Srinagar, Feb. 9 -- In Kashmir, where the apple industry forms the backbone of rural livelihoods, every detail of cultivation, storage, and transport carries weight. The region's farmers, who nurture orchards across valleys and slopes, depend not only on the quality of their produce but also on the integrity of the systems that deliver it to markets. Packaging, often overlooked, has emerged as a crucial link in this chain; one that touches both health and industry.

Recent clarifications on the use of sodium silicate adhesives in apple packaging boxes have brought the issue into sharper focus. The adhesive, commonly used in corrugated cardboard, is said to bind within paper fibres after drying and does not ordinarily pose direct acute tox...