Pre-Diwali crackdown on food adulteration in Lucknow

Suspicious food products worth ₹6.65 lakh seized, 1,552 kg items valued at ₹2.51 lakh destroyed by Food Safety and Drug Administration

LUCKNOW Ahead of Diwali and Bhai Dooj, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) launched a major campaign to curb sale of adulterated and substandard food products, including sweets, snacks, dairy items, edible oils and other festive consumables across multiple establishments.

The department collected 31 samples from various shops, production units and storage facilities. (Sourced)

The department collected 31 samples from various shops, production units and storage facilities. The crackdown resulted in the seizure of 12,894 kg of suspicious food products worth approximately ₹6.65 lakh and the destruction of 1,552 kg of items valued at around ₹2.51 lakh, said VP Singh, deputy commissioner, FSDA.

Around 200 kg of toy sweets worth ₹12,000 were seized near Khurram Nagar, besides 180 kg of sweets, 450 kg of Revri, 300 kg of cardamom seeds and 720 kg of gatta, collectively worth over ₹1 lakh. Around 4 kg of adulterated talcum powder and expired packaged products were also seized.

Two consignments of dry fruits were destroyed by the FSDA at Kumar Cold Storage, Hardoi Road; these included 85 kg of dates worth ₹34,000, around 1,015 kg of dried dates (chuhara) worth ₹2.03 lakh. The department also seized 7,664 one-litre bottles of packaged drinking water worth ₹1.53 lakh from a plant in Kakori for safety violations.

Sweets and dairy-based items like milk cake, peda, rasgulla and khoya were sampled from prominent sweet shops for lab testing. Based on the results, legal action will be taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.