JAIPUR: Mawa miscreants, in a bid to cash in on the festive season, are producing unsafe mawa. So far, at least 4% mawa samples have tested unsafe and unhealthy, which are not fit for consumption. Also, 8% were found to be of substandard quality.
In the past 15 days, the food inspectors in the state collected over 538 samples of mawa and sent them for testing in six existing food testing laboratories. "Till date we have received report of 216 out of 538 collected samples. The report shows that while 18 of the samples were of substandard quality, nine out of the total samples were found unsafe," Dr Sunil Singh, additional director (rural health), health department, said.
However, as many as 188 samples out of 216 were found to be of standard quality, while 12.5% of the samples tested were either substandard or unsafe collectively.
He said that if a sample is tested unsafe, the cases are presented before the CJM court. "According to the Food Safety and Standard Act, there is a penalty of Rs1 lakh to Rs10 lakh. Besides that there are also provisions of imprisonment from six months to lifetime for selling unsafe food items," Dr Singh said.
Taking serious note of the influx of unsafe mawa, the health department has started a call centre for complaints on adulterated food. People can register their complaints on 0141-2220381 or 0141-2224831for complaints. The health department officials claimed that action would be taken against the complaints filed.
Moreover, the health department is taking care of the interest of the shopkeepers and mawa traders. Earlier, there have been instances when the chief medical health officers (CMHOs) did not provide the result of the test to the shopkeepers even when they were are found to be of standard quality. In such cases, the health department has directed all the CMHOs to provide the result of the test to the traders within seven days irrespective of whether they come out to be of standard or sub-standard quality.
In the past 15 days, the food inspectors in the state collected over 538 samples of mawa and sent them for testing in six existing food testing laboratories. "Till date we have received report of 216 out of 538 collected samples. The report shows that while 18 of the samples were of substandard quality, nine out of the total samples were found unsafe," Dr Sunil Singh, additional director (rural health), health department, said.
However, as many as 188 samples out of 216 were found to be of standard quality, while 12.5% of the samples tested were either substandard or unsafe collectively.
He said that if a sample is tested unsafe, the cases are presented before the CJM court. "According to the Food Safety and Standard Act, there is a penalty of Rs1 lakh to Rs10 lakh. Besides that there are also provisions of imprisonment from six months to lifetime for selling unsafe food items," Dr Singh said.
Taking serious note of the influx of unsafe mawa, the health department has started a call centre for complaints on adulterated food. People can register their complaints on 0141-2220381 or 0141-2224831for complaints. The health department officials claimed that action would be taken against the complaints filed.
Moreover, the health department is taking care of the interest of the shopkeepers and mawa traders. Earlier, there have been instances when the chief medical health officers (CMHOs) did not provide the result of the test to the shopkeepers even when they were are found to be of standard quality. In such cases, the health department has directed all the CMHOs to provide the result of the test to the traders within seven days irrespective of whether they come out to be of standard or sub-standard quality.
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