MUMBAI: Fortified food packets, to meet supplementary nutritional needs of poorchildren below six, under the Centre-sponsored Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) programme, were allegedly found to be tampered with in a Vasai factory on Tuesday.
The Thane Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seized 1.5 tonnes of the packets containing micro-nutrient (vitamins and minerals) fortified blended food that was to be distributed to anganwadis (ICDS centres) for children between six months to three years in Vasai-Virar and Mira Bhayander. The value of the seized packets is around Rs 1.08 lakh.
The packets (wheat, roasted chickpeas and sugar) were manufactured and packed by Shakala Mahila Mandal in Gala 1, Mahavir Industrial Estate, Valiv, Vasai (E) under the state women and child development department. Each packet containing 140gm is given to mothers to prepare porridge (using milk or water) and feed child four-five times a day. Each packet contains 500 calories of energy and 12-15gm protein. There are 88,272 anganwadis under the scheme and over 86 lakh children are covered under it, according to the 2001 census.
Workers allegedly tampered with expiry dates and batch numbers, using paint thinners. "We have seized the packets and sent them to the laboratory for testing. We will take action based on the report," said food safety officer Rahul Takate. He said that while it was premature to say if the quality of food had been compromised with, workers were seen wiping batch numbers and putting fresh stamps.
Vasai Virar Municipal Corporation (VVMC) staffers had gone to the industrial estate to collect house tax when they noticed this. Milind Patil, a staffer and eyewitness, said, "We got suspicious on finding the gala shutter down. We saw workers using paint thinners to wipe out expiry dates on food packets." He said a number of packets had December expiry dates. The workers were using rubber stamps of January 2017 on the packets. Many packets did not have manufacturing and expiry dates.
Yogesh Mane, a representative of the mandal, said the food packets were manufactured this month but the December expiry date stamp had been wrongly put.
ICDS commissioner Vinita Singhal said she would look into the issue. She said the packets go directly to anganwadis from the manufacturers. They are, however, inspected by a child development project officer. She said though there should be a project officer for each of the 533 projects, they was a shortage.
Pankaja Munde, minister of rural development, women and child welfare department, which monitors the scheme, was not reachable.
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