In Haryana, which is famous for its milk and curd as well as conferred as the milk pail of the country, people’s lives are being put at stake due to the rampant sale of adulterated food items by the shopkeepers and traders involved in the business of food products. All the claims of the government and the Food and Drugs Department itself are proving to be false and hollow because the departmental figures themselves confirm that the game of adulteration of food items is continuously going on in Haryana. According to the departmental figures, more than one-fourth of the samples collected in Haryana in a period of 8 months were found to be of very poor quality, while on the other hand, there were a large number of such samples that were found to be in the substandard and misbranded category. The food samples that failed to meet expectations in terms of quality include milk, cheese, sweets, spices, and other food items.
Figures showed that only 7 samples were taken per day
According to the data, out of the total 1609 samples of different food items taken by the department from January 1, 2024, to August 31, 2024, 1162 were found to be up to the quality standard in the analysis of 1472, while 309 samples were found to have failed. The statistics clearly depict that about 27% of the total samples did not meet the standard scale. The figures also show that only seven samples are being taken per day and only less than 200 samples in a month on average in the entire state. It clearly indicates that the department is not able to test a large number of food items, and adulterated and fake food items are being sold to the people openly. The main reason for taking fewer samples is that the Food and Drug Administration Department neither has adequate staff nor enough officers for investigation and monitoring. The situation is that at present there are fewer district food officers than prescribed in the districts of the state; most of them have additional charge. To run the departmental work, officers have been deputed from the Animal Husbandry and the Health Department.
The figures revealed that there are about half a dozen districts in the state where the quality of food items has been found to be very poor. Out of 309 samples found to be failed in Haryana’s Millennium City Gurugram, the maximum 47 food samples have been reported here. Nuh district is in second place with the maximum 33 food samples reported to be of poor quality, while 32 food samples in Panipat did not meet the standard standards. Apart from these, 26 samples were found not up to mark in Jhajjar district, 24 in Rewari, 16 in Jind, 14 in Bhiwani, 14 in Kaithal, 13 in Panchkula, and 11 in Sonipat. Similarly, 9 samples were found not up to mark in Rohtak, 7 in Faridabad, 14 in Fatehabad, 3 in Karnal, 7 in Kurukshetra, 6 in Narnaul, 4 in Palwal, 6 in Sirsa, and 2 in Yamunanagar.
The data also revealed that out of the samples that failed, 241 samples were found to be in the substandard category, and 5 samples were kept in the substandard category. Apart from this, 43 samples were in the unsafe category, and hence, in this sense, the consumption of such food items is no less than a serious threat to health. Apart from these, 12 samples were found to be in the substandard and unsafe category. It is noteworthy that a total of 1609 samples were collected by the Food and Safety Department, out of which 1472 were analysed and 138 samples could not be analysed in the above period. Out of the 1472 samples analysed, 1162 passed and 309 failed. Apart from this, 8 samples have been kept in another category. Pertaining to the matter, Joint Commissioner of Food Department DK Sharma said that the department has set a target for food safety officers to take food samples every month. Instructions are given for special monitoring and sampling during the festive season. Wherever the related traders or shopkeepers adulterate food items, strict action is taken against them.
