Khan Market shops under scanner

Food Department says shops are selling sub-standard food products as food samples fail tests

Delhi’s luxury shopping hub Khan Market is under the scanner from the Food Department. Officials from the department say that end of October they had collected six food samples of cheese and ketchup from both Khan Market and INA market, out of which three have failed the quality test and found to be of sub-standard quality. They add that these samples also failed the labeling test.

Dr Mrinalini Darswal, commissioner, Department of Food Safety, Delhi government said that strict action would be taken against the offenders, which so far the department has refused to name. “We are sending a strict message to all the importers from where the products are used. We have issued them notices as the samples were found to be of sub-standard quality. These three samples flouted labelling guidelines and the information on these products was also misleading,” she said.

While the brands of these cheese and ketchup products — under the scanner — are not known, officials did confirm that all the food samples are from imported brands.

However, Sanjay Mehta, president, Khan Market Traders’ Association denied that there was any problem and said,“We have six such shops that sell imported food products. But all of them follow the required guidelines.”

The government’s food and drug department is responsible for ensuring that food policy complies with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. Officials say that on average they receive 125 food samples a month for testing.

They add that they keep vigil that labelling and other norms are followed by way of surprise inspections and raids on food establishments.

Ask about the process that will be followed against the allegedly offending companies, AK Singh, designated officer, New Delhi district, Department of Food and Safety, said,“We have given a month’s time to the companies to respond to our notice. Once we have received the reply, we will go ahead with the process. If the companies will object to our results, the samples will be sent for testing again.”

As per the official process, the department receives a complaint about an adulterated food item after which a report is made. This report is then marked to the designated district officer, after which the officer, along with another safety officer, collects samples. The samples are then sent for testing where the food analyst supervises the work and sends the reports back to the concerned department.