Gurgaon: More sweet shops checked over adulteration claims

The inspection drive is being conducted at popular food joints which draw heavy footfall ahead of Diwali

Officials from food safety department on Friday carried out further inspection of sweet shops in the city and collected samples for testing.

KK Sharma, Gurgaon food safety officer, checks samples at a city sweet shop. (Sanjeev Verma/HT PHOTO)

The inspection was part of the drive that is being conducted by the department to check food samples that are often found to be adulterated and containing harmful chemicals during the festive season.

“We conducted a raid at Haldiram manufacturing unit at Kherki Daula. Four samples of kaju barfi, milk cake, rasgulla and pista burfi were collected,” KK Sharma, food safety officer, Gurgaon, said.

The food safety department will conduct more searches in different areas of the city to check the quality of the sweets and food items at the stores.

The drive is being conducted at popular food joints and sweet shops that record heavy footfall during the festive season. Desi ghee, paneer, khoya and other milk -based products are under the scanner.

According to health department, if the samples fail the quality test, notices will be served to the food joints and they will have to reply to the same at the additional district magistrate’s (ADC) court. “The violators can also lose their licence if they would fail to provide a justified reason of using sub-standard material in sweets,” Kanta Goyal, principal medical officer, civil hospital, Gurgaon, said.

Read I Gurgaon: Diwali sweets under scanner as food safety men collect samples

Dr. Ayush Dhingra, gastroenterology, Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurgaon, said, “During festivals, adulteration of food items, especially laddoos and other traditional sweets, are reported. Some shops have been found using sub-standard colours as well as other banned items in sweets. Residents are advised to avoid sweets that are very colourful or have them in limited quantities. Those with weak immune system should be even more careful as adulterated food could affect their health. The weather this Diwali is likely to aid the multiplication of microbes and bacteria in unhygienic food. Residents are advised to gorge on chocolates and cookies from reputed brands instead.”