A major health scare has emerged in Ludhiana’s Lakkar Bazar as four out of five samples collected by the health department from a local sweet shop during a raid on Thursday have been declared as failed in quality tests. The action was initiated following serious allegations of milk product adulteration levelled against the establishment by the Dairy Union.
During the raid, health officials collected two samples each of paneer and dahi, along with one sample of ghee. Shockingly, test results revealed that one sample of paneer and one sample of dahi were deemed unsafe for consumption, while another sample of each of these products was found to be substandard. The sole sample of ghee, however, was reported to be of satisfactory quality by food safety officials.
Before any legal action can be initiated based on the concerning findings, the health department is mandated to issue a month’s notice to the implicated shopkeeper. This notice provides an opportunity for the shopkeeper to challenge the test results and request a re-testing of the samples at a Central Government laboratory located in Ghaziabad. Should the shopkeeper fail to respond within the stipulated month, legal proceedings will be commenced in the relevant courts – the additional deputy commissioner’s (ADC) court for products deemed unsafe, and the judicial magistrate’s court for those found to be substandard.
“We have received the reports for the samples taken on Thursday, and with four of those having returned as failed, we will now proceed with the due legal process,” stated district health officer, Dr Amarjeet Kaur, confirming the department’s next course of action.
{{/usCountry}}“We have received the reports for the samples taken on Thursday, and with four of those having returned as failed, we will now proceed with the due legal process,” stated district health officer, Dr Amarjeet Kaur, confirming the department’s next course of action.
{{/usCountry}}The raid on Thursday was a direct consequence of persistent allegations from the Dairy Union. The union had urged health officials to inspect the shop after an initial raid conducted on Wednesday evening yielded minimal findings.
Adding another layer of controversy, packets of butter bearing an expiry date of March 1 were discovered during the Thursday morning raid – an oversight that the earlier raid had apparently missed. This discrepancy ignited a heated exchange between the Union members present at the scene and the health officials. Union members alleged that the failure of health officials to spot the expired butter during the Wednesday raid strongly suggested foul play. They further claimed that while the health department routinely collects samples from various establishments, the significant delays in the release of test reports often lead to the issues being overlooked and forgotten.
Civil surgeon Ludhiana, Dr Ramanpreet Kaur, who was also present during the Thursday raid, personally assured the Union Members, including their president Kuldeep Singh Lahoria, that the test reports for the samples collected during this particular raid would be expedited and made available within 48 hours – a promise that has seemingly been kept.
Further highlighting the shop’s disregard for hygiene standards, a urinal was discovered within a room situated behind the main shop area, where milk products were reportedly being prepared and stored. Dr Amarjeet confirmed that a challan amounting to ₹1 lakh was issued to the shopkeeper on the spot for these serious violations of hygiene regulations.