Stringent action sought against use of plastic sheets to make idly

“Use of plastic sheets is widely prevalent at eateries in Chennai and Coimbatore,” CM Jayaraman, president of the club, told DTNext. He said that the joint secretary of the club Rs Kumutha, a home maker, was a witness to this practice in a hotel during her recent visit to Chennai. When she questioned the hotel’s chef, he told her, “Plastic used in the place of cloth makes it easy for us to bake the idlies. It is equally easily for us to extract it from the vessel.”

The chef had also contended that this was the practice in many leading hotels across the State. Jayaraman claimed that a few other members of the association had also noticed use of plastic sheets to make idlis at RS Puram and Kovaipudur in Coimbatore. “When we gave a few of these idlies for laboratory analysis we were shocked to know that particles of plastic could be seen in those idlies,” he said. 

Either the eateries were not aware of the hazards of using plastic sheets or were misinformed that there was little risk in such a practice. A senior oncologist with whom CVC discussed the issue told them that this was as dangerous as using plastic cups and carry bags for hot tea. He said, “Plastic in any form will affect the intestine and even cause cancer. But this practice is not visible to us as the kitchen is not a place where customers can enter without permission,” he added. 

The consumer body has taken up the issue with the Principal Secretary for Co-operative, Food and Consumer Protection Department and Commissioner for Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection. “We have sought stringent action against persons indulging in this harmful practice under the Food Safety and Standards Act,” Jayaraman said.