Fungus infected Parle cakes disposed off

IMPHAL, October 23: A team of Food Safety officials lead by the Imphal West Food Safety Officer today disposed off a huge quantity of fungus infested Parle cakes past the expiry date at Lamphel area today.

The cakes seized from a godown at Mantripukhri on October 4 and is said to be worth more than Rs six lakhs.

The cakes which were disposed off include Parle cake ‘freshly baked’ (tutti frutty flavoured) manufactured and marked by RUpa Confectionery Pvt Ltd Batch and Parle Cake Freshly Baked (Vanilla Flavoured) manufactured and marketed by Parle Biscuits Pvt Ltd.

The cakes, which were in 1100 cartoon boxes with each cartoon containing 60 packages, had to be transported in two batches to the disposal site. In the first batch there were 355 cartoon boxes while in the second batch, the remaining cartoons were brought.

The price of the cake packet is Rs 10 and the price of total seized packets stands at Rs 660000.

The items disposed today after shifted from ManitripukhriGodown this afternoon and dumped inside the earth cruse at Lamphel in the evening.

Elaborate to the Food Safety Officer, Imphal West Y Satyajeet who is also in charge of the Imphal East district said the department was informed by the Narcotic Affairs and Border, NAB about a large quantity of Parle cakes being tampered with at a godown at Mantripukhri on October 4.

Immediately a team of the Food Safety rushed to the said godown and found a huge quantity of Parle cakes with their plastic covers open and the cakes in large cartoon boxes, he said.

Narcotic Affairs and Border, 2nd OC, SI S Gopendro said that the team has been on alert since the past few days after getting information about an illegal consignment making its entry into the Mantripukhri area.

Addressing media persons, he said following the intelligence inputs, a team led by himself and SI Ph Bulbul under the initiative of NAB OC RK Bikramjit conducted a raid of the Mantripukhri godown.

He said on reaching the area, his team heard sounds of someone opening a plastic cover inside the godown.

When the team opened shutter, they found several fungus infected cakes, he said, while adding that his team soon informed the Food Safety Officer, he said.

It seemed like the covers of the cakes were being replaced with new covers, he continued.

The team then sealed the room with the cakes inside, till today, in exercise of the power conferred by the sub-section 38 of the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006, he elaborated.

The dealer of the cake is identified as one Mohanlan Prakash Chand Sharma and Anand Kumar Sharma proprietor of M/S MP Agency of Thangal bazar, Imphal, he said before adding that under the standard Act, 2006 rule and Regulation 2011 the cakes need to be disposed as was done at the disposal site of Imphal Municipal Council at the outskirt of Lamphel.