Tuesday, 05 April | PNS | Haridwar
The district magistrate (DM) of Haridwar Vinay Shankar Pandey has restricted the sale of buckwheat flour after over 120 people fell ill on the first day of Navratri following the consumption of food items prepared from the flour. The food safety officer Kapil Dev informed that several teams of the administration have been conducting inspection at various shops located in Roorkee, Shyampur and Haridwar area and so far, they have taken nine samples of buckwheat flour which have been sent for testing in Rudrapur. He said, “The test results will be available to us within seven to 10 days and action will be taken on its basis. Considering the high number of food poisoning cases in the past two days, the DM has also banned the selling of the buckwheat flour till further orders.”
On the question of the major cause of the food poisoning after the consumption of food items prepared from the buckwheat flour during Navratri, the food safety officer said that the shelf life of the flour after opening a flour bag is about one month and must be consumed within this period. “Since the demand for buckwheat flour increases on Navratri, many sell the old stock of the flour which can make the consumer sick. Shopkeepers must avoid overstocking of buckwheat flour as once the package is opened, harmful microbes grow in it making it unhealthy to consume. The consumers should also avoid buying loose buckwheat flour from any random shop, especially during the festive season. Also, one must buy the flour only in limited quantities due to its short shelf life” said Dev. He said that instead of buying loose flour, one can buy buckwheat seeds and get it ground in the mill as per the requirement.
