COIMBATORE: Days after the food safety department found a shop on Karuppa Gounder Street here selling more than 300 kg of overripened and spoilt fruits, officials have again warned shopkeepers to store their stocks at the right temperature and not have spoilt fruits in the shop for any reason.
The food safety department has formed teams to inspect and instruct fruit and vegetable sellers to ensure that their produce is fit for consumption and not artificially ripened.
“We had actually called many fruit and vegetable dealers for a meeting and issued notices to all firms on March 16 to ensure that they stock their goods at the right temperature and sell it only during its shelf life. We also instructed them not to artificially ripen their products using carbide stones or other chemicals,” said designated food safety officer A Vijayalalithambigai.
“However, since we are finding shops selling spoilt and damaged fruits, we have formed teams to inspect and instruct sellers again over the next few days,” she added.
Sellers and shopkeepers have been instructed to not have spoilt or damaged goods anywhere on their premises. “Last week, shopkeepers gave us excuses that the damaged and spoilt fruits were being kept behind the shops for them to be returned to the wholesaler or picked up for disposal. They also claimed that the fruits came damaged and were not spoilt,” said Vijayalalithambigai.
“But we can’t know and keep checking if the shopkeeper actually returns it or just mixes it with new stock and keeps it again for sale,” she added. “We have instructed them to not spoilt goods even in their godowns for more than a day,” she added.
This move comes after food safety officials, who were on a raid in Big Bazaar Street and Karuppa Gounder Street to check for fruits artificially ripened with carbide stones, ended up coming across 300 kg of spoilt fruits on shelves meant for sale. It included mangoes, oranges, sweet lime and pomegranate.
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