NEW DELHI: With festive demand for sweets and milk products rising, food safety authorities have stepped up enforcement across the country, with thousands of kilograms of suspected adulterated food already seized or destroyed in Delhi-NCR. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has now directed all states and Union territories to intensify inspections and sampling during Navratri and Diwali.In Delhi alone, food safety teams have destroyed more than 4,100 kg of suspected adulterated khoya and paneer during enforcement action last month, while samples of khoya, paneer, chhena and ghee are being collected from markets for testing.In neighbouring Mewat, officials have seized and destroyed more than 10,000 kg of adulterated paneer in last months, with around 50 raids conducted in areas identified as production hubs. Officials said the supply chain extends to Jaipur, Mathura, Gurugram, Faridabad and Delhi, raising concerns over the movement of adulterated paneer into the wider National Capital Region.
Share your thoughts in the comments
Be respectful · TOI community guidelines
Against this backdrop, FSSAI on September 29 directed food safety authorities across the country to step up surveillance and enforcement against adulterated, counterfeit and unsafe food products during the festive season. The regulator has specifically identified milk and milk products, sweets, snacks and savouries, edible oil, beverages and ghee for heightened scrutiny.States have been asked to conduct inspections and sampling at identified hotspots and sensitive locations. The directive also asks authorities to record inspection, sampling and outcome data on the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) and Food Safety Compliance through Regular Inspection and Sampling of Food (FoSCoRIS) on a real-time basis.The national directive also allows states to focus on products specific to local consumption patterns, including kuttu atta and singhada atta in northern and western regions.
