Food safety officials raid jaggery market

Jaggery producers interacting with Food Safety officials and police at the market yard in Anakapalle on Monday.

Mild tension prevailed at the NTR Market Yard in Anakapalle when teams from the Food Safety Department tried to collect samples from the jaggery producers and dealers, on Monday.

Based on information that the jaggery producers and dealers were allegedly indulging in adulteration, about 12 teams under the direction of Food Safety Commissioner Samuel Anand Kumar swooped down on the market in the pre-noon session.

The jaggery farmers and dealers tried to prevent the officers from collecting the samples and even staged a dharna.

Police had to be called to defuse the tension.

According P. Hanumantha Rao, Assistant Food Safety Officer, the jaggery producers were reportedly using sulphur dioxide as bleach to make the jaggery lumps look whiter.

“Sulphur dioxide can be used as bleach, but the prescribed norm is 70 ppm. As per the reports that we have, the producers were using sulphur dioxide ranging from 250 to 500 ppm, which is abnormal and harmful for human consumption,” said N. Poornachandra Rao, Assistant Food Safety Officer.

Hub

Anakapalle is the hub for jaggery production in the State and the export to other States exceeds Rs. 120 crore. In NTR Market Yard alone there are about 37 major producers and dealers and according to the Food Safety officers about 12 samples have been collected and sent to the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) laboratory in Hyderabad, in the Monday’s raid.

Based on the laboratory report, further action will be initiated, said Mr. Hanumantha Rao.