Officials of the Vigilance and Enforcement (V&E) and Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) booked 426 cases against those selling “unsafe, substandard and misbranded” items in the State.
The cases were booked in the last three years and, in a few cases, conviction was awarded under different Sections of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, said V&E Director-General K.V. Rajendranath Reddy.
“To control food adulteration, and sale of misbranded, substandard and harmful food items and products, the V&E, in association with the FSSAI, conducted 279 surprise checks on various establishments in the State in 2017, 2018 and 2019,” Mr. Reddy said.
The teams inspected sweet shops, dairy units, tea and coffee powder shops, edible and ghee outlets, restaurants, hotels and fast food centres, ice-cream parlours, cool drink shops, bakeries, packaged drinking water units, warehouses, shops and other establishments, he said.
“Officers conducted raids on wholesale shops, retail outlets, packing units, transport points and manufacturing units. As many as 426 samples of various products and food items have been collected and sent to the State Food Laboratory, Hyderabad, for analysis,” he said.
Based on the lab results, 135 criminal cases had been registered for selling unsafe food items.
Besides, 292 adjudication cases had been registered for manufacturing, storing and selling misbranded and substandard food, toned milk, ice- creams, chocolates, and other eatables.
‘Rotten dishes’
“In some restaurants, hotels, eateries and fast food centres, we found highly unhygienic conditions in the kitchen. Raw meat, seafood and chicken and cooked non-vegetarian dishes were found stored in refrigerators for more than a month. Some dishes were rotten,” said FSSAI Krishna district Assistant Food Controller N. Purnachandra Rao, who was part of the raids.
Mr. Rajendranath Reddy said the inspection teams, during raids on fruit stalls and wholesale traders, observed that some were using harmful drugs and powders to ripen fruits such as papaya, banana, mangoes, sapota and other varieties.
Krishna district Regional Vigilance and Enforcement Officer (RVEO) Venkat Reddy said in some restaurants and hotels, chefs were using adulterated edible oil and colours that were harmful to humans.
Punishment
Under Section 59 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, those manufacturing or selling unsafe food were liable for imprisonment of six months to life (depending on the gravity of the case), besides a fine of up to ₹10 lakh.
“Of the 426 cases, 103 were registered in Krishna district, 53 each in Visakhapatnam and Chittoor, 39 in Srikakulam and 32 in West Godavari district,” the D-G said.
“V&E will continue the raids across the State. We ask the owners of manufacturing units, shops, hotels and other establishments not to prepare or sell adulterated, stale, spoiled or any kind of unsafe food products. Criminal action will be taken against the owners who resort to adulteration,” Mr. Rajendranath Reddy warned.
