Stock of raisins seized by the FDA
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar : The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) seized 1,97,480 kg of food stock worth Rs 4.18 crore and suspended the licences of two cold storages in Bidkin and Gangapur during raids conducted on Oct 17 under the ‘Safe Food Safe Maharashtra’ campaign. At the Bidkin facility, FDA inspectors found 1.25 lakh kg of completely unlabeled chilli powder, 15,000 kg of branded chilli powder and 25,000 kg of raisins. The total seizure amounted to 1.65 lakh kg worth Rs 3.89 crore. The FDA seized 18,867 kg of jaggery, 10,529 kg of raisins and 2,789 kg of pasteurised butter from the facility. The total seizure of 31,675 kg was valued at Rs 30.07 lakh.
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“Inspectors found freezers non-functional, stock dumped on floor instead of pallets, no pest control, no sanitation schedule and workers handling food without aprons, gloves or medical fitness certificates,” FDA authorities said. DV Patil, assistant commissioner (food), Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, said samples had been sent to the state food laboratory and prosecution would be initiated after the reports were received. “No compromise will be made on public health during the festival season and similar drives will continue against warehouses violating cold-chain, hygiene and labelling norms,” he said.
At the Gangapur cold storage, inspectors found that the facility was operating without displaying its Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) licence. It also lacked temperature logbooks and hand-washing facilities, had poor lighting and was flouting the First-In, First-Out (FIFO) stock management norms. Download the TOI App.