FOOD FACTS: Sweets like laddoos have high levels of lead in them

When Ramesh Gupta had a fever a few days ago, he felt an excruciating pain in his body, which became bloated. He also started suffering from urinary problems. He had headaches and convulsions and this continued for several days. He underwent several medical tests till it was found that he was a victim of very acute lead poisoning.

“It was then that I realised that extracting lead from old batteries in the factory I worked at might have had something to do with my condition,” recalls Gupta. And indeed that was precisely the reason ? he had been exposed to lead for almost 12 years at his factory in Picnic Garden.

Ramesh Gupta is just one among the 52 per cent of people in Calcutta whose lead levels in blood are more than 12 microgram/decilitre, considered dangerous since it is much higher than the international permissible standard of 2 microgram/decilitre, says a recent study by the National Referral Centre for the Prevention of Lead Absorption in India. The menace of lead poisoning is generally underestimated.

According to Dr Thuppil Venkatesh, director of the National Referral Centre for the Prevention of Lead Absorption in India, among all the metals, lead ranks at the top insofar as the amount of the metal released to the environment is concerned. The present amount of lead released to the atmosphere is estimated at about 100,00 tonnes a year and the emission is on the rise in developing countries. “Although children are most susceptible to lead, adults are also affected to varying degrees,” says Dr Venkatesh. And it does lead to fatality.

Recent research undertaken by the organisation shows that almost 50 per cent of children in India have alarmingly high levels of lead in blood. “Children are particularly susceptible to lead poisoning. Lead is found everywhere. For example, paints that we use in our homes have a lead component,” says Dr Venkatesh.

A study conducted by the centre in 1999 revealed that there is also a danger from toys contaminated with lead containing dirt. Children absorb lead more readily and they are also more sensitive to its effects. The study found that a prolonged exposure to lead decreases IQ level, slows down growth and causes hearing problems and kidney damage. “These effects are persistent and they interfere with performance at school,” says Dr Padmanabhan P Nair, a researcher involved in the study based at the School of Hygiene and Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Maryland, in the US.

It is generally accepted that stress is principally caused by psychological factors. And the link between lead poisoning and stress is considered to be extremely tenuous. But irascibility, depression, constipation and nausea can all be precipitated by lead poisoning. There are several common sources. “Turmeric powder and sweets like laddoos contain high levels of lead,” says Dr Krishnajyoti Goswami, associate professor of the department of biochemistry at the Ramkrishna Mission Seva Pratisthan in Calcutta. The dangers are inherent in the colours and decorations that are used to make such sweets more attractive. The colours are mainly lead-based, containing lead chromate and Rodamin B or Rodamin D that have the metal in them. Preservatives like crude sulphuric acid and formalin have impurities and also cause lead poisoning. Fruits like pineapples and pomegranates are dipped in water containing lead to enhance their colours, adds Goswami.

A lack of awareness regarding lead poisoning often makes people ignore relevant medical tests. Dr Amit Gupta, a general practitioner, cites a case. “A patient who was suffering from acute constipation and abdominal pain was recently brought to me after having undergone many tests for several viruses. I recommended lead testing and it was found that his blood lead level was 96.5 units which was abnormally high,” he says. During his treatment, it was revealed that he was working for a company that made car batteries.

Such companies remain a source of great concern. Also, old batteries are disposed of casually. Lead smelting in unauthorised smelters is another problem. “We conform to the norms laid down by the Pollution Control Board and we only work with authorised dealers. It is up to the government to enforce the norms to control unauthorised smelters,” says Sudipto Roy, corporate communications officer at Exide Batteries Limited, Calcutta.

On the other hand, there are no governmental norms to monitor the amount of lead in food, according to Prof Subhash Santra of the department of environment science at Kalyani University, who has carried out several research projects on lead. The lack of regulation causes lead to accumulate in the food chain leading to consumption unknowingly. “The lead levels in the environment and food have subjected the urban population to slow poisoning,” he asserts.