Maharashtra FDA finds Haldiram’s snacks as per standards; gives clean chit

Mumbai

Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Maharashtra, which undertook inspection and tasting of Haldiram's snacks recently, on receipt of laboratory report has given clean chit to the company.

Uday Vanjari, joint commissioner, FDA, Maharashtra, told FnB News, “The products have met the standards and all 20 samples have been tested thoroughly.” FDA had initiated the inspection and testing following the rejection of imports of Haldiram's snacks by US FDA (United States Food and Drugs Administration) sometime back. 

Providing details about the products tested, Vanjari stated, “The products inspected included namkeens of Haldiram's like salted potato chips, gathia Takatak, bhujia sev, navratan mix, orange sonpapdi, sonpapdi, alu bhujia sev, Khatta Meetha and moong dal. Twenty samples were procured, of which 14 were from Nagpur from the factory and six samples were procured in Mumbai from retail outlets.”

He informed, “The samples were tested for lead which met standards. The proportion of lead was below 2.5 ppm (parts per million). The snacks tested contained lead 1.65 ppm, which is below the standard proportion. Other ingredients like carbohydrates, fats and proteins were also tested which were normal as per standards.” He added, “Bacteria salmonella, E coli and vibrio cholera stand absent.” 

All the tests were undertaken at the FDA campus laboratory. Vanjari stated, “All the inspections undertaken are as per FDA guidelines and not as per US FDA guidelines. Though the products are rejected by US FDA, they are clean as per FDA tests and guidelines.”

On a concluding note, Vanjari stated that regular inspections were on and results of tests conducted on some noodle brands were awaited.