Ahead of the festive season, the district administration has called for a slew of measures to prevent sale of adulterated sweets and other food items.
Presiding over a monthly meeting of district officers, deputy commissioner PC Meena on Wednesday issued instructions for expediting the process of collecting samples of food items.
In the meeting, food safety officer Surender Poonia said that 23 samples of food items were taken in the last month, out of which seven were found to be below the prescribed standards.
The samples were of Amul gold full cream milk, Amul taza milk, Perfect Company's white bread, an apple juice drink and three samples of local milk companies. The food safety officer, however, clarified that the concerned samples were not "unsafe for human consumption".
As per the Food Safety and Standard Act, a fine up to Rs. 5 lakh can be imposed on the shopkeepers in case a food item is found to be unsafe for human consumption. There is also a provision of imprisonment up to three years.
Poonia said 25 shopkeepers have been convicted for selling adulterated food items during last two years in Gurgaon.
{{/usCountry}}Poonia said 25 shopkeepers have been convicted for selling adulterated food items during last two years in Gurgaon.
{{/usCountry}}The government has made it mandatory for shopkeepers to get themselves registered in order to get licenses. As many as 182 shopkeepers have registered themselves while 150 have been issued licenses.
The deputy commissioner directed all the officers to intimate his office and the food safety officer in case they come across any case of food adulteration. Similarly, Poonia has been directed to inform the deputy commissioner's office about the action taken against offending shopkeepers.