During the festive season, food adulteration by the shopkeepers and traders continues to remain a problem putting the lives of people at stake which is a matter of serious concern. Apart from this, this issue is also constantly discussed that the samples of food items collected by the Food and Safety Department are often delayed in receiving their reports, due to which adulterators do not refrain from selling food items of substandard quality. In a bid to tighten the noose around the defaulters, the department has made concrete arrangements to control adulteration. According to the information received from the department, this time traders along with small-scale shopkeepers will be monitored in every district. In continuation to aforesaid, the orders have also been issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) department regarding this directing the officials at the district level to ensure the food quality. Besides, the officials have been directed to carry out a special campaign to collect maximum samples in the state of Haryana.
While issuing instructions, the FDA made clear that during the festive season, all the shops/dairies/warehouses and other food items shops should be inspected. Besides, it should be ensured that every warehouse of every dairy and food item is also inspected so that adulteration can be completely prevented.
Further, what directions contain is that any food item found adulterated/sub-standard/misbranded then that food item should be confiscated as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006 and Rules 2011, and the food items that are perishable (such as milk and milk). If food items made from it appear rotten and smelly on the spot, then they should be destroyed following the concerned rules and regulations. It is pertinent to mention that the labs are bound to provide the reports of samples filled within a limit of 14 days. If it seems that due to some reason, there is a delay in receiving the sample report, then an additional time limit can be taken as per the prescribed procedure. If the lab fails to submit the report within the stipulated time limit, permission has to be taken from the Commissioner.
DK Sharma, who holds the portfolio of the Joint Commissioner, FDA said that instructions have been issued to all the officials to take all possible steps against adulterators during the festive season. keeping all small and big shopkeepers along with trades under surveillance. Action will be taken against whoever is found violating the rules. To ensure the quality of food items, more and more samples will be collected and officers will remain in the field.
During the festive season, there is a lot of adulteration in milk products during the festive season as instead of milk, water, urea, white color, and washing powder are added. Apart from these, buttermilk is also adulterated on a large scale. Vegetable oil and animal fat are added to it which may result in an increased risk of anemia and heart diseases. Similarly, in the wake of the demand for sweets in the festive season, the shopkeepers make it attractive by applying aluminum instead of silver and gold. Notably, real silver works disappear when crushed by hand, whereas aluminum works turn into pellets after being crushed. This aluminum is not digested inside the body and gets accumulated in the body and becomes the cause of many diseases. Apart from milk products, there is a lot of adulteration in spices during the festive season. The dye color is mixed in turmeric. The same color which is used in clothes is used in turmeric. Eating turmeric which is sold mixed with the yellow color of cheap and very poor quality can cause cancer and chronic stomach-related problems. Apart from this, the brick powder is mixed with chili which can lead to fatal diseases like cancer and digestive diseases.