Gautam Budh Nagar: Anti-adulteration raids ahead of Holi

NOIDA: Ahead of Holi festival, when a lot of people love to have sweets, the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) of Gautam Budh Nagar is carrying out a crackdown on adulterated and substandard food products in Noida, and Greater Noida.

In the last two days since Saturday, surprise inspections were conducted at various shops, and multiple samples of food items collected for testing, officials said on Monday.

At a dairy store, spoiled khoya (condensed milk) was found and immediately destroyed, officials said that a total of 10 food samples were sent to a laboratory for testing. According to the food department, the drive follows the direction of district magistrate (DM) Manish Kumar Verma, to ensure safe and pure food products are available to the public.

“Food safety is a top priority, and we are committed to crack down on adulteration. Traders and shopkeepers must adhere to quality standards, or face strict legal consequences. Consumers are urged to remain vigilant and report any suspected adulteration,” the DM said.

In multiple areas in Noida and Greater Noida, assistant food commissioner (second) Sarvesh Mishra, and chief food safety officer Virendra Dwivedi led the enforcement teams.

“Our objective is to ensure that consumers receive pure and safe food products, especially during the festive season when demand surges. Strict action is being taken against those found selling adulterated or substandard food items,” said Mishra.

During an inspection in Noida’s vegetable market, Phase-2, officials collected a khoya sample from a shop and nearly 10kg of spoiled khoya was destroyed.

In Sector 93, Noida, another 15 kg of spoiled khoya was destroyed at a shop. In Girhadpur, Greater Noida, a team led by Syed Ibadullah and Vishal Gupta inspected a shop and took a khoya sample. Around 25kg of khoya was deemed unfit for consumption and discarded. In Swarn Nagari, Greater Noida, a sample of cottage cheese was collected from a dairy, said officials.

Additional teams inspected other locations including Sector 122, Noida, where samples of khoya and sweets were taken from a well-known confectionery outlet.

The drive will continue in the coming days to curb food adulteration and ensure compliance with safety standards, Mishra added.