FDA raids juice centre where frozen rat was found in ice block

FDA has issued a “stop activity” notice to the vendor running the food facility for the past four years sans licences as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday raided Jai Bajrang Cold Drinks and Juice Bar at Belhe village of Junnar Tehsil where a frozen rat was reportedly found in an edible ice block. Probe revealed that the vendor was operating without Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence, according to the officials.

The officials found that the ice blocks were purchased from a company located at Nighoj village of Ahmednagar. The FDA Pune team has alerted its Ahmednagar counterpart to inspect the ice manufacturing factory on Friday. (HT PHOTO)

FDA has issued a “stop activity” notice to the vendor running the food facility for the past four years sans licences as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and Food Safety and Standards Rules, 2011

The authority launched the probe after a video of frozen rat reportedly found in an edible ice used by the vendor for serving juice and cold beverages went viral on social media on Wednesday.

FDA joint commissioner Arjun Bhujbal, assistant commissioner SB Kodgire, food safety officers BA Shinde, SN Jagtap and AG Gaikwad conducted the raid. The officials found that the ice blocks were purchased from a company located at Nighoj village of Ahmednagar. The FDA Pune team has alerted its Ahmednagar counterpart to inspect the ice manufacturing factory on Friday, said Kodgire.

“The stock of edible ice of around 300 kg was destroyed. We have taken samples of ice and other food items from the juice centre and sent them to the lab for analysis,” he said.