Officials of state’s food safety enforcement wing are busy this summer. In the midst of drive against artificial ripening of mangoes and unhygienic roadside eateries, the department has also started checking for adulteration of coconut oil. Special inspection drive has begun at check points to prevent transportation of adulterated coconut oil from Tamil Nadu. Food safety commission in charge K Anil Kumar said the drive had been part of department’s continuing efforts to prevent adulteration. “Most commonly used adulterants are paraffin wax and white oil. Only products with NABL accreditation are allowed in the state. We have already seized oil from check post and samples have been sent to laboratory of coconut development board and government analytical laboratory for analysis,” he said. Unfortunately, most of the laboratories in the state are not equipped to check all types of adulteration. In some cases, palm kernel oil is used as adulterant. If 5% of palm kernel oil is used, it cannot be identified in usual lab tests and will require sophisticated testing,” said an official. Meanwhile, state food safety officials have contacted food safety commissionrates in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka to check adulteration practices in those states. Most of the coconut oil that reaches the state comes from Kangeyam in Tamil Nadu.