Adulterated ghee floods market

Vijayawada: Ghee, an essential commodity in every household, is now available with imitation brands in adulterated form in the market. The consumers will find it adulated only when aroma of original ghee lacked when the pack is opened.According to an official of Task Force police, the adulteration was going on everywhere, especially in the capital city. Recently, they seized a unit in Nuzvid while raided another outlet in Satyanarayanapuram. 

Highlights:

According to an official of Task Force police, the adulteration is going on everywhere, especially in the capital city. 

Recently, they seized a unit in Nuzvid while raided another outlet at Satyanarayanapuram in the city 

Makers of adulterated ghee use palmolein and vanaspati to prepare it. The mix also contains about 15 per cent original ghee to impress the customerThe makers of adulterated ghee use palmolein and vanaspati to prepare it. The mix also contains about 15 per cent original ghee to impress the customer.Many outlets in the city also sell the adulterated ghee, along with popular brands. The makers have their own packing units and the packets resemble original popular brands. The minor changes in its name are visible only when consumer carefully examines it. 

The font of the brand name and appearance of the adulterated ghee is difficult to separate it from original ghee packets. Such was the imitation that is yielding easy money for the adulterators.

Food Safety officials seized lables of about 20 reputed ghee brands during a raid on ghee-making unit at Purnanandampet. They seized 10 kgs of adulterated ghee, five tins of palmolein and one tin of vanaspati.

Three days ago, Ibrahimpatnam police seized 5,000 kg of palmolein to be used for preparation of adulterated ghee while being transported from Vijayawada to Hyderabad. A Srikakulam-based firm purchased the raw material for ghee-making from a Vijayawada firm.

These were only a few examples to know how the adulterated ghee-makers mushrooming everywhere by operating from the capital. Though the police and food officials have been seizing suspicious stocks of adulterated ghee, the ghee-makers have been successfully flooding the market with fake brands.

“The adulterated ghee makers have been supplying the fake brands to kirana shops run in slum localities and other towns to avoid problem from the consumers. As the labels have wrong address, the consumers, who observed the adulteration, are not able to do anything about the product except arguing with the supplier, who also gets a huge margin on the sales,” said an official.