Food safety team collects samples under special drive

As per the directions of the Health Department and under the supervision of Civil Surgeon, Ludhiana, Ramandeep Kaur, along with the food safety team, Ludhiana, conducted a special drive across various commercial areas of the city to inspect and ensure the quality of food items being sold to the public. The objective of this campaign was to ensure food safety and compliance with standards, thereby preventing the sale of substandard or adulterated food products.

During the operation, the team collected a total of eight food samples from busy market areas, including Feroze Gandhi Market, Sham Nagar, Field Ganj, Kesar Ganj Mandi and Saban Bazaar. The collected samples included commonly used food items such as paneer (cottage cheese), ghee, skimmed milk powder, cream, turmeric powder, red chili powder and garam masala, which witness a surge in demand during the festive season. All samples have been sent to the state food laboratory for scientific testing to verify their purity and quality standards.

The Civil Surgeon stated that the Health Department was fully committed to providing the people with safe, hygienic and high-quality food. She emphasised that no compromise would be tolerated regarding food safety and that strict legal action would be initiated against those whose samples would fail to meet the required standards once reports were received.

She further appealed to all food business operators to use only high-quality raw material, maintain proper cleanliness and hygiene in their manufacturing units and shops and ensure that their establishments remain in a sanitary condition. She also gave directions that every shopkeeper must display their food safety licence prominently at their place of business, so that consumers could be assured that they were purchasing food from a licensed and safe establishment.

Kaur added that the Health Department would continue conducting such regular monitoring and sampling drives in the future. These efforts will not only help curb food adulteration, but will also promote greater public awareness about consuming safe and healthy food, she added.