Tightening the noose around the food business operators trying to sneak sub-standard khoya into Punjab, the state’s Food Safety Officers have been directed to maintain a special vigil on railway stations, inter-state buses, trucks and cold stores.
Informing this, the state Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Kahan Singh Pannu said that regular inspections have curtailed the production of sub-standard and spurious products to a large extent in the State, but the intent to earn quick profits may lure some FBOs to buy inferior quality raw material from neighbouring areas.
“To check the inflow of sub- standard food material, the food safety teams have been directed to work in consonance with railway authorities who may inform them whenever there is any khoya or paneer in transit and also check the cold stores in their jurisdiction,” he said.
Pannu said that the checking of buses is also underway and there have been a couple of breakthroughs in the same in Ludhiana wherein khoya from Bikaner, Rajasthan, was being sneaked in via an interstate bus. Besides, milk vehicles en route supply to the sweet shops and dairies early in the morning, are being checked, he said.
Pannu said that in a run up to Diwali, the ambit of food safety inspections has been increased and the rural sweet-meat outlets have also now been brought under regular inspection.