FDA flags plastic use in holige preparation; detects adulterated jaggery.

With Ugadi round the corner, holige — a festival favourite — has come under the scanner after the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department (FDA) flagged the use of plastic sheets in its making and packaging.

Officials told TNIE that after banning plastic sheets for the preparation of idlis, they are taking strict measures to eliminate plastic from food processing and have already issued improvement notices to several shops in Bengaluru, Mysuru and other parts of the state that were using plastic sheets for preparing and wrapping Holige.

A senior official also mentioned that the department also recently cracked down on jaggery samples, another key ingredient in traditional sweets and used in the filling of holige, and detected adulterated samples. “A few jaggery samples had ‘washing soda or chalk powder’ to increase the volume and also included additives like ‘metanil yellow’ to give a golden-yellow hue. The inspections related to holige and a few other food items have just started and a detailed sample collection is ongoing,” the official said.

The official told TNIE that most shops across the state, including in Bengaluru, are using single-use plastic sheets, especially printed ones commonly used for packaging milk and oils. “Vendors roll holige on these plastic sheets and place them directly on hot pans or tawas until the plastic separates from the sweet. After preparation, they immediately transfer the holige onto single-use plastic or polythene sheets to prevent it from sticking, which is a harmful practice,” the official said.

When single-use plastic is heated, especially on a hot pan or tawa, it starts to melt and release toxic chemicals into the food. These plastics contain harmful substances like phthalates, bisphenols (such as BPA) and dioxins, which leach into food when exposed to heat. Such chemicals are known to be endocrine disruptors, meaning they can interfere with hormones in the body. Long-term exposure to these substances has been linked to health issues like hormonal imbalances, reproductive problems, metabolic disorders and even an increased risk of cancer, the FDA official mentioned.