Ahmedabad’s viral ice gola faces criticism over hygiene, food colours

There is nothing like the uplifting sweetness of ice cream or lollipops to keep you cool while the weather rises daily. Nevertheless, a strange culinary experiment from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where a street vendor is selling gola (ice popsicles) covered with fruit syrups, has caused quite a stir on the internet.

A video of a stall demonstrating the creation of a distinctive dessert known as ‘fruit gola’ was recently shared by food vlogger Krupali Patel. In it, the vendor is seen dipping ice popsicles in a variety of flavouring syrups, including pomegranate, berry, raw mango, kiwi and others. He then adds a small amount of each ingredient to a ball of ice on a plate. To complete the dish, he also adds some gummy bears and other sweet items. Shared on April 9, the video on Instagram has amassed over 50.8 million views, with many users voicing concern over the food item's quality.

A user said, “Do people not realise that floating fruit is just theatrics?” Another commented, “The fruit colour is very dangerous.” “50 shades of sugar,” another user joked. “Cancer Gola with food colouring,” remarked a third.

Many users mentioned the hygiene factor in the video. A concerned user wrote, “Is no one else tripping on the fact that he scraped her thumb on that spoon and put it back?”

Another user expressed concern about the dish’s high sugar level. “Where’s the fruit in this? Only coloured sugar syrup,” the user said. “I was about to go eat this after seeing this reel, but after seeing the comments…” a user on Instagram claimed.