FDA seizes 10 quintals of spurious sweets

THANE: The Thane Food and Drug Administration department of Thane has seized 10 quintals of mawa and barfi from Panvel, Kalyan, Mira Road and Navi Mumbai.

The department had for med special squads to keep a check on sweets vendors or Ganeshotsav mandals offering stale or adulterated sweets.

Thane district collector Mahendra Kalyankar had given directives to raid shops and godowns to check the quality of sweets and raw materials.

Anirudha Ashtaputre, the district information officer, said, “Out of the seized khoya, some of it was stale while the rest was adulterated. We have sent the samples to the lab. A large amount of khoya is imported from nearby states during the festive season.”

Ashtaputre informed that 210 kg of Mawa was seized from Maheshwari Mawawala from Panvel while 568 kg special barfi and 208 kg of barfi were seized from Pappu Mawawala from Kalyan.

Forty-three kg motichur ladoos were seized from Sukhdev Patil compound in Rabale and 55 kg mawa from Brijwasi in Mira Road.

Guidelines to Ganeshotsav pandals

The department had also given certain guidelines to pandals, which are also supposed to ensure prasad (sweets or offerings) is cooked in hygienic conditions.

Prasad is prepared in large amounts in most mandals, however, most of the time the quality is compromised to meet the quantity.

The guidelines are based on the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, which was implemented in 2011.

An officer from FDA requesting anonymity said, “The pandal organisers, temples and religious functions are under the scanner during the festive season. The guidelines stipulate that the place where Prasad is prepared is clean and hygienic; that they buy raw materials from branded and registered stores; and that cooks and distributors should wear gloves, clean clothes and cap and take special precaution in case of khoya sweets.”