The Department of Food Safety has banned the manufacturing, distribution and sale of five brands of coconut oil in Kozhikode district after their quality was found to be sub-standard.
In a release on Saturday, P.K. Aliyamma, Assistant Commissioner, said that civil cases have been filed against the manufacturers of Memories 94, Evergreen, KPS Gold, Kerarani, and Kera Chrystal coconut oil brands. A decision to this effect was taken after their samples were tested at the Regional Analytical Laboratory. The food safety licence of Sai Distributors, Malikkadavu, the distributor, has been suspended.
The release said that the department had conducted 451 inspections in the past two months in the district and notices were served on 184 institutions, which were found to violate the rules. A total of ₹2,14,000 has been collected as fine from various firms. Around 200 samples were sent for tests. The Revenue Divisional Officer’s court has ordered to collect fines totalling ₹73,000. Thirty-eight civil cases and 16 criminal cases have been filed.
