Ready-to-eat curries contain harmful chemicals

London, October 10: Chicken tikka masala, a special version of the Indian recipe of butter chicken, has become hugely popular in the UK, thanks to its mouth-watering taste. But apprehensions are now being raised that the favorite food of the Britons could be laced with poisonous chemicals.

In a survey conducted recently, it has been highlighted that one out of every four curries from restaurants contains potentially perilous levels of laboratory-created chemicals.

Experts pointed out enormous quantities of artificial colors like tartrazine, ponceau 4R and sunset yellow in ready-to-eat curries being sold across the 10,000 Indian restaurants and take-aways in the UK.

Since these chemicals are associated with rashes and breathing problems, they can be used in the curries within the prescribed legal limits only.

Manufacturers have been warned beforehand to remove the artificial colors from their products by the year-end by the Food Standards Agency, else they could face prosecution.

Graham Hebblethwaite, chief of the West Yorkshire Council’s trading standards, was quoted as saying, “The FSA is asking food and drink manufacturers to phase out the use of these artificial colors. The food industry has generally taken great strides to remove them but the message does not appear to have been heeded by the takeaway curry trade.”

Majority of the curry houses at fault are the ones on the high street which look after the British tastes. Their curries are quite different as compared to the ones prepared in Asian homes or in the Indian sub-continent.

In order to cater to the local tastes, modifications have been introduced in the curries here. They have a thick creamy layer of sauce covering pieces of meat or vegetables. To make sure that preparation does not turn out to be too spicy, chemicals are used to enhance the color of the dish, instead of using turmeric or chilly powder.