BMC's health dept found 81 pct of roadside beverages unsafe for human consumption

Almost 81 per cent of juices and drinks being sold on roadside stalls in Mumbai are unsafe for human consumption, according to the city civic body. The health department of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation last month inspected several stalls on roadsides here selling lemonade, sugarcane juice and ice pops.

"Out of tor 968 samples of such drinks collected from various stalls, 786 (around 81.1 per cent) were found to be unsafe and unfit for consumption," a senior civic official said on Wednesday. The civic body has decided to act tough against vendors selling such unhygienic drinks which may cause water-borne diseases among consumers, he said.

"The civic officials have been regularly inspecting roadside stalls and destroying such contaminated drinks. We don't want to take any chance with people's health," he said. The Central Railway in March banned the sale of lemon and other syrup-based juices at food stalls under its jurisdiction after a video of such a drink being prepared unhygienically went viral on social media.

The sale of lemon and other synthetically flavoured juices made my mixing water goes up in the summer season, another civic official noted. He, however, appealed to people not to consume such juices being sold on roadside stalls.

(With inputs from agencies.)