Over 900 kg adulterated sweets destroyed in Delhi amidst festive season

New Delhi: The Delhi government’s Food Safety Department has destroyed 922 kg of adulterated food items during inspections at sweet-making units in Nihal Vihar and at the Mori Gate Khoya Mandi ahead of the festive season, officials said on Sunday.

At Nihal Vihar, the department inspected 13 premises and destroyed 402 kg of food items, including rasgullas, chhena and milk cake. The destroyed items were 265 kg of rasgulla, 45 kg of chhena, 80 kg of milk cake and 12 kg of grated coconut. The teams inspected unlicensed rasgulla manufacturing units, sweet makers and sweet shops.

At Mori Gate Khoya Mandi, officials destroyed around 370 kg of khoya and 150 kg of chhena after finding the material abandoned, spoiled and emitting a foul smell. The entire 520 kg was destroyed on the spot, and three khoya samples were collected. Across the operations, teams collected 14 samples, including rasgullas, chhena, milk cake, laddoos and paneer, for testing.

The department said the inspections were surprise checks on a holiday, with teams deployed simultaneously across different lanes so that establishments got no advance notice. The approach follows an earlier inspection in Nihal Vihar. On August 26, officials struggled to locate sweet-making units spread across the lanes and could identify only three premises, as several sweet makers had shut their shops.

The Mori Gate market has been checked before. An earlier drive there on September 4, during Janmashtami, led to the destruction of around 3,050 kg of khoya and paneer.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has promised more surprise visits and strict action under food safety laws. The department said inspections would continue throughout the festive season to prevent the sale of adulterated and unsafe food products. Gupta said maintaining the purity of sweets is a legal obligation as well as a responsibility towards public health and cultural traditions.

with inputs from media outlets