FDA Director Salim Veljee said, “At around 6.30 am, the enforcement team intercepted a Maruti Eco vehicle at the Panjim-Merces circle loaded with around 55 kg of unlabeled mawa, packed in two boxes, which was not being transported under proper cold storage temperature, despite being a milk-based raw material for preparing sweets,” Veljee added.
The driver one Rama Chaudhary did not possess any document for the consignment nor the names of the person from whom it was brought and to whom it was to be delivered.
“On interrogation, Chaudhary disclosed that another huge consignment is due to arrive in Goa through an inter-State bus at Margao. At the station, around 25 plastic bags of such misbranded products were confiscated,” director said.
A case under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and Rules has registered against Chaudhary.
The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) has commenced its drive to check the quality of sweets being made available for the forthcoming Ganesh festival.
Veljee said that as a part of the exercise, the FDA has collected sweet samples and has sent the same for testing to its laboratory at Bambolim, the results of which are awaited.
So far, FDA has shut down two sweet marts – one at Betim and the other Bicholim, which were found to be unhygienic, he informed.
