Breaking the past practice of checking of food samples only during the festival season, Punjab Health Department’s food safety wing has continued with the inspections and sampling process.
Informing this, the state Food and Drug Administration Commissioner and Tandrust Punjab Mission Director Kahan Singh Pannu said, “Continuing with the resolve against food adulteration in Punjab, we have not lowered the guard post festive season, and the Department has conducted incessant raids even after Diwali.”
“Inspection data reveals that as many as 347 food safety inspections have been conducted in the last 12 days sending a clear message to food business operators that the Government will not tolerate adulteration of food items,” said Pannu.
He informed that in all, 35 samples of milk, 10 of paneer, 16 of ghee, five of dahi (curd), 12 of khoya, and 269 samples of other edibles have been collected.
“The samples are being analyzed at the state-of-the-art food lab at Kharar which is equipped with latest high tech food analysing machines. The samples, which have been declared substandard by the Lab, are referred to Additional Deputy Commissioners (ADCs) for imposing appropriate financial penalty to the food operator. The penalty imposed could be up to Rs 10 lakh,” said Pannu.
He also informed that the samples found unsafe are referred to judicial magistrate who can impose penalty of imprisonment up to six years to the food operator.
Pannu reiterated that Punjab Government is committed to provide safe food, clean air and water to the people of Punjab under Mission Tandrust Punjab.