Of the 235 cake samples examined, it was discovered that 12 of them included artificial coloring, including Tartrazine, Carmoisine, Ponceau 4R, Sunset Yellow FCF, and Allura Red.
On Thursday, the Karnataka government released a warning following the discovery of carcinogenic coloring chemicals in samples of 12 distinct cake variants distributed by multiple bakers.
The warning follows months of intense scrutiny over food safety in Karnataka, where the use of artificial food dyes, such as Rhodamine-B, in street delicacies like cotton candy and gobi manchurian was recently outlawed due to health concerns.
The Food Safety and Standards Act of 2006 and associated food safety laws from 2011 rigorously prohibit these additives, which we have found to be carcinogenic in some of the tested cake samples, according to a top government official. He threatened to take tough measures against bakeries if they did not quickly adhere to safety regulations.
Food safety commissioner Srinivas K issued a warning to bakeries throughout the state not to use hazardous chemicals and additions in their goods, citing tests conducted on cakes taken from bakeries in Bengaluru that revealed the presence of potentially harmful ingredients.
“Among the 235 cake samples tested, 12 were found to contain artificial colors like Allura Red, Sunset Yellow FCF, Ponceau 4R, Tartrazine, and Carmoisine, all of which were present in amounts that exceeded the prescribed safety limits,” reads an official statement from the Karnataka Food Safety and Quality Department. These substances have been connected to cancer and other major health hazards. They are frequently used to improve the aesthetic appeal of desserts like red velvet and black forest. The overuse of these substances may be harmful to one’s physical and emotional well-being.
The department had tested various food items recently in addition to cakes. They tested 65 khoya samples and 221 paneer samples in August and found that one of each was below par. Similar to this, numerous instances of non-compliance with food safety regulations were found during inspections conducted in September at popular tourist destinations and food vendors on trains.
