Milk, Spices, Honey, And Veggies Laced With Toxins: AAP’s Raghav Chadha Raises Alarm On India’s Food Adulteration Crisis
Milk, Spices, Honey, And Veggies Laced With Toxins: AAP’s Raghav Chadha Raises Alarm On India’s Food Adulteration Crisis
New Delhi, February 5, 2026: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has raised alarm over what he described as India’s “biggest health crisis: food adulteration,” highlighting dangerous additives found in everyday food products.
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Chadha said that milk, spices, edible oils, packaged foods, and beverages are often contaminated with harmful chemicals, unsafe additives, and high levels of sugar, salt, or saturated fat, while being falsely marketed as healthy or energy-boosting.
He listed several examples of adulteration, including:
- Urea in milk
- Oxytocin in vegetables
- Caustic soda in paneer
- Brick powder in spices
- Yellow dye in honey
- Steroids in poultry
- Detergent in ice cream
Citing research, Chadha said 71% of milk samples tested in India contained urea, while 64% contained neutralizers like sodium bicarbonate. He warned that oxytocin, a common adulterant, can lead to dizziness, headaches, heart failure, infertility, and even cancer.
Highlighting the scale of the problem, he noted that one in four food samples tested between 2014 and 2026 were adulterated, causing illnesses, hospitalizations, and deaths. He also pointed out that certain Indian spice brands, banned abroad due to cancer-causing pesticides, continue to be sold domestically.
Chadha urged the government to implement corrective measures, including:
- Strengthening the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) with increased manpower and upgraded laboratory facilities.
- Introducing stricter penalties and fines for offenders.
- Creating a public recall mechanism to immediately withdraw adulterated products from the market.
