To Indians who swear by the medicinal properties of haldi, the recent research findings from Britain on the possible role of turmeric in preventing blood cancer should not come as a surprise. Nor the earlier researches pointing to the anti-inflammatory properties of the compound curcumin in haldi and its possible role in slowing down the progression of neuro-degenerative disease in the elderly ? Alzheimer?s.

Indians of course have been using the wonder spice for thousands of years in food for its flavour and colour besides its medicinal properties. In fact, if you tell your grandmother that you have a sore throat, in all likelihood she will ask you to drink hot milk laced with a good amount of haldi. And it does help, provided the haldi that you use is pure.

And this is where the problem lies. Once upon a time, Indian households grew the plant ? Curcuma Longa ? dried the root and powdered the pure spice. But today, most households buy the readymade powder and in the absence of stringent enforcement of the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act (PFA), one is not sure of the quality of the spice.

As part of its surveillance of food contaminants in India, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had tested 249 samples of turmeric collected from rural and urban markets of Assam, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh for heavy metals. As per the results published in 1993, 47.8 per cent of the samples showed the presence of arsenic, 55.8 per cent had cadmium and 99.6 per cent was contaminated with lead. In six samples, the lead level even exceeded the maximum limit imposed under the PFA Act! Expressing concern over this, ICMR had called for immediate measures to identify the sources of contaminants.

Besides contaminants like heavy metals and even pesticides, the turmeric that you get in the market could be adulterated with toxic colours such as lead chromate or metanil yellow ? both banned under the PFA Act. In order to curb adulteration, the Union ministry of health amended the PFA Act, making it mandatory for all ground spices, including haldi, to be sold in sealed and properly labelled packages. But even though this amendment came into force in 1995, it is still not being enforced.

So if you want to reap the benefits of haldi in your diet, make sure that what you are using is pure ? uncontaminated and unadulterated. Demand better enforcement from the department of PFA and buy haldi sold only in packages and preferably, from trusted sources or brands. Also check the ?best before? date. In fact, the residents? association in your area can get a few brands tested and choose the best one.