The Delhi High Court has been told by the city government's Food Safety Department that rice and other food samples collected from three popular eateries in the capital have been found to be unsafe and substandard.
The affidavit filed by the designated officer from the department states that the presence of artificial colour makes these dishes "unfit" for consumption.
Short affidavit filed before the bench of Chief Justice G Rohini and R S Endlaw stated that the samples of 'Rizo Rice' taken from KFC at Scindia House in Connaught Place here, since January 2013 till October 2014, shows that it contained artificial colour.
"Rice samples collected for testing from Sagar Ratna restaurant at gate no 2 metro station of GTB Nagar, were also found to be unsafe," said S K Gupta, the designated officer.
Samples of fruit and vegetable chutney from Bikanerwala restaurant at ITL Tower in Netaji Subhash Place were found to be substandard, the affidavit said.
"Several samples of ghee (clarified butter) collected in the past two years from various eateries were found to be of sub-standard quality and were misbranded to mislead the public," it said.
Moreover, samples of fruit chutney picked up from the market and instances have come to notice regarding addition of colour in the chutney, it said.
"One sample of fruit and vegetable chutney was found to be of substandard and action against the offenders has been initiated," the affidavit, filed through Delhi government's standing counsel Zubeda Begum, said.
However, KFC and Sagar Ratna have denied the allegations and said that their products are safe for consumption.
The court is hearing a plea seeking an immediate ban on the sale of fruits and vegetables that contain artificial colours and harmful pesticides.
The PIL filed by advocate Sugriv Dubey alleged that fruits and vegetables sold in the national capital are "coated with carbohydrate and other cancerous chemicals to increase their life span."
On the high court's direction, the department has been regularly inspecting food items in Delhi to detect artificial colours and pesticide residue in them.
The affidavit also said that from March 3 till October 30, the department has taken 1420 samples, of which five have shown the presence of pesticide residues above the prescribed tolerance limit.
"Out of these 1420 samples, 648 samples were taken by the Department of Food Safety and the rest 772 samples were taken by the Department of Agriculture, government of Delhi," the affidavit said.
