Gurgaon: Health and food safety dept to conduct joint raids at sweet shops across city before Holi

Food safety officer KK Sharma said the sweets that are selling at rates cheaper than usual and those with saffron in them should be avoided as store keepers use substandard material to keep up with the increased demand.

While sweet shop owners in the city are gearing up to make a killing ahead of the Holi celebrations, officials of the health and food safety department are planning to conduct joint searches of prominent shops on Thursday and Friday to check the quality of sweets on offer.

A food safety officer examines samples of sweets at a shop in Palam Vihar, Gurgaon. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

Holi will be celebrated across the country on Friday.

While vowing action against sweet shop owners if the quality of their eatables are deemed to be falling short of the permissible standards, officials in the health and food safety department have also advised residents to avoid colourful and flavoured sweets.

KK Sharma, food safety officer, said that the sweets that are selling cheaper than the usual rates should be avoided. “Residents should be careful shopping for sweets at cheaper rates. Keen to meet the high demand around festivals, the store keepers usually use substandard material to make sweets. These may prove harmful for health,” he said.

He also advised residents to avoid sweets that have saffron in them, as they could be adulterated. If the sweets have a foul or strong smell, they should be avoided, Sharma said.

Health officials said they are prepared to deal with those affected by adulterated food, as every year there’s an increase in cases of people complaining of sickness after consuming sweets during festivals.

“People suffering from hypertension, heart ailments or obesity should avoid milk products as they could result in health complications,” BK Rajora, chief medical officer, Civil Hospital, said, adding that as the city is experiencing a sudden change or a shift in weather pattern, people with low immunity should be careful having sweets that are two-three days old.

Officials said they will collect sweet samples and if they fail the quality test, the shops will be issued notices and the owners will have to file their replies before the additional district magistrate’s court.

“If the violators fail to come up with satisfactory answers, the ADC court could order cancellation of their licences,” Pradeep Sharma, principal medical officer, Gurgaon Civil Hospital, said.

Two days ahead of Diwali last year, a team of the chief minister’s flying squad along with officials of the Gurgaon food safety department cracked down on many sweet shops and collected samples for testing.

A total 75 shops were raided by the team in Ambala and Gurgaon.

Sixteen samples of kaju barfi, milk cake, rasgulla and pista barfi were collected from 10 shops on Khansa Sabzi Mandi, Old Sabzi Mandi and Sadar Bazaar.

The team also destroyed 50kg of cottage cheese and another 50kg of khoya from a shop in Khandsa Market, as they were found to be of poor quality.