Times of Oman: Haridwar: Tuesday, May 30, 2017.
Nearly 40 per
cent of Ayurveda products, including items from Baba Ramdev's Patanjali, were
found to be of substandard quality by Haridwar's Ayurveda and Unani Office, a
Right to Information (RTI) reply revealed.
Out of the 82
samples collected between 2013 and 2016, 32 failed the quality test.
Patanjali's Divya Amla Juice and Shivlingi Beej were among the products that
failed to meet the quality standards. Last month, the armed forces' Canteen
Stores Department (CSD) had suspended the sale of a batch of Patanjali's amla
juice after it 'failed' a quality test carried out at West Bengal Public Health
Laboratory.
According to
Uttarakhand state government lab report, the pH value - which measures the
alkalinity of water soluble substances - was found to be less than the
prescribed limit in the amla juice. Products with pH value less than seven
could lead to acidity and other medical complications.
The RTI reply
also revealed that 31.68 per cent of foreign matter was found in the Shivlingi
Beej. Ramdev's associate and Patanjali's managing director, Acharya Balkrishna,
denied the lab report. "Shivlingi Beej is a natural seed. How can we
adulterate it?", he said and claimed that the report was an attempt to
malign Patanjali's image.
Besides
Patanjali products, 18 samples of Ayurveda drugs such as Avipattikara Churna,
Talisadya Churna, Pushyanuga Churna, Lavan Bhaskar Churna, Yograj Guggulu,
Laksha Guggulu were also found substandard. Over the years, Uttarakhand has
emerged as a major hub of Ayurveda products. Haridwar and Rishikesh have more
than 1,000 dealers, manufacturers and suppliers of Ayurveda medicines.
One of the
manufacturers, Minor Forest Produce Processing And Research Centre (MFP-PARC),
said the drugs were supplied only after Uttrakhand Ayush wing's approval. Ayush
minister Harak Singh Rawat said the department was in the process of carrying
out more regular tests to ensure product quality.
"We have
a lab in Haridwar to test the samples but it lacked the required staff. We have
now appointed five new chemists and are in the process of recruiting
more," he said.