A study by Toxics Links, an environmental NGO, found last December that crops and vegetables grown along the Yamuna river belt were poisonous. It found the presence of heavy metals such as lead, chromium, arsenic and mercury in the sediment samples of the river. In another study conducted by the NGO early this year, heavy traces of mercury were found in fish samples collected from five city markets of West Bengal.

"Contamination of food is equally dangerous, if not more, than air pollution," says Satish Sinha, associate director of Toxics Links. If the environment is not clean and the water and soil are heavily contaminated, then toxic elements will find their way into the food. According to Sinha, rampant use of pesticides across the country has not only contaminated agricultural produce but has also seeped into packaged foods, bottled water and beverages. Even the highest court in India had expressed its grave concern over the issue.

In a public interest litigation hearing in October 2013, Justice KS Radhakrishnan of the Supreme Court observed that enjoyment of life and its attainment, including right to life and human dignity, encompasses within its ambit availability of articles of food without insecticide or pesticide residue, veterinary drug residues, antibiotic residues, solvent residues.

"Many of the food articles like rice, vegetables, meat, fish, milk, fruits available in the market contain insecticide or pesticide residues, beyond the tolerable limits, causing serious health hazards," Justice Radhakrishnan said. He further added that fruitbased soft drinks available in various fruit stalls contain such pesticides residues in alarming proportions, but no effort is made to examine its contents. Children and infants are uniquely susceptible to the effects of pesticide because of their physiological immaturity and greater exposure to soft drinks, fruit based or otherwise, he remarked.

It's not just consumption of fruits and vegetables that may be hazardous; the odds are equally stacked against non-vegetarians, too, thanks to indiscriminate use of antibiotics and growth hormones by poultry farmers. A study by Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) last year found antibiotic residues in 40% of chicken samples bought from outlets in Delhi and National Capital Region (NCR). Antibiotics are regularly pumped into chicken to promote growth and prevent diseases.

Experts say contamination and adulteration of food are two sides of the same coin and shouldn't be looked at in isolation. "One is happening by default and the other is happening by design," says DrSeema Gulati, head nutrition research group, Centre for Nutrition and Metabolic Disorders at the National Diabetes Obesity and Cholesterol Foundation in the capital.

"At the end of the day both are reaching your plate and it's poison that you are eating." According to Gulati, consumer ignorance about toxins in the processed foods they purchase is high. "Packaged food is loaded with carcinogens and additives and we think it to be healthy," she says.

The need of the hour, she points out, is strict enforcement of rules and even stricter penalties for flouting norms. Government should make food labelling mandatory and exhaustive. Companies must ensure they meet the highest global standards in safety and quality of food.

"Making consumers aware and letting them make informed choices will take care of one aspect of the problem," says Gulati. This should be followed up with regular inspections of food items and harsh punishment for those not following the law, she adds. A beginning seems to have been made with Nestle's Maggi.