Noida The food safety department teams in Gautam Budh Nagar have widened inspections beyond neighbourhood shops to include restaurants, manufacturing units and even supply vehicles moving along highways days ahead of Holi festival when there is high demand for sweets and dairy products.
Intensified checks have been carried out across Noida and Greater Noida during early morning and late-night hours to curb the circulation of adulterated food items during the festive season, said officials.
“Checks are not limited to retail outlets. We are also monitoring the supply chain to ensure adulterated food does not enter the district during the festive rush,” said Sarvesh Mishra, assistant commissioner (food-II), Gautam Budh Nagar in a statement on Wednesday.
The food safety and drug administration (FSDA) have destroyed over 200 kg of suspected adulterated paneer (cottage cheese) in last two days, and collected multiple samples for laboratory testing, officials said.
An action was taken during an early-morning inspection at a shop in Tilpata village, Greater Noida,on Monday where food safety officers found around 200 kg of paneer, seemed to be adulterated. “The paneer appeared contaminated on initial inspection. As a precautionary measure, the remaining stock was destroyed immediately after sampling,” said Mishra.
Teams also inspected eateries and sweet shops across Noida.
Food safety officers collected a khoya sample from a restaurant in Sector 45, while another team lifted another sample from a sweet shop in Sector 93.
Late-night checks were conducted at the Noida Sector 12 vegetable market, where a team collected a khoya sample from a dairy. In another inspection, food safety officers collected samples of Cham Cham and paneer from a Sector 143 outlet, they said.
To track adulterated food entering the district from outside, teams also stopped and checked a paneer-laden vehicle on the Yamuna Expressway near the 16-km milestone. The consignment, originating from Sabalpur in Aligarh and meant for supply to Delhi and other NCR markets, was inspected and a paneer sample was collected for testing, they added.
Restaurants were also brought under the scanner, with a pizza sauce sample collected from a food chain in Sector 37, Noida.
The drive further expanded into an inter-district operation, with a joint team led by the assistant commissioner (food) from Gorakhpur inspecting a food oil manufacturing unit at the UPSIDC industrial area in Kasna, Greater Noida. Samples of mustard oil and coconut oil were collected from a unit, on Tuesday.
In all, 10 food samples – including paneer, khoya, sweets, pizza sauce and edible oils – have been sent for laboratory analysis. “Further action will be taken strictly as per the laboratory reports,” said Mishra, adding that inspections will continue in the days leading up to Holi.