PUNE: The crime branch of the Pune police on Saturday seized 4,852kg of adulterated khoya, a dairy product used for making a variety of sweets, from a private luxury bus in Swargate.
The bus, which came to Pune from Gujarat, was intercepted near Purnima Towers building in Swargate, following a tip-off. “Upon inspection, police found khoya being packed in gunny sacks in the luggage space of the bus. Soon after the recovery, police contacted Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Pune.
“The FDA officials checked the khoya and found it to be adulterated,” police said, adding that the gunny sacks containing the adulterated khoya was immediately seized.
Police have taken action against the bus driver from Gujarat and two others under the Food Safety and Standards Act. “We have also the luxury bus in the case,” police said.
A crime branch officer said the khoya was meant to be distributed in Pune, Nagpur and Hyderabad. “Adulterated khoya is not good for health and the suspects involved in the trade and manufacturing of adulterated khoya will not be spared,” he added.
“We received information about the adulterated khoya being transported to the city during a recent patrolling,” the officer said.
The police team which intercepted the bus and seized khoya was headed by assistant commissioner of police (crime) Bhanupratap Barge. It also included inspector Deepak Lagad, constables Sunil Pawar, Shankar Sampate and Jitendra Tupe, among others.
About 15 days ago, the crime branch had also seized 3,500kg of adulterated khoya in Padmavati, off Pune-Satara road.
The use of substandard products peaks during the festival season, including Ganeshotsav, as the demand for all sorts of sweets, farsan and food ingredients grows considerably during this period. Hence, FDA officials carry out extensive checking of food products in view of the festive season and also carry out raids on sweetmeat shops to check the quality of sweets.
FDA officials also conduct on-the-spot tests to check quality of milk and milk products such as khoya, besides rawa, maida and other flours during the festive season.
Adulteration causes serious health risks. “Presence of harmful starch, urea-mixed milk, caustic soda, arrowroot (ararot) powder, artificial sweetening chemicals, non-approved coloured sweets (such as heavy-metal incorporated malachite green), and unhygienic conditions can lead to acute gastritis, serious diarrhoea, dysentery, dehydration, kidney inflammation,” health experts said.
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