Haryana : Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Haryana has started crackdown on the food business operators engaged in the sale, distribution, supply, stocks etc of Gutka and Panmasala containing Nicotine or Tobacco as ingredients which has been prohibited by the Haryana Government. FDA teams are conducting raids all over the state to confiscate the products and ensure the compliance of the prohibitory orders.
While stating this here today, a spokesman of the FDA said that raids were conducted at various outlets in different parts of the State in an extensive drive undertaken by the FDA against this menace and such products were confiscated and were also sampled under the provisions of Food Safety and Standard Act 2006.
He said that the department had also invited the persons from different walks of life like chemist Association, NGO, other traders in this movement against such products. A group of chemists in Gurgaon city conducted combing operations and helped the department in getting such products moved out of the market by personnel efforts.
He said that Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Commissioner FDA hadappealed to the public in general to refrain from using such product like Gutka or Pan masala which were injurious to the health being carcinogenic.
Being transported from a Silvassa-based manufacturing firm to an export house at Powai, the consignment worth nearly Rs3 crore was packed in 3,000 cartons which were stashed into several gunny bags, in all weighing around 16,200kg.
Inspector Dutta Chavan of Talasari police said, “It was after the tip-off by Thane FDA authorities that we stopped the six trucks near the Dhondalwadi police chowky in Talasari, on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway No.8 on Thursday midnight (2am).” Manufactured by Kirti Industries at Silvassa, the gutkha consignment of ‘Goa’ brand was meant for sale in Panvel and Powai areas, he added.
After authorities recovered fake documents in the name of the export house, namely Zubair Ali SJJ Export Company, JMJ House at Powai, FDA official Prashant Deshmukh raided the location and found that the firm had no exports licence at all. “Meanwhile, the Thane FDA probing the case has already sent the gutkha pouches for a chemical analysis at their laboratory in Thane and awaiting report,” said Chavan.
While refusing to divulge the names of the six truck drivers and the company manager detained by the FDA, Deshmukh said, “There is only one gutka manufacturer in Maharashtra, as opposed to over a dozen of them outside the state, including Gujarat and the neighbouring Union territories of Silvassa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.”
A case under the stringent Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, will be slapped against the accused, he added.
While stating this here today, a spokesman of the FDA said that raids were conducted at various outlets in different parts of the State in an extensive drive undertaken by the FDA against this menace and such products were confiscated and were also sampled under the provisions of Food Safety and Standard Act 2006.
He said that the department had also invited the persons from different walks of life like chemist Association, NGO, other traders in this movement against such products. A group of chemists in Gurgaon city conducted combing operations and helped the department in getting such products moved out of the market by personnel efforts.
He said that the FDA team raided various Gutka or Panmasala outlet situated outside the malls, big hotels as well as the markets in Gurgaon city and collected samples of such products for purpose of test and analysis under the provision of Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSA) 2006. The FDA team conducted such operations in different areas in city Hisar such as Parizat Chawk, Moli Bazar, Ghandi Chawk, Rampura mohalla in this regard. Similarly raids were also conducted in Faridabad city and two samples of gutka and panmasala were seized from the market under Food safety and standard Act 2006.
He said that the joint team of Health and FDA Department conducted combine operation in Narnaul and got destroyed such products available for purpose of sale and distribution. So far more than 20 samples of such food products had been seized under the provision of FSSA 2006 for analysis purpose from different district i.e. Ambala, Rohtak, Bhiwani, Hisar, Gurgaon, Kaithal, Sonepat. Even shops of Pan Vendors and confectioners were checked by FDA team to ensure compliance of prohibitory orders. More than 5000 pouches of Rangolo Pan Masala were seized from Gokalpura area of Behel in Bhiwani District by the police alongwith the FDA officer Bhiwani.He said that Dr. Rakesh Gupta, Commissioner FDA hadappealed to the public in general to refrain from using such product like Gutka or Pan masala which were injurious to the health being carcinogenic.
FDA seizes gutka worth Rs3 crore in Thane
Increased vigil by authorities of the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) paid off on Thursday midnight, when its Thane unit with help from the Talasari police seized six trucks carrying branded gutka sachets, apart from arresting the six drivers and a manager accompanying the consignment.Being transported from a Silvassa-based manufacturing firm to an export house at Powai, the consignment worth nearly Rs3 crore was packed in 3,000 cartons which were stashed into several gunny bags, in all weighing around 16,200kg.
Inspector Dutta Chavan of Talasari police said, “It was after the tip-off by Thane FDA authorities that we stopped the six trucks near the Dhondalwadi police chowky in Talasari, on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad national highway No.8 on Thursday midnight (2am).” Manufactured by Kirti Industries at Silvassa, the gutkha consignment of ‘Goa’ brand was meant for sale in Panvel and Powai areas, he added.
After authorities recovered fake documents in the name of the export house, namely Zubair Ali SJJ Export Company, JMJ House at Powai, FDA official Prashant Deshmukh raided the location and found that the firm had no exports licence at all. “Meanwhile, the Thane FDA probing the case has already sent the gutkha pouches for a chemical analysis at their laboratory in Thane and awaiting report,” said Chavan.
While refusing to divulge the names of the six truck drivers and the company manager detained by the FDA, Deshmukh said, “There is only one gutka manufacturer in Maharashtra, as opposed to over a dozen of them outside the state, including Gujarat and the neighbouring Union territories of Silvassa and Dadra and Nagar Haveli.”
A case under the stringent Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, will be slapped against the accused, he added.
No comments:
Post a Comment