Food Safety officers seized 20,000 litres of palm kernel oil brought in a tanker lorry at the Meenakshipuram check-post here in the early hours of Tuesday. They took into custody the owner of the consignment Tamilnathan of Namakkal, Tamil Nadu, who was travelling in the lorry.
Onam drive
Since there were reports of spurious food being brought to Kerala during Onam, the Food Safety officials had intensified checking at Walayar and Meenakshipuram check-post for the last few days. Palm kernel oil is not edible and is rarely brought to the State. The officials collected the samples and sent them for lab tests.
Food Safety district officer Joseph Shaji George said Tamilnathan told them that he was taking the palm kernel oil to an oil mill at Chalakudy in Thrissur.
“This company packages coconut oil. Perhaps the consignment was being taken there for adulterating coconut oil. Palm kernel oil is a by-product of palm oil and is not fit for human consumption,” Mr. George said.
To prevent entry of spurious and harmful food items to Kerala during Onam, two temporary check-posts had been set up at Walayar and Gopalapuram under instructions from Food Safety Commissioner Biju Prabhakar, he said. He said the Food Safety officials had inspected the oil mill at Chalakudy where the seized tanker was being taken.
