A team of officials conducted surprise checks in different parts of Kavunthapadi, a small town located near Erode, as part of the drive against selling food products in packets without mentioning the manufacturing date and the expiry period.
The district health unit received complaints from a large number of people stating that a number of shops in Kavunthapadi and a few other areas were selling packed food products, which did not have manufacturing date and the expiry period printed on the labels.
Following this, Deputy Director of Health Services Dr. Raghunathan instructed the officials to carry out a drive in the district.
The team led by Medical Officer Sathish Kumar conducted suprise checks in more than 25 shops in the town and found a large number of packaged products, which were sold violating the rules. The team seized food products worth over Rs. 10,000 and destroyed them.
The officials said that under the Packaged Commodities (Regulation) Order, 1975, sale of packaged commodities without details such as date of manufacturing, maximum retail price, producer's name and address had been banned.
Severe action would be taken against the producers/dealers who were found violating the statutory provisions by the Legal Metrology Department.
The officials said that the food items should be destroyed after the date of expiry. Stern action would be initiated under different acts including Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, if any trader or retailer failed to destroy the expired products from their shops or found selling the expired goods.
