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Sandeep Rana
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, November 28
Samples of eight sweets shops, collected ahead of Diwali, have failed the purity test as these were found substandard. One of the samples had insects.
A report of the samples was received by the food safety administration of the UTHealth Department onMonday from a Punjab Government laboratory in Kharar. The samples included those of sweets such as “kalakand, milk cake and chumchum”.
“According to the report, one of the samples was found unsafe for consumption as insects were found in it. Another sample was found ‘misleading’, which means the customer asked for something, but was given some other adulterated stuff,” said a senior officer.
According to the department, of the 50 sweets shops raided on the periphery, 28 were issued challans for unhygienic conditions, while 14 were challaned for operating without a licence. Samples from the remaining shops were sent to the lab for tests. Officials said now cases would be registered against the shops whose samples had failed and these would be decided by the local court.
Raids only on periphery, irregular
Almost all raids ahead of Diwali were conducted on the periphery of the city. Mostly raids are conducted only during the festival season.
A group of residents Chandigarh Tribune spoke to wondered why shops in the city were not raided. They also questioned why raids were conducted only during Diwali and not throughout the year.
Sukhwinder Singh, designated officer, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), however, said, “We conduct regular raids and keep a check on shops in the city as well.”
Adulterated sweets can cause illness
Dr Ravindra Khaiwal of the School of Public Health, PGI, said contamination in sweets can cause diseases. It may cause diarrhoea, dysentery or food poisoning.
“Routine monitoring is required to curb the menace and raids should not be conducted only ahead of festivals. Not only vendors, even the general public needs to be made aware of the guidelines of the FSSAI,” Dr Khaiwal said.
Dept mum on names of raided shops
The food safety administration had not disclosed the names of the sweets shops which were raided. Even now, after a government lab has found these at fault, it has failed to disclose the names.
“The cases will be pursued in the court; thus, we can’t disclose their names yet. They may challenge the reports,” reasoned Dr G Diwan, Director, Health Services, Chandigarh.
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