The rural police have sought the list of factories that have license for manufacturing pan masala and sweet betel nut in the district. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) have also been asked to submit a list of the certifications they accorded to companies that manufacture such products.
On Wednesday, FSSAI formed three teams and raided various shops across the district to check for irregularities. “We only accord certifications for manufacturing food products and with a minimum turnover of Rs 12 lakhs per annum. The gutka unit that was raided was run illegally and was violating the norms,” food safety officer Vijayalalitha told TOI.
She has ordered the officials to inspect all pan and beeda shops in the district to weed out any other irregularities, the official said. “We have accorded certificated to two beeda shops and three manufacturing units. Out of the three, the one at Kannampalayam had violated the norms. Two units at Annur were also inspected,” she said.
Vijayalalitha said that 10 days ago also, they had seized nearly 300kg banned gutka from shops on Thomas Street. “We conduct regular raids and on April 26 as well, we seized 48.5kg of gutka. We try to get as much information from them about the suppliers but they do not reveal anything. The packets don’t have manufactures’ details,” she said.
Superintendent of police, Pa Murthy said, “We have sought a list of such units and will inspect them all. Meanwhile, we have sent the samples for testing. We have also sought police custody of the accused to get more information,” he said.
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