Jamshedpur : East Singhbhum district administration in an attempt to curb cases of food adulteration practices has decided to go for video recording of the raids carried out by food safety and health department officials to maintain transparency of the exercise.
The directive was issued by East Singhbhum deputy commissioner Amitabh Kaushal in view of precedence in the district of traders and shopkeepers selling adulterated edible items, especially during festive rush of Durga Puja and Deepawali in violation of the Food Safety and Standard Regulations 2011.
The video recordings was necessitated following complaints that big traders often enter into negotiations with raiding team during collection of samples so that adulterated items are not sent as sample test and instead genuine products are sent to the state food testing lab at Namkum (in Ranchi) .
�We have decided that administrative teams would be carrying out raids ahead of the festive season at different outlets in the city and the entire raid process would be recorded in camera which would be monitored by additional district magistrate (law and order) and Dhalbhum sub divisional officer both of whom have been designated as nodal officers,� said Kaushal.
The random raiding team of the district administration which would comprise district food safety official Mahesh Pandey and district additional chief medical officer (ACMO) Kalicharan Munda would be submitting reports about the raid along with the video clippings to the deputy commissioner and also to ADM (law and order) and Dhalbhum SDO.
�We are keeping a special eye on Jamshedpur as it witnesses one of the highest puja pandals and fairs during the puja festivity in the state. The step is being taken to prevent sale of adulterated foods by outlets in the garb of rush during puja festivity,� said an official.
Jamshedpur witnesses more than 290 Durga puja pandals and around 12 fairs organised near crowd pullers pandals across city.
“We have been receiving complains from the people about the poor quality of food being served. Moreover with rise in cases of bird flue in the city over the past few years has also been a matter of great concern. Such a move has been taken to prevent the people from poisonous and harmful foods, which lead to various diseases.
It will also help in preventing sale of sub-standard food. We want to put a check on the hotels and road side eateries so that they are able to serve quality food to the people,” said the official He said that earlier the quality of food sold by hotels and other eateries used to be regulated under The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 . But, now the inspection of food quality is being done under The Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. The hotel owners need to follow the norms and guidelines or else they would have to face the music .
