Vegetables, fruits to come under food safety scanner

After initiating action against namkeen manufacturers and restaurants, the food safety department is planning to intensify the campaign against cold drinks, fruit juices, fruits and vegetables sold in the city.

“The move is in view of the onset of summers. The demand of cold drinks and fruits increases in summer, besides, navratri festival is also one of the reasons for the drive,” said Food Safety Officer Manish Swami.

The department will conduct surprise inspections and collect samples from open markets, malls, restaurants and dairies.

“Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSI) has issued instructions to conduct survey and collect at least 40 samples in the month of April and submit the report by May,” he added.

Swami said that the process of collecting samples will be intensified with the instructions of FSSI.

“We will ensure that fruits with artificial colours, polish and chemicals are not sold in the market,” said Swami.

The ill practice in fruits and vegetables include use of wax on fruits like apple. The vendors stock the fruits for festivals and polish them to give fresh and attractive looks to lure the customers.

“Honey wax is permitted to bring shine on fruit but it should be declared by the seller that the fruit has polish of honey wax. Use of any other type of wax or chemical including colour and injection of fluids is restricted in fruits and vegetables,” explained Swami.

The sale of cold drinks and fruit juices increases with rise in temperature and apart from popular brands, a number of local drinks also come up in market.

“We have to collect samples to find out if the prescribed limits of pesticides and chemicals are maintained in the drinks and fruit juices,” said Swami.

The samples are sent to FSSI notified National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL) accredited food testing laboratories for analysis and action is initiated as per outcome of the analysis. There are total 22 such labs in MP and one in Indore. It takes about 15 days for completing the tests.