Food safety teams inspect rly stations

Chandigarh, August 5

Food safety teams conducted an inspection at several railway stations in the state in the wee hours of Sunday to check the supply of substandard khoya and paneer from neighbouring states.

Commissioner, Food Safety, KS Pannu said it was reported that substandard perishables were flooding local markets through inbound trains arriving early in the morning.

Meetings were held with the railway authorities. Special teams were sent to prominent railway stations. Samples have been collected and forwarded to the State Laboratory at Kharar.

At places where no perishables were off-loaded on Sunday, the railway authorities were requested to inform the food safety teams before releasing milk products so that samples could be taken for a quality test. The authorities have agreed to share information regarding the arrival of perishables.

Pannu said special nakas were also set up to check the entry of milk and milk products by road from neighbouring areas.

The statewide inspection of milk establishments continued for the second day. As many as 150 samples have been collected and sent for testing. The samples have been collected from large dairy establishments as well as milk vendors.

Samples of desi ghee, paneer and khoya have also been taken and sent for checking. Substandard milk and cream infested with insects were also detected during the raids and destroyed on the spot.