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>Over a three-month period, Mazumdar tested some of the country’s most popular spices – chilli, cumin, curry powder, garam masala and chat masala. She tested 52
by jquery 3y ago
>Over a three-month period, Mazumdar tested some of the country’s most popular spices – chilli, cumin, curry powder, garam masala and chat masala. She tested 52 samples of turmeric, assessing branded and packaged varieties, as well as loose powders sold by street vendors in Kolkata.
>She found lead in all of them.
>The cause, she found, was food colouring contaminated with compounds of lead. Lead chromate was added to the turmeric to brighten its golden colour and lead oxide gave the chilli powders a rich red hue.
- meindnoch 3y agoIt's one thing to add food coloring to improve the product's appearance. What boggles the mind is how there isn't anyone in the production facility who would raise the issue of lead being not the greatest food additive. I mean, these people are likely poisoning their own kids too. Are they this uneducated?
- Anotheroneagain 3y agoI suppose that muslims reject it because muhammad used galena powder as a medicine. It might be an excuse, though. Their heavy metal content is likely why people started using spices in the first place. They can't taste good without them. Nothing can. We evolved to detect their presence, and like their taste.