That food item-related crimes have been happening as a matter of normal course in the country can be seen from the fact that in the year 1997-98 itself as many as about a lakh traders had been booked for various kinds of economic crimes related to food stuff across the country, under the Essential Commodities Act, according to the figures put out by the Central Department of Food and Consumer Affairs under the ministry of food and agriculture. For a country of India's size with about a hundred crore population, however, the one lakh figure may sound peanuts but the fact is that at least this much did happen.

The other side of the coin is more disturbing in that out of the above one lakh offenders and criminals, hardly five to six thousand were finally convicted and the rest either escaped through various loopholes in the country's legal system or are facing the music still.

Such recorded cases may be a pointer to the existing malaise in the trade and industry. However, the recent cases of edible oil adulteration and the resultant dropsy epidemic stand witness to the fact that the entire system is deeply malignant.

In the light of all this, though belated, certain measures announced by the Union Government last week of August 1998 are worth noticing and monitoring.

Operation of edible oil manufacturing units is being suspended in respect of the items found to be adulterated, according to a decision taken by the Department of Sugar and Edible Oils under the ministry of food and consumer affairs in the last week of August. This suspension will remain in force till such units set up adequate analytical facilities for checking the purity of samples to the satisfaction of the union government.

Oilseeds import to ensure purity of raw stock:

What could be of explicit significance to the Indian trade and industry is the government's decision to import edible oilseeds to ensure quality raw material supply for the manufacture of edible oils in the country. In another decision in the direction of checking edible oil adulteration, all the states and union territories have been ``sensitised and requested to monitor the manufacturing process of edible oils from the raw material stage itself'', according to authoritative sources.

At a meeting with the edible oil industry representatives, the department has also cautioned them to ensure quality of products. They have been asked to adopt a code of self-discipline.

The department has decided to ban the use of mustard oil in the manufacture of vanaspati. The other measures that have been initiated to strengthen the process of monitoring edible oil manufacture are: