Raids by the Vigilance & Enforcement Department on manufacturing units of soft drinks and water packets at various places in Visakhapatnam district, have brought to light the serious violations of rules by them. The inspections also exposed how a few units can produce cool drinks and sell in market, without having licences.
On March 14, teams of Vigilance & Enforcement Department, Food Safety and Legal Metrology, had inspected four soft drink manufacturing units — two at Anakapalle, one at Gajuwaka and one at Kancharapalem area. According to Inspector of Vigilance & Enforcement, Visakhapatnam district, K. Mallikarjuna Rao, many of these units have been preparing soft drinks and water packets without having any date of manufacturing (DOM) or expiry on it. A soft drink manufacturing unit functioning at Kancharapalem did not even had a licence and has been selling the packets in the market, he said. “Even though the hygienic conditions have been improved at such units compared to the past, there is a need for further improvement,” he added.
The officials have collected eight samples from the manufacturing units and have sent them to lab for testing. The V&E authorities said that once the reports arrive, they could ascertain the quality of water being used to prepare drinks or water packets.
According to a senior official from V&E department, there is a huge sale of drinks from such units in rural and semi-urban areas in Visakhapatnam district.
