Even though the Indian aluminium utensils industry has been growing at 45 per cent in the last three years, “myths” surrounding the impact of these utensils on health has been stifling the prospects of this sector.

The Federation of All-India Aluminium Utensils Manufacturers has dismissed the “rumours” as baseless, quoting scientific studies that show that, on the contrary, the use of aluminium utensils can significantly save fuel consumption.

There are 4,000-odd firms engaged in the production of two-lakh tonnes of aluminium utensils every year, with most of the stocks coming from recycled metal. The industry exports about 15 per cent of its production to West Asia, Europe and Africa.

“Exports have been encouraging. But the domestic market is not expanding at the desired level because of the myths. We have launched a string of initiatives to dispel the rumours relating to use of aluminium utensils,” Mr Tarun Goyal, president of AIFAUM, said on the sidelines of the International Conference on Aluminium here.

He said the British Medical Journal has declared aluminium as the best metal next to gold and platinum for cooking, better than even silver. “Aluminium conducts heat twice that of copper and about nine times better than stainless steel,” he pointed out.

>amitmitra@thehindu.co.in

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