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Ahead of Rakshabandhan, FSDA team destroys contaminated sweets, collects samples to check for adulteration
During the operation, FSDA officers inspected buses at the Charbagh bus station. Ajay Maurya and Mahesh Prasad of FSDA discovered 630 kg of sweets loaded onto two buses.
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LUCKNOW In a bid to curb adulteration in the lead-up to the Rakshabandhan festival, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) conducted an extensive campaign for collecting samples on Tuesday.
During the operation, FSDA officers inspected buses at the Charbagh bus station. Ajay Maurya and Mahesh Prasad of FSDA discovered 630 kg of sweets loaded onto two buses. These sweets were unclaimed, and after a two-hour wait, the FSDA team, aided by an LMC bulldozer, disposed of the sweets, which included chena, Rasgulla, and barfi, collectively valued at ₹2 lakh, by burying them.
The FSDA team also took immediate action by discarding 1 kg of desiccated coconut powder, 2 kg of Rajma Masala, 1 litre of chocolate syrup, and 2 kg of garam masala on the spot after they were found to have expired at Radha Raman Food Products in Vikrant Khand Gomti Nagar. At Crystam Sweet in Gomti Nagar, 25 kg of peanuts worth ₹8,000 were destroyed on-site by the FSDA team. Similarly, Shiv Barfi Bhandar in Nishatganj saw the disposal of around 5 kg of barfi rolls and 40 kg of gulab jamun due to rancidity and foul odour. The estimated value of the discarded items was around ₹23,000. Additionally, Shagun Sweets in Bakshi Ka Talab (BKT) had 6 kg of Balushahi and 5 kg of Jalebi destroyed on the spot due to the use of synthetic colours. The estimated value of these discarded sweets was approximately ₹3000.
A total of 21 samples were collected from hotels, eateries, and shops located in Alambagh, Nishatganj, Dubagga, Indira Nagar, Gomti Nagar, Aishbagh, Kursi Road, Behta, Bakshi Ka Talab, and other areas. All 21 samples have been sent to a laboratory for analysis. If any form of adulteration is detected, further legal action will be taken under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, upon receipt of the laboratory report.
Additional Commissioner FSDA, SP Singh, said that these samples were gathered as a precautionary measure to prevent the sale of adulterated food items during the Rakshabandhan festival, in accordance with the directives from the Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration and the district magistrate of Lucknow.
