Expired Rajbhog and Son Papdi seized from Haldiram warehouse in Lucknow as UP’s food safety department rushes to prevent sale of unsafe food during Holi

The FSDA carried out raids at various establishments in Lucknow.
Food Safety and Drug Administration officials inspecting warehouses of various establishments in Lucknow (Images via Dainik Bhaskar)

As the festival season is approaching, the Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has sprung into action to prevent bad food and sweets from being sold to customers. The FSDA officials have been conducting raids across various food establishments in different parts of the state to check for compliance with safety rules.

The FSDA teams on Thursday (26th February) conducted raids in different parts of Lucknow. During the raids, the FSDA officials found around 1 quintal and 12 kg of expired Son Papdi and Rajbhog in a Haldiram storage in the Fazullaganj area. The cost of the expired Haldiram sweets was estimated to be around ₹45 thousand. The entire lot of the expired sweets was disposed of on the spot. Additionally, the FSDA collected samples of assorted Peda, Rasgulla, Gulab Jamun, Petha and Gujia.

In the raids conducted in other parts of the city, the FSDA seized 10415 kg of expired spices and Khoya, estimated to be worth ₹55.91 lakh. The officials sent 15 samples to the laboratory for analysis. During a raid at Swaroop Cold Storage in Aishbag, the team confiscated 8,499 kg of pepper valued at ₹53,24,550, a separate load of 1,538 kg of black pepper valued at ₹1,53,800 and 378 kg of Khoya worth ₹1,13,400.

In addition to that, the FSDA team collected samples of paneer and gujiya from Globe Cafe, Mahanagar and sent them for laboratory analysis. If samples fail the test, further action will follow as per the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

Moreover, the FSDA’s “Food Safety on Wheels” team conducted a special awareness campaign on Thursday in the Madiyanva area located on the Sitapur road. The team advised people not to consume brightly coloured Papad and Kachori sold in the open. The officials explained to people that such brightly coloured food often contains banned synthetic colours, which can cause serious stomach ailments, digestive disorders, allergies in children, and, in the long run, can contribute to serious illnesses such as cancer.

Raids in Kannauj and Bulandshahr

About three days ago, on 24th February, a team from the FSDA collected samples of food items like oil, flour, pickles, colored boondi, and namkeen. Around 1.5 quintals of spoiled food items were destroyed, including items sold by local vendors. “Our team took action yesterday and got the cheese sample tested… A vendor was carrying cheese, so he was stopped and tested, but due to fear, he left the cheese and ran away…” Chief Food Safety Commissioner Santosh Kumar Srivastava said.

Speaking to the media on Friday (27th February), the FSDA’s Assistant Food Commissioner, Vineet Kumar, said that three teams have been conducting inspections in different areas, including Shikarpur and Sikandrabad. The teams have collected some samples and sent them for lab analysis.

“We have formed three teams that are conducting inspections in different areas. A raid has been carried out by one team in Shikarpur town. From here, we have collected samples of paneer and barfi from two shops. In Sikandrabad, at a Flipkart warehouse, we took action and collected 5 samples, which we are sending for testing… In January, we received a complaint, so samples of Patanjali ghee were taken from there; that ghee was declared unsafe by the lab. We are conducting a full investigation, and we have also issued notices to both companies…” Kumar said.

Written by OpIndia Staff
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