Sweet makers asked to use only natural colours

As Deepavali nears, the district administration has asked sweet makers not to use artificial colours beyond the permitted level.

With Deepavali a couple of weeks away, preparation of sweets in bulk quantities has just begun. Hence, the district administration has asked the manufacturers and traders to use only natural colours and maintain quality.

The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department conducted an awareness meeting at the Collectorate on Monday in which sweet and savouries makers, bakery owners and other food makers and sellers participated.

Officials explained the ‘good manufacturing practices’ including maintaining hygiene in the kitchens and use of natural colours in the preparation of sweets and savouries to the participants. Also, sweets prepared using permissible and non-permissible levels of artificial colours were kept on display and sweet makers and traders were asked to stick to the norms.

Collector C. Kathiravan, in a press release, said that sweet makers should have obtained temporary licence to manufacture sweets and other items for the festival season, failing which action would be taken against them.

He said the kitchens should be neat and the makers should ensure the place free from mosquitoes, bees and other insects.

Also, workers involved in making the sweets should be clean and only protected drinking water should be used. “Only 100 ppm of permissible colours should be used,” he said and added that packing should not be done in printed sheets or in newspapers.

Mr. Kathiravan said the pack should contain the name and address of the manufacturer, manufactured date and expiry date and asked people not to purchase packs that did not contain such details. He also said that oil once used should not be reused and warned traders against using plastic bags for packing.

Complaints related to poor quality of food items can be taken up with the District Food Safety Authority at WhatsApp number 94440-42322.