, 2017 02:26 UTC