Drive against adulteration loses fizz

TNN, Oct 18, 2010

CHANDIGARH: When it matters the most, UT's drive against sale of adulterated sweets in the city has gone quiet. With Diwali round the corner, sweet shops are already registering brisk sale and the deterrent of an impending surprise check is gradually fading away.

Information procured by RTI activist RK Garg about checks carried out last year has revealed that every fifth sample of sweets is adulterated. These included the samples of khoa, barfi and rasgullas. The new anti-adulteration law makes food adulteration an offense punishable with life imprisonment and manufacturers can be fined up to Rs 10 lakh.

In a raid conducted on popular sweet shops and restaurants in Sec-16 market on August 23, a team of senior UT officials had seized and destroyed unhygienic food weighing around 20 kg. Again, on August 30, the team had found nearly 60 kg sweets infested with fungus. UT had warned all the owners of sweet shops, bakeries, restaurants, hotels, dairies and eateries not to sell such contaminated food items.

Even though UT officials asserted that the drive would be stepped up in the coming days, city residents rued that not enough was being done to check proper quality of sweets in the city. Amit Bansal, an insurance agent and resident of Sector 48, said he felt uneasiness after consuming sweets bought from a neighbourhood market during Navratras. "However, to lodge a formal complaint, one needs a medical report or access to the kitchen, when only the authorities can get," he said.

The hygienic conditions of cooking areas and storage areas need to be properly checked. The standard of hygiene required to be maintained in the cooking/storage areas were found to be lacking, he added.