LUCKNOW: The Bulandshahr district administration on Thursday has issued "fresh notices" to Heinz and the bottlers of Limca and Fanta for selling substandard milk and beverages (which have crossed their expiry date) respectively. Additional district magistrate (administration) of Bulandshahr Vishal Singh said that the administration would continue its drive against the substandard and unsafe food and edible items in days to come.
ADM Vishal Singh, said, "On the basis of the standard of the mixed milk, the sample is about 31% deficient in milk fat, and hence is substandard. As a result, notice has been served to two persons/representatives of M/s Heinz Pvt Ltd under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006." He further stated that selling of substandard food item is a punishable offence under section 52 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
Similarly, in the case of Limca and Fanta, even after their expiry dates, the ADM said, "The date of packaging of these bottles is October 19, 2011, and it was best to consume the beverages before April 18, 2012. Hence, it was found to be a case of misbranding." He further stated that when the officials of the bottling plant of Hindustan Coca Cola Ltd (based in Ghaziabad) were informed about this, they blamed the local distributors for the lapses, while the local distributors put the onus on the bottling plant. "They (company officials and distributors) were trying to transport these expired soft drinks to the rural areas, and planning to sell them, as the urban consumer is much more aware about these details than his rural counterpart," added Vishal Singh.
The notices have been served under the relevant provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Both the companies have been given a week's time to submit their reply, and if they fail to give satisfactory responses, then cases under provisions of the CrPC may also be slapped on them.
On June 8 (Monday), it was the turn of Glucon-D - an energy drink to land in a soup, with insects being detected in 500 gram pack. Following the discovery of insects in the energy drink, the packet has been sent for further examination by the officials.
Confirming the development, food safety officer of Bulandshahr Shiv Dass told TOI, "A packet of the energy drink Glucon-D was purchased by Bablu from the Chowk Bazaar area of the district. After opening it, he found insects in the pack, and alerted us." The food safety officer further stated that 5 packets of the same batch were immediately confiscated from the said shop in Bulandshahr, and all of them have been sent for testing in the Lucknow laboratory. "The report of the Lucknow laboratory is expected to be out in one month's time," said Shiv Dass Singh.
Citing Bablu, the food safety officer also informed that Bablu along with his family members started vomiting after consuming the product, which was purchased almost two days back. "On subsequent examination, insects were found in the packet," said Shiv Dass Singh. Glucon-D is manufactured by the American pharmaceutical giant, HJ Heinz company, headquartered in Pennyslyvania.
After Maggi -- the two-minute noodle snack, it was the turn of Glucon-D - an energy drink, which rejuvenates the body to land in a soup, with insects being detected in 500 gram pack in Bulandshahr district of west Uttar Pradesh. Following the discovery of insects in the energy drink, the packet has been sent for further examination by the officials.
Confirming the development, food safety officer of Bulandshahr Shiv Dass told TOI, "A packet of the energy drink Glucon-D was purchased by Bablu from the Chowk Bazaar area of the district. After opening it, he found insects in the pack, and alerted us." The food safety officer further stated that 5 packets of the same batch were immediately confiscated from the said shop in Bulandshahr, and all of them have been sent for testing in the Lucknow laboratory. "The report of the Lucknow laboratory is expected to be out in one month's time," said Shiv Dass Singh.
Citing Bablu, the food safety officer also informed that Bablu along with his family members started vomiting after consuming the product, which was purchased almost two days back. "On subsequent examination, insects were found in the packet," said Shiv Dass Singh.
Glucon-D is manufactured by the American pharmaceutical giant, HJ Heinz company, headquartered in Pennyslyvania.
The development certainly comes as a shock for the consumers of such edible products in Uttar Pradesh. On March 10, 2014, a team-led by VK Pandey, designated officer food safety (Faizabad division) had collected a few maggi samples from one retailer in Barabanki.
He had sent the samples to test whether Nestle India was complying with its stated claim that Maggi doesn't contain MSG. In one test in Gorakhpur, it was proved that MSG was used more than the prescribed level.
Subsequent tests in Kolkata laboratory not only confirmed the presence of MSG in Maggi but also detected dangerously high lead content in the Maggi samples.
It was reported that Maggi samples were contained 17 parts per million against the permissible lead content of 0.01 parts per million. The discovery prompted authorities in other states of the country to determine if Maggi is safe.
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