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“Unsafe” Khesari Dal Cleared By Medical Research Board
India's Council of Medical Research (ICMR) has cleared the deadly khesari dal ,after a 55-year ban for its links to lathryism, which causes paralysis of the legs.
Food and safety officials raid a store in November.
Photo Credit: The Daily Mail
Photo Credit: The Daily Mail
The ICMR board isn't likely to get the full go-ahead until the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) approves it, and a Right to Information (RTI) filed by The Indian Express newspaper found that the ICMR’s recommendation is under consideration by the FSSAI. The food regulator’s Scientific Panel and Scientific Committee discussed the issue on November 6 last year.
"I cannot comment on the exact findings of the ICMR right now. Besides, something which has been banned for several decades on the ground of safety will have to go through rigorous tests before it is cleared by us,” said FSSAI CEO Pawan Kumar Agarwal to The Indian Express.
Khesari dal is seized in a raid.
Photo Credit: Daily Mail
Photo Credit: Daily Mail
The central government banned the dal because of its beta oxalylaminoalanine, a neurotoxic amino acid that's in the bean. It resulted in lathryism. The dal contains 41 per cent carbohydrate, 31 per cent protein, 17 per cent total dietary fibre, 2 per cent fat and 2 percent ash. That leads to paralysis in the lower body as well as numbness in the limbs and spine, so it's shocking that it was on the market for so long.
Traders across Gurgaon and Delhi reportedly started selling it again to cash in on the dal crisis last year. India Today TV uncovered that the Arhal dal crisis was a manufactured problem caused by a cartel of big dealers who priced the dal much higher. The dal's price suddenly rose to over Rs 200. It had usually sold for less than Rs 70 per kilo.
The reason the dal was cleared was that, as a pulse crop, it's able to grow in drought and waterlogged conditions. It has high protein content and works well as a backup in floods and dry conditions.
“The fact that it gives 10–12 quintals per hectare yields even in the harshest environment and can mature within 125 days is a big advantage, though there are issues with BAPN accumulations,” said N.P. Singh, director of the Indian Institute of Pulses Research at Kanpur, to The Indian Express.
We don't often question the politics of food and how they intersect with issues of class. But khesari dahl is notable for being poor folks' dal due to its low cost and availability before 1961. The New Scientist reported in 1984 that khesari dal was banned in colonial India due to the outbreak of lathryism. The Mahraja of Rewa banned it 1907 after severe disease broke out after a drought. It's frightening that the grain is sometimes used as payment for non-contract poorer labourers and migrant workers. Many people eat it and don't know of its adverse health effects until it's too late.
It's discouraging to see this initial clearance for the dal because its harmful impact exceeds its benefits when it's the only food source available for migrant workers and labourers.
Source: The Indian Express
Rumnique Nannar
Author
Rumnique Nannar is a new journalist with a passion for all things pop culture, film, and art. Rumnique was born in London, with a predilection for devouring English chocolate with her Vogue, ANOKHI, and Glamour magazines in tow. She is currently in her Journalism Masters at UBC. Connect ...
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