Wednesday, 09 August 2023 | PNS | DEHRADUN
In view of increasing food adulteration cases across the State, chief secretary SS Sandhu has directed the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner R Rajesh Kumar to make a concrete plan and set a timeline for its successful implementation. People who inform the authorities about adulteration should also be rewarded so that more people are encouraged to come forward with such information and complaints.
Sandhu issued these instructions in a meeting held at the secretariat on Tuesday to discuss increasing adulteration in edible items. He asked the officials to increase the number of laboratories in the State to ensure reports regarding food adulteration can be received sooner than the present time to ensure immediate action against culprits. He also directed the officials concerned to speed up the construction work of these labs. He said that adulteration can be stopped only by regular checking and taking strict action against culprits. He also asked to conduct awareness campaigns regularly to raise awareness among the public regarding adulteration.
Besides this, he also directed them to start a cleanliness rating certification programme as a campaign in the State. The CS also directed them to raise awareness among locals about the adverse effects of consuming used cooking oil on health. The officials informed him that about 8,000 litres of used oil has been seized so far this year under the FDA’s Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO) initiative, as against only 3,046 litres last year. They said that the department is also taking action against the supply source of adulterated items in association with Uttar Pradesh’s FDA. Sandhu said that food adulteration is a serious issue and efforts should be made to ensure that all cases related to it are disposed of at the earliest.
