Fear of adulteration of yellow pea flour in gram flour made from Bengal gram dal
10-Oct-2024 11:24 AM
New Delhi. Traditionally, gram flour has been made from good quality Bengal gram dal in India, but this year, due to the high price of Bengal gram, there is a fear of adulteration of cheap yellow pea flour in it.
This has raised concerns about transparency and it is being said that common consumers are forced to buy adulterated gram flour instead of pure Bengal gram flour.
The price of yellow peas is low, hence the gram flour made from it is cheaper. Surprisingly, despite this fear of adulteration, the price of gram flour is high and an attempt is being made to show that it is made from Bengal gram dal only.
There is no doubt that yellow peas are also a safe product for consumption and it can be used as an alternative to Bengal gram dal.
If the gram flour made from peas is mixed with the gram flour made from Bengal gram dal, then there is no danger to human health.
But the price of this mixed gram flour should have been much lower and the mixing should have been clearly mentioned on its packaging.
The price of yellow peas is 35-40 rupees per kg and the price of Bengal gram is 74-75 rupees per kg (wholesale market price).
When there is such a huge difference in the price of the whole product, then it is not right to keep the price of the products made from it (adulterated) the same.
The adulterators are making huge profits from this but the well-known companies manufacturing and trading gram flour from pure Bengal gram dal are incurring losses.
The retail price of gram flour is 110 rupees per kg or more, which clearly indicates that the firms doing the mixing are making huge profits but the common consumers are not getting any benefit from it.
The price of gram flour mixed with yellow peas should be around 50 rupees per kg but this is not seen in the market.
It is difficult to find out the amount of adulteration. To find this out, government agencies should get the gram flour samples tested. The demand for gram flour will remain high till Diwali.