With the festive season soon to begin, the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t want to take any chances regarding adulteration; inspectors to visit every sweet shop in the city
Customers at a sweetmeat shop at Lalbaug on Monday. Pics/Pradeep Dhivar
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is set to increase inspections, as the festive season will soon begin. There are more than 1 lakh sweets shops in Mumbai and the joint commissioner, FDA says every one of them will be inspected, in order to prevent food adulteration.
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The FDA has issued an advisory for sweets manufacturers and sellers.
“During the festival season the demand for mithai is high, so there are chances of adulteration and low-quality food being produced and sold. Therefore the FDA has undertaken a special campaign to inspect food. Our food inspectors will visit every shop for testing,” said Shashikant Kekare, joint commissioner, FDA.
Hefty fines for violation
“According to the guidelines, it is mandatory to publish the expiry date of every food product for manufacturers. A medical test for every worker is also mandatory. Workers should be free from any infections and skin diseases,” said Kekare.
“If we find a shop owner has not declared the expiry date, she/he can be fined from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000. A case can be filed against them. Legal action will be taken if adulterated food is found,” an official of the FDA said.