In a piece of sad news, Tamil Nadu has banned the sale of cotton candy as food officials confirmed that it has cancer-causing element called Rhodomine-B, which is a dye used in the textile industry.
Earlier, this month, food safety officials in Puducherry banned the sale of candy floss after they found the chemical compound that caused cancer. Health minister Ma Subramanian had made the announcement of the ban.
It was on February 8, when Puducherry governor Tamilisai Soundararajan said that the cotton candy which was dye-laced, was sourced from Chennai. Health minister Ma Subramanian then told food safety officers to take samples for verification.
The samples of candy floss were tested back at the Govt Food Analysis Laboratory, Guindy, and showcased the presence of Rhodomine-B in pink candy which was horrendous.
The samples were declared 'substandard and unsafe' under various sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Tamil Nadu Health Minister Ma Subramanian had even said in a statement that, "As per the Food Safety Standards Act, 2006, preparation, packaging, importing, selling and serving food items with Rhodamine-B in wedding ceremonies and other public events is a punishable offence".
Rhodamine B is known as a water-soluble chemical compound which acts as a dye. It is known for bright pink colouration and is totally toxic for humans.
Rhodamine B can cause stress on your cells and tissues if ingested and is poisonous when gets mixed with food, leading to tumour and cancer with time.