In an ongoing drive against the shops selling sub-standard sweets and adulterated food products, the Maharashtra Food and Drugs administration (FDA) have seized barfi and other raw materials used for preparing mithai (Indian sweets), worth nearly Rs 36 lakh from Mumbai, Thane and Navi Mumbai since the outset of Ganesh Chaturthi.
''Ten flying squads, deployed specifically on the occasion of festive season, raided different shops and factories, drew samples of different types of mithai and in doubtful cases seized the stock of sweets. Some of the samples are being tested in our laboratory at Bandra in Mumbai, while some samples have been sent to our laboratory in Pune," Chandrashekhar Salunkhe, Joint Commissioner (Food) told the media here.
"The seized items are being tested to find out whether they are in conformity with the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. The "food safety" means assurance that food is acceptable for human consumption according to its intended use," Salunkhe said.
Under the act, 'food business operator' means a person by whom the business is carried on or owned, is responsible for ensuring the compliance of this Act, rules and regulations, Salunkhe added. By and large, raw material like mawa is being brought at cheaper rate from outside Maharashtra in large quantities, since it is in much demand in the cities and towns including Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune.
"Our officers will also be visiting Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav mandals to carry out random checks of the Prasad and food served. The intention is to avoid any untoward incident due to the inadvertent mistake by the sweet/food supplier or the organisers," Salunkhe said adding that the drive will continue till January, since many festivals including Navratri, Dussera, Diwali will be celebrated by people on massive scale in the coming months
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