CHENNAI: After rotten meat, bad dates are keeping officials busy. Following tip-offs that large quantities of poor quality dates are being sold in city shops, the state food safety department has formed teams to conduct raids. Sources said that most of these dates are being smuggled in from
Maharashtra and stored in unhygienic conditions in godowns for several
months before being packed and sold in shops. Food safety officials have
identified some of these godowns and would raid in a couple of days.
S Lakshmi Narayan, district food safety officer, said: "There have been
several complaints about the poor quality of dates. We have found worms
in some of these packets sold in shops. We will soon raid the godowns
and send samples for testing." According to rules, all the packaged food
products should have the ISI mark, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)
serial number, the company's name and address, the manufacturing and the
'best before' dates. But it is being violated by most of the traders. A
wholesale date dealer in the city said he gets consignments mostly from
Mumbai. "There are several packaging units in Sowcarpet where they are
packed into covers," he said.
Doctors said decaying dates or those with substandard ingredients can result in digestive problems, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and nausea. Traders said there are various types of dates available in the wholesale market costing 53 to 1,600 per kg and retailers sell them from 70 to 2,000 per kg. "Many people can't afford branded dates, so they come here for locally packaged dates," said a vendor in Broadway.
Consumer activists said that officials should conduct frequent inspections. Consumers Association of India trustee R Desikan said substandard dates could post severe health problems. Desikan has filed a case against a company for selling bad dates.
Under the Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA), 2011, anyone found selling adulterated or substandard food items can be punished with seven years imprisonment and a fine of 10 lakh.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
Doctors said decaying dates or those with substandard ingredients can result in digestive problems, vomiting, diarrhoea, fever and nausea. Traders said there are various types of dates available in the wholesale market costing 53 to 1,600 per kg and retailers sell them from 70 to 2,000 per kg. "Many people can't afford branded dates, so they come here for locally packaged dates," said a vendor in Broadway.
Consumer activists said that officials should conduct frequent inspections. Consumers Association of India trustee R Desikan said substandard dates could post severe health problems. Desikan has filed a case against a company for selling bad dates.
Under the Food Safety and Standard Act (FSSA), 2011, anyone found selling adulterated or substandard food items can be punished with seven years imprisonment and a fine of 10 lakh.
Source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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