LAHORE, March 23: The Punjab Food Department plans to buy 11,000 bales (of 1,000 bags each) of woven polypropylene bags for transportation and storage of wheat despite the fact that a study by the Pakistan Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (PCSIR) has tested them hazardous to the environment besides being unsafe for storing various food items, including wheat.

The PCISR study found breaking up of polypropylene bags and mixing of small pieces of polypropylene with wheat because these do not contain any suitable light inhibitor or anti-ultra violet (UV) material.

The report reveals the polypropylene bags show a rapid deterioration in the tensile strength as these get punctured on slight mechanical jerk and are susceptible to heat and light which causes their degradation.

Therefore, it says, the transportation of wheat in such bags is not possible as light and heat cause leakage in the bags.

It says the polypropylene bags, especially the low-cost ones, contain different additives and filling agents, which are carcinogenic and can cause health problems.

Nevertheless, the study says the bags can be used for storing wheat for a short period of time with least moisture content at low temperature in a warehouse if their fibre contains an inhibitor to resist ultra violet light along with anti-skid coating and if the size of the bag is 50kg capacity.

Though the department has clearly stated in its advertisement that the provided bags must be UV stabilised polypropylene, critics insist that there is no machine or laboratory in the country to calculate or derive the UV stabilising factor of the provided bags.

According to a person associated with the jute bag industry there is no way through which the department can find that the provided bags are in fact UV stabilised.

“It is because of this very reason that the PCSIR study has advised the use of jute bags for long distance transportation and for long period of storage of wheat. The study favours use of jute sacks for wheat storage because these, being porous, allow passage of air and hence help maintain the quality of the grains.

In addition, jute sacks are easily stackable, stable under light, heat and easy for transportation, and due to high tensile strength these are biodegradable and enrich the soil by enhancing its organic content and fertility,” he said, quoting the study.

When contacted, a senior food department official said on the condition of anonymity that the people involved in the procurement of polypropylene bags had categorically been instructed to ensure that the bags comply with the specifications of the Pakistan Standards and Quality Control Authority.

He says if the provided bags are not in accordance with the standards, the department will not procure them. He nevertheless claims that there is a “big mafia” which has been opposing the purchase of polypropylene bags because of its own business interests.