Stop consuming poisonous salt, activist urges people

Shiv Shankar Gupta, activist and Chairman of Godhum Grains and Farms who recently took up the issue of toxic contents in premium salt brands sold in India, has urged the people to undergo regular health checkups in order to gauge the adverse effects of regularly using iodized salt of premium brands which contain poisonous substances such as potassium ferrocyanide.

“TATA Salt recently confessed that they are using potassium ferrocyanide within the permissible limit. What is the limit? Do they ever reveal? Why don’t they say potassium ferrocyanide on their packet?  Why they use E536, the European standard number for food additive in India, which is tough for a common man to understand?” he asked. 

“People should not use salt that contains potassium ferrocyanide, as it is poison even if the companies claim that the amount is within the permissible limit,” he said, adding that the same drug component has been prohibited in the US and the UK, making the TATA Salt’s claim mischievous.

“However,it is quiet unfortunate to see that Indians have been fed with poison by major companies like Tata whose salt brand has been ruling the market for the last twenty years,” said Gupta, who has been on a mission to get salt rid of all poisonous  substances.

Recent researches have revealed that the continuous usage of premium brand shave an adverse impact on health. It was found that people using regular iodized salt with potassium ferrocyanide are more at the risk of high blood pleasure, leading to various kinds of life-threatening diseases, said Gupta, who is also known as father of the Indian gemstone industry.

He alleged that regulatory boards have been compromised, as they allowed the corporate behemoths to sell vacuum salt or processed as edible salt. This is not salt at all and is much inferior to the natural salt, he added.

“We are already blessed with the deposit of best salt in the world, which worth more than five billion dollar. You cannot get better salt than the one in Sambhar Lake, which is being destroyed by the big corporate houses in collusion with salt authorities over the years and it is sold as industrial salt.Other salt from Kutch and from other coastal areas of India comes with more than 80 plus minerals are far more superior to what we have right now in the form of refined salt in the market. Despite having such a national treasure, we are being fed with industrial residue. Why? Salt Commissioner, FSSAI and Ministry of Food and Agriculture should answer this question.” 

“The food regulator fixed such low standards for edible salt to be sold in the country. In India, if any powder/granule contains sodium and chloride it can be passed off as edible salt. Accordingly, FSSAI turned a blind eye to vacuum salt being sold in the country, despite its adverse health effects,” he said.

By not regulating properly, the Salt Commissioner has ensured that Indians are fed vacuum salt, which is very harmful, said Gupta adding that no doctors on earth can certify that potassium ferrocyanide is good for health.

“Salt manufacturing companies started producing salt for industrial use in a big way. The residue of chemical process is known as industrial waste. As per rules for disposing industrial waste, the residues have to be sent back to the deep sea. However, these industrial salt manufacturers, in connivance with the Salt Department, declared that the residue actually contains sodium chloride, which is salt meant for human consumption as per the revised standards fixed for quality of common salt in India,” he explained.