Noida: Food safety and drug administration (FSDA) department destroyed 760kg of sweets — prima facie unfit for human consumption — including 700kg of rasgullas and 60kg of chhena rasgullas during inspections over two days, officials said on Wednesday. In a crackdown on food adulteration and unhygienic practices ahead of Diwali, Gautam Budh Nagar FSDA also seized 450kg of boondi and collected 16 food samples for laboratory testing.Sweets were found contaminated with flies and mosquitoes, officials said. The department also initiated proceedings to suspend a unit’s licence in Sector 62 until necessary improvements are made, prohibiting business operations in the meantime. The inspections were carried out on the directions of the district magistrate.Assistant commissioner (food-II) Sarvesh Mishra said, “Food safety teams inspected several sweet manufacturing units across Noida, Greater Noida, Dadri, Dankaur and surrounding areas. Our priority is to ensure that residents get safe and quality food products during the festive season. Around 760kg of sweets have been destroyed over the two days, while 450kg of boondi has been seized. A total of 16 samples have been collected and sent for laboratory testing. The department during the first day of inspection collected nine samples, including kesar chamcham, laddoo, milk, chhena, rasgulla, boondi laddoo and doda barfi from different establishments. Approximately 300kg of rasgullas at a manufacturing unit in Devla in Greater Noida and 60kg of chhena rasgullas at Krishna Sweet Bhandar in Garhi Bawan Beega (Dankaur) were destroyed.”The sweets were found in a visibly contaminated condition, with flies and mosquitoes present at first inspection. “Our teams collected seven more samples from sweet manufacturing units in Garhi Chaukhandi, Bilaspur, Sector 58 and Sector 62. Around 100kg of rasgullas at a unit in Bilaspur and another 300kg at Samyak Mithai Wale’s manufacturing unit in Sector 62, Noida, were destroyed due to contamination and unhygienic conditions,” he said, adding that approximately 450kg of boondi was seized at the Sector 62 unit.The department has also directed food business operators to procure raw materials and food products only from licensed or registered suppliers, maintain purchase bills and verify manufacturing dates and batch numbers before purchasing or selling products. Mishra said the inspection drive would continue to ensure compliance with food safety standards and prevent the sale of contaminated or substandard food items during Diwali.
