Gauhati HC asks BARC for kits to test chemicals in veggies

GUWAHATI: The Gauhati high court on Tuesday requested the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) to carry forward the protocol required to make testing kits available to the agriculture department and the food safety department of the state government so that the departments can use those to detect contaminated substance in vegetables.
During an earlier hearing in April, food analyst Anupam Gogoi had stated before the court that instant testing kits were a necessity in order to make the process of making contaminated vegetables unavailable in the market so that measures can effectively be taken on the spot itself.
Deputy solicitor general of India, RKD Choudhury, submitted before the court that BARC has certain kits for detection of contaminated substances in the vegetables but such kits would only be in respect of 12 of the items mentioned in the report of Prasun Kumar Mukherjee, head of the nuclear agriculture and biotechnology division.
The bench said, "Even if the testing kits would be applicable for 12 of the contaminated elements, still we are of the view that the same would enable the authorities to progress further in detecting the contaminated vegetables at least for the purpose of such 12 contaminated substances."