Jalandhar, October 30
Ill-equipped and toothless, Health Department, has swung into action with skeleton staff to curb the supply of sweets made of adulterated dairy products and synthetic colours on the festival of lights across the district. Though the department has collected 89 samples of adulterated sweets and other raw material since last one month, not even a single seizure of adulterated “khoya” has been made so far.
City is a hub of sweetmeat and used to smuggle adulterated “khoya” from Saharanpur, Gurdaspur and neighbouring states before festive season.
The department has filed four cases under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, in the court against defaulters as of now, claimed District Health Officer (DHO), Dr Balwinder Singh.
The DHO said the smuggling of adulterated, synthetic and substandard raw and finished commodities had nearly stopped with the Punjab Health Department coming down heavily on such traders, some years ago.
He, however, did rule out the possibility if any one smuggles it by using their personal cars and storing it in domestic refrigerators.
The DHO revealed that out of the sample collected, 25 were of milk and dairy products, 15 of sweets while rest of other eatables.
The violators, if found guilty, has to undergo imprison from three to seven years besides a penalty upto Rs 1 lakh, as per provisions of the Act.
The department is cracking down on the violators with skeleton staff of just six employees, including a District Health Officer, two Food Safety Officers, and three class IV employees.
Moreover, the report of samples, collected and sent by the department to a Chandigarh based government laboratory, takes over one month to reach Jalandhar and by then a number of violators got scot-free by mounting pressure on the health authorities, a senior officer revealed.
Ill-equipped and toothless, Health Department, has swung into action with skeleton staff to curb the supply of sweets made of adulterated dairy products and synthetic colours on the festival of lights across the district. Though the department has collected 89 samples of adulterated sweets and other raw material since last one month, not even a single seizure of adulterated “khoya” has been made so far.
City is a hub of sweetmeat and used to smuggle adulterated “khoya” from Saharanpur, Gurdaspur and neighbouring states before festive season.
The department has filed four cases under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006, in the court against defaulters as of now, claimed District Health Officer (DHO), Dr Balwinder Singh.
The DHO said the smuggling of adulterated, synthetic and substandard raw and finished commodities had nearly stopped with the Punjab Health Department coming down heavily on such traders, some years ago.
He, however, did rule out the possibility if any one smuggles it by using their personal cars and storing it in domestic refrigerators.
The DHO revealed that out of the sample collected, 25 were of milk and dairy products, 15 of sweets while rest of other eatables.
The violators, if found guilty, has to undergo imprison from three to seven years besides a penalty upto Rs 1 lakh, as per provisions of the Act.
The department is cracking down on the violators with skeleton staff of just six employees, including a District Health Officer, two Food Safety Officers, and three class IV employees.
Moreover, the report of samples, collected and sent by the department to a Chandigarh based government laboratory, takes over one month to reach Jalandhar and by then a number of violators got scot-free by mounting pressure on the health authorities, a senior officer revealed.
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