Six of the north-eastern states and Sikkim have banned loose mustard oil sales for fear that it may be adulterated with argemone oil or even mobile oil in some instances.

Following the example set by Delhi, other neighbouring states, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh also issued orders banning the sale of both loose and branded varieties of mustard oil. West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Chandigarh, Uttar Pradesh have also banned sale of the oil.

As 154 fresh cases of dropsy were reported from Delhi over the last 24 hours and reports of additional dropsy cases came in from different parts of the country, the Union Health Ministry has shifted gears on further measures to tackle the epidemic. A full review of the preventive efforts made so far is to be made and sampling and testing facilities tightened up.

In the North-East, the Meghalaya Government issued ban orders on mustard oil unless certified by the Health Department. Food and Civil Supplies Minister M N Mukhim said mustard oil samples through out the state would be tested to check for additives.

Issuing a ban on sale of loose mustard oil, the Tripura government alerted people not to use oil which could have been adulterated. But opposition leaders in the state alleged that traders were sending oil consignments to the rural areas where people may not know about the ban or even the dropsy epidemic.

The Arunachal and Sikkim Governments have also banned sales of mustard oil. In Arunachal, the ban on loose mustard oil extends till October 31. The order, coming into effect immediately, was issued under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954.

With officials finding seven out of ten samples checked in a random survey adulterated, the Gangtok district administration, health and family welfare and food and civil supplies departments have joined hands to enforce the ban.Following the detection of three dropsy cases in Assam, the State Government ordered a ban on mustard oil with immediate effect.

Three patients were admitted to the M M C hospital in Shillong and several others with symptoms of dropsy had reported at the outpatient department of the hospital, according to reports coming in. In Chandigarh, the administration temporarily banned the sale of loose mustard oil in the Union territory. Though no samples of adulterated oil were detected in the intensive sampling conducted by health officials, some mustard oil brands, including Kanodia, Haathi, Scooter, Parivar and Dhara, were also banned till further orders.

The Bihar Government also imposed a blanket ban on sale of both packed and unpacked mustard oil till examination of stocks following detection of fresh dropsy cases in the state.

On Friday, the Union Government had asked states and Union territories to keep a strict vigil at border checkposts to prevent the entry of adulterated oil being smuggled out of states where a ban exists on the sale of the oil.