KARACHI: Tests show seized betel nut unfit for consumption
By Nizamuddin Siddiqui
KARACHI, May 1: Laboratory tests have shown that the 7,000-ton consignment of betel nut seized recently by the Customs officials is unfit for human consumption, it was learnt on Wednesday.
The samples taken from the consignment contained unacceptably high levels of mould and aspergillus flavus, said the report of the tests conducted at the Aga Khan University Hospital.
Aspergillus niger and aspergillus fumigatus were also detected. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica, aspergillus flavus, aspergillus niger and aspergillus fumigatus — if consumed in large quantities — can cause diseases like aspergillosis.
Severe form of aspergillosis is primary broncho pulmonary infection which is similar to tuberculosis, says the encyclopaedia. The symptoms of this disease are fever, severe cough and sputum occasionally tinged with blood and mycelium.
According to the AKU’s report — a copy of which has been obtained by Dawn — the submitted sample of betel nut had 16,000cfu/gm of mould. Only less than 1,000cfu/gm of mould is satisfactory and between 1,000 and 10,000cfu/gm is acceptable, added the report.
Similarly, the sample had: 14,000cfu/gm of aspergillus flavus; 1,000cfu/gm of aspergillus fumigatus; and, 400cfu/gm of aspergillus niger. The final comment of the report was: “The sample submitted is microbiologically unsatisfactory”.
A few weeks ago some Custom officials had become suspicious about the quality of about 7,000 tons of betel nut being imported. The Customs officials decided that the huge amount of betel nut, which looked contaminated even to the naked eye, should not be allowed inside the country.
So they put their foot down and disallowed the import. Soon, all kinds of pressure tactics were let loose on the said Customs people, who stood their ground. In an effort to show that they were right in stopping the consignment from entering the country, the officials sent some samples to the HEJ Research Institute of Chemistry.
The HEJ Institute issued two reports about the quality of the betel nut. One report, initialled by Dr Iqbal Chaudhary and Ms Samreen, said: “The provided sample of betel nut is dangerous to human health. The nuts are heavily infested with insects and microorganisms. “Mould and yeast are clearly visible. Import of this dangerous material for ANY use represents the worst trade practice.”
The other report said: “More than 80 per cent of the betel nut is infested with insects and micro-organisms. It is dangerous for human health due to the presence of mould and yeast.
“On the basis of above observation this sample is declared to be unfit for human consumption.”
Copies of the HEJ Institute’s reports were given to journalists at a press conference in mid-April in the PMA House. During this press conference some members of the Pakistan Medical Association had charged that the manufacturers of sweet supari and gutka regularly used rotten betel nut.
Imported betel nut — often unfit for human consumption — was coated with textile dyes and sweetened with aspartame and saccharin, not sugar. The primary aim of this exercise was to conceal the real appearance and odour of the substandard betel nuts, they had charged.
The PMA’s members who spoke on the occasion were: Dr Sirajuddaulah Syed, Dr Aziz Tank, Dr Haseeb Alam, Dr Habib Soomro and Dr Qaiser Sajjad. At the conference they had demanded that manufacture of supari and gutka be banned altogether.
Meanwhile, a well-placed source told Dawn that after getting tired of exerting fruitless pressure on the Customs officials, the importers of the consignment had requested them to allow the re-export of the contaminated betel nut. And, to the amazement of everyone, the country they want the consignment to be re-exported to is Afghanistan.
The source pointed out that the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is a fairly porous one. “We fear that the betel nut after being smuggled in from Afghanistan will soon be in the Pakistani markets.
“And the shape it will be in — all sweetened, coloured and coated — it will be fetching good price. And it will also be infecting people with all kinds of diseases.”
