Uttarakhand has intensified statewide checks against food adulteration, expired products, hoarding and commercial LPG misuse ahead of the festive season. Teams are inspecting shops, collecting samples and issuing notices.
As the festival season sets in, the Government of Uttarakhand has initiated increased checks against the practice of food adulteration, hoarding and domestic LPG cylinder misuse for commercial purposes, according to orders passed by the Chief Minister of the state, Pushkar Singh Dhami.
District magistrates have been asked to conduct the campaign for a week, whereas divisional commissioners would be overseeing the process. Administrative teams, accompanied by officials of Food Safety and Drugs Administration, conducted raids at various business establishments on Tuesday, collected food samples and issued notices and warnings where violations were detected.
The food items that were either expired or spoilt have also been destroyed in several places.
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Chamoli Seizes Expired Food Items
As part of the drive conducted in Chamoli, the inspection team collected food samples from three places and took them to laboratories for testing. In two shops, food items that had gone past their expiration date were discovered, on the basis of which notices have been issued to the traders. The food products that had gone bad have been seized.
Food items from two firms were also detected with problems regarding labeling and packaging.
Rudraprayag Inspects 12 Shops
Six food samples were collected from 12 inspected shops in Rudraprayag. Six shops had expired items. Shopkeepers were cautioned and the discovered products were destroyed.
Intensive Sampling in Several Districts
Two samples of sweets were collected in Almora while the Bageshwar teams inspected eight commercial places and collected three samples. In Pithoragarh, two food samples were collected.
The campaign in Champawat started from August 1. Up to now, 21 inspections have been carried out with 10 samples sent to the laboratory and three other samples collected for survey purpose.
Large-scale Checks in Dehradun, Haridwar
Teams in Dehradun collected 11 samples of food during the Tuesday’s drive and cautioned three shopkeepers to arrange things properly. Since August 1, 70 places have been inspected in Dehradun where 48 samples have been collected for laboratory testing along with 20 other samples for survey purpose. 11 shopkeepers have been served notices while 4 cases have also been filed in ADM Court.
In Haridwar, where the campaign was launched on August 17, 47 places have been inspected with 27 food samples collected. 10 shopkeepers have received notices while 4 cases have been filed in different courts.
Samples Taken from Pauri, Nainital, Tehri and Uttarkashi
Ten samples were collected in Pauri out of which six samples were sent for lab tests. Ten shops were inspected in Nainital out of which six samples were collected and 10 kg of sweets unfit for consumption were destroyed. In Tehri, seven shops were inspected and six samples were collected. One case pertaining to the sale of food items without license was detected.
Campaign to Continue During Festivals
The State-wide campaign is being conducted in order to stop the sale of adulterated, spoilt and expired food items during festivals. The authorities are also carrying out checks on sugar hoarding and use of domestic cylinders for business purpose.
