GWALIOR / NEW DELHI — Highlighting the grave public health risks associated with seasonal food adulteration, Nitin Saxena, Founder & President of the All India Consumer Education Society (AICES), senior journalist, and accredited consumer rights advocate, issued an urgent press warning to consumers nationwide from the AICES office in Gwalior.
Referring directly to an investigative report published by Dainik Bhaskar, Mr. Saxena alerted the public to widespread adulteration in the decorative silver (chandi) and gold (sona) foil (vark) applied to festive sweets such as kaju katli, barfi, and laddoo.
- Core Findings & Public Advisory By Nitin Saxena:
Addressing the media in Gwalior, Nitin Saxena stated:
Urgent Consumer Boycott of Foil Sweets: Consumers are strongly advised to completely avoid purchasing or consuming sweets decorated with silver or gold foil (vark) during the Diwali festive rush.
Profiteering Over Public Health: Unscrupulous traders and manufacturers systematically exploit peak seasonal demand by substituting pure 99.9% silver foil with cheap, industrial-grade metals to boost profit margins at the expense of consumer health.
Purely Decorative, Zero Value: Decorative foil carries zero nutritional benefits and no impact on flavor, making its consumption an unnecessary risk to family health during celebrations.- Medical & Toxicological Warnings: Hazards To Human Health
Backing the warnings issued by senior medical specialists and health experts, the release emphasized the severe consequences of ingesting counterfeit metallic leaf:
Toxic Heavy Metal Substitutes: Forensic and laboratory testing of market samples reveals that up to 99% of non-standard vark contains non-edible substitutes, including aluminium, cadmium, nickel, lead, copper, and zinc.
Organ Toxicity & Failure: Cumulative ingestion of aluminium and heavy metals places direct toxic stress on the kidneys and liver, contributing to progressive organ deterioration and chronic systemic toxicity.
Neurological & Carcinogenic Impairment: Bioaccumulation of toxic metal fragments in human tissue poses severe long-term risks, including central nervous system impairment, memory degradation, severe digestive tract ulceration, and elevated long-term cancer risks.- Demands For Strict Statutory & Legal Action
On behalf of the All India Consumer Education Society (AICES), Nitin Saxena called upon state administrative and enforcement bodies to execute immediate compliance measures.
