Delhi food safety teams collect 40 samples ahead of Diwali
Officials destroyed nearly 100 kg of unfit food material during inspections across five regions of the capital.
The Delhi government's Food Safety Department has gathered 40 food samples and served improvement notices to eight businesses during a pre-Diwali inspection drive, according to Mint. The campaign targeted sweet shops, dairies, and manufacturing units in North-East, East, Shahdara, South, and South-East Delhi to check for hygiene and quality compliance.
During the inspections in North-East, East, and Shahdara, teams took 22 samples of items including ghee, paneer, khoya, kalakand, laddus, gulab jamuns, and dry fruit gift packs. In South and South-East Delhi, 18 samples of various sweets and dairy products, such as barfi, chhena, and skimmed milk powder, were collected from 12 establishments.
At a dairy in Mandoli Extension, officials found milk contaminated with flies and mosquitoes, alongside foul-smelling rasgullas and khoya. Nearly 100 kg of this material was destroyed. Additionally, a sweet manufacturing unit in Nihal Vihar was found operating without Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) registration, leading to the collection of three samples.
Chief Minister Rekha Gupta stated that the government will not tolerate negligence regarding food adulteration or hygiene violations. She directed the department to perform regular checks on food businesses to protect public health.
The department said further regulatory steps will be determined once laboratory results and inspection findings are processed.