FDA confiscates 12 parcels of khoa, kalakand

PANAJI/VASCO:  FDA inspectors on Wednesday morning confiscated twelve parcels of mawa or kalakand at Vasco railway station brought from Miraj. The consignment was meant for delivery to sweet mart vendors in Vasco city. The total quantity seized was 263 kg and valued at approximately ` 40,000. 

According to information available from Food and safety officer attached to the FDA Rajiv Korde, the officials of the FDA have received information about the illegal consignment being transported through Vasco bound Hazrat Nizamuddin (Goa Express) passenger train on Tuesday. Accordingly, a five-member team led by Korde including those of food and safety officers Flavia D’Souza and Shradha Khutkar and two staff members Suresh Shirodkar and Sandeep Shilke rushed to Sanvordem railway station at around 2.30 am in order to seize the illegal materials but they could not find any. 

They later arrived at Vasco railway station where the passenger train arriving from Delhi takes the final halt in the morning. During the course of investigation, the FDA authorities noticed some parcels thrown out onto the platform. Upon investigation, it was revealed that the khoa and kalakand were packed inside the parcels. The parcels were loaded into the train at Yeshwantpur and Miraj subsequently. 

According to FDA inspectors, the railway authorities said that the parcel receipt did not carry details of the person who booked it and no name or address to whom it was meant to be delivered. 

Inspectors said that the consignment was seized because it was defective in labelling. Moreover the parcels were unclaimed.  Mawa is used in the preparation of sweets and suspect quantities of it are brought into Goa from outside prior to Ganesh Chaturthi festival. A milk based product, it spoils easily and hence transportation or storage has to be refrigerated. 

The latest FDA seizure is close on the heels of officials thwarting attempts to bring in spurious quality of mawa by traders. Some days back three raids were conducted in Ponda, Margao and Mapusa. But the vendors returned the consignment back to Belgaum. 

Meanwhile the FDA has stepped up surveillance on sweets sold in stores. Acting on a complaint on Friday, August 30 from a consumer that a sweet mart in Mapusa was selling stale kaju barfi which had foul taste and smell, safety officers immediately visited the shop and sent the sample of the sweets to a laboratory for quality assessment. The balance quantity of kaju barfi sweets was removed from the shop to prevent further sale and consumption.  According to Salim Veljee, director, FDA surprise checks show that food items which are faulty labelled are being brought from Kerala and other parts of the country into Goa.  

Goods worth almost Rs.45,000 were confiscated in raids conducted in Salcette and around ` 30,000 from Chimbel. The raids in Salcette taluka was in Margao, Navelim and Davorlim where it was found that vendors did not possess food license and also the food articles were not labelled in the manner required under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. 

FDA has advised consumers to be vigilant whilst purchase of sweets and farsan items, especially items which do not have proper and complete product details on the labels. 

Vendors have also been warned to exercise responsibility while purchasing and displaying food articles which are properly labelled in terms of manufacture date, best before use, net weight, MRP and also its nutritional label declaration. Vendors include all super markets, provision stores, Sahakar Bhandars, Bhagyatdar stores, and other  retail outlets.