Things were worse than I thought. I did a bit of research on the subject and found that, over the past two years, the World Health Organisation has issued six medical alerts for contaminated syrups. It estimates that 15 Indian companies are involved in their distribution. In America, an Indian company was even asked to pay a fine for price-fixing which is allegedly illegal in that country. It almost made me weep for the poor pharmaceutical industry and its lobbyists who, I assumed, would have to take home smaller bonuses on account of these awful accusations.

And then came the attacks on our food. Earlier this year, Singapore and Hong Kong suspended sales of spice blends from two major Indian brands, accusing them of using high levels of a pesticide called ethylene oxide. I had never heard of the stuff, so I assumed this just wasn’t true. Would our food taste as good if it had pesticides? It didn’t make sense. And yet, the Food and Drug Administration in America promptly launched its own investigation, followed by Australia and New Zealand. Luckily for us, local laws don’t insist on manufacturers testing spices for pesticides or carcinogens in the domestic market unless asked to by authorities. In other words, they will never be asked. It is only spices marked for exports that may have to be tested, going forward. I breathed a sigh of relief and said a silent prayer of thanks for our caring testing authorities.

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 Here’s my issue with these regulations: I believe they mollycoddle Indians. Allow me to explain. The fact is, we are a strong, robust nation because we are born into a country where life has always been cheap. From the moment we leave our mothers’ wombs, we are thrust into cities or villages where anything and everything can kill us. There are antibiotic-resistant superbugs in our hospitals, contaminated packets of milk and a complete disregard for hygiene that marks all the places we eat at from childhood onwards. We aren’t even safe when we aren’t eating or drinking because of crumbling infrastructure, absent traffic rules, and overcrowded public transport. And yet, it is this all-pervasive element of danger that makes us so resilient and allows some of us to thrive each year. Why, then, should the government attack our immune systems by bringing in pesky checks and balances where none have existed for decades?

There may be cause for hope though, if recent bills passed in Parliament are considered. In July 2023, for instance, two provisions of the Drugs & Cosmetics Act were reportedly decriminalised, which means drug manufacturers won’t have to face major consequences for selling us substandard products. Some may have to go to jail for up to three years, but others may only have to pay a huge fine of up to R5,000. Don’t let anyone tell you that life being cheap has no advantages.

When he isn’t ranting about all things Mumbai, Lindsay Pereira can be almost sweet. He tweets @lindsaypereira

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The views expressed in this column are the individual’s and don’t represent those of the paper