A large number of infected betel nuts had already made their way in the country and more would soon be selling to packers, makers of sweet Supari and other pan outlets, which is the root cause of cancer and other hazardous diseases.
Sources said several hundreds tonnes of infected betel nuts would soon be released as some of the importers would bypass the inspection committee rules. The infected betel nuts are of Indonesian origin and have low cost.
A leading trader said that the government in the policy announced during the last fiscal year exempted inspection of betel nuts, which is hazardous and would cause diseases. "This is an agricultural product and should be inspected by a team of experts either belonging to PSCIR or SGS."
He added that consignments releasing from Indonesia are getting certification, fit for human consumption from the provincial level and getting help from the local officials, the consignments have released on regular basis.
These representative companies instead of inspecting the consignments are directly issuing certificates of inspection on quality and quantity based on test and laboratory reports issued by the official laboratory in the country.
Soon hundreds tonnes of betel nuts would be released and the sample drawn and certified by the experts showed that it is not fit for human consumption.
"The whole and spilt brand carry infectious material and could cause dangerous fever typhoid." The fever is not curable as it develops in the intestine and might result in Hepatitis 'B'. A younger animal can go blind after eating this stuff.
Inferior quality or infected betel nuts are being quoted at $500 to $550 per tonne in Indonesia, while the superior quality is quoted at $850 per tonne. The government is also losing revenue on these consignments and importers of these products after convincing some of the officials have developed contacts in the local market, selling infected and infested consignments.
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