SWABI, June 19: The sale of adulterated food items continues in Swabi as the authorities concerned have failed to check sellers putting people’s lives at risk.

Food inspectors can rein them in. But because of their petty financial interest involved in this business, they appear to have given a free hand to vendors and traders to play havoc with the lives of the people.

If the existing food control law is implemented, no one would dare indulge in adulteration and selling of unhygienic food items. Consuming these items often results in food poisoning and other diseases, especially among children.

Traders say that food inspectors only visited the Swabi bazaars for collecting their ‘share’ and not for checking the sale of substandard foodstuff.

The butchers of the district usually slaughter sick animals. Some of them also purchase sick camels and their meat is widely used by the kabab-sellers. No one has checked this practice. It has also come to light that the staff concerned has been getting ‘boneless’ beef and mutton.

“Whenever I need to have meat, I go straight to the Afghan refugees’ camp at Gohati, and never purchase meat in the Swabi market,” claimed Musharraf Khan of Maneri Bala.

Substandard juices, fruits, ice-creams, sugarcane juice, pakoras are sold in the open bazaars and at all junction points right under the authorities’ concerned’s noses.

Almost all the sharbat-sellers have been using saccharin (a sweetening chemical) instead of sugar, and earned handsome money without investing much. Saccharin is injurious to health, and medical practitioners prohibit its use.

The spices are also adulterated and the profiteers use a variety of items for doing so.

Another most adulterated item is tea. A tea-seller told this correspondent on condition of anonymity that all tea brands were adulterated. However, some did so more, others less.

About food inspectors, he said: “If you are paying to them, they would never question the quality, but in case of refusal, your best-quality tea can be judged adulterated one.”

Besides, all the bakeries use substandard oil, ghee and atta for making biscuits and sweets.