80 kg of sweets destroyed in Patiala

Patiala, October 16

In a special drive ahead of Diwali, inter-district raids were conducted against food adulteration. A team of the Bathinda Health Department conducted raids at sweets shops in Patiala and Samana. Sweets found unfit for human consumption were destroyed.

The sweets that were destroyed included 70 kilograms of pink-coloured cham-cham; eight kilograms of khoya and two kilograms of green-coloured coconut laddu. Around 130 packets of patisa were seized from a shop in Samana. The seized sweets were said to be smuggled from the neighbouring state — Haryana.

The state Health Department — on the directions of the Punjab Health Minister — has initiated a special drive against food adulteration, wherein, inter-district raids are being conducted.

The Bathinda health team, led by Dr Usha Goel, collected around 18 food samples in the past two days. Samples of khoya barfi, cham cham, paneer barfi, milk cake, gulab jamun, patisa, khoya, kalakand and peda were collected.

Dr Goel said the samples were sent for testing to the state food laboratory in Kharar and that appropriate action would be taken against the food handlers after the lab results. She added that the raids would continue in the coming days.

The Health Department cannot take an action until the lab reports are produced.