Shops and bakeries come under scanner

Surveillance part of Statewide alert against sale of jelly candy, pudding and related products

Shops and bakeries in Ernakulam selling jelly candy and savouries will be under the close scanner of the Food Safety Department.

The move comes close on the heels of the death of a child due to suspected food poisoning after eating jelly candy from a bakery in Kozhikode last month. The surveillance over the shops and bakeries forms part of the State-wide alert against sale of jelly candy, pudding and related products. Senior officials of the Food Safety Department said that shop owners had removed the stocks of the jelly candy manufactured by a Coimbatore-based confectionery immediately after the Kozhikode incident hit headlines.

Food safety officials pointed out that samples of jelly candy and other confectioneries will be collected on a routine basis as part of the strengthened vigil after the Kohzikode incident. They have asked the retailers and wholesale shops not to sell sweets and savouries without mentioning the manufacturing date and expiry date. Stringent action will be taken against those responsible for not carrying the details of the ingredients in the food items, they said.

Misbranding

Bakers Association Kerala has demanded an increased vigil over the sale of chocolates, toffees, and jelly candy by misbranding it as foreign products. P. M. Sankaran, president of the association, said that several sweets and chocolates banned abroad are being sold through various outlets in the State. Bakeries should not sell items that lack the licence issued by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, he said.

FSSAI officials have made it clear that manufacturers should display the 14-digit licence number on the packet, container or bottle in which the food item is stored. It should also have the customer care number and address of the manufacturer. Those who fail to get the mandatory licence will be sentenced to six months in prison and fined ₹5 lakh, they said.