5 booked, operations banned for operating without licence
TEAM HERALD
teamherald@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: The Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration raided a sweet stall at Kadamba bus-terminus Panjim and detained three persons who in turn led them to a farsan manufacturing shed that was operating without any licence or hygiene.
Director of FDA Salim Veljee, in a statement released after the raid said, that they have seized a total consignment worth Rs 65,000 and booked cases against five people and banned their operations.
The raid began with Senior Food Safety Officer Rajiv Korde confiscating 11 bags of mixed farsan food articles from the vendors at the Panjim KTC terminus at first light on Tuesday.
“The farsan was being brought for sale and distribution without any label and declaration,” Veljee said adding that this was an offence under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Rules/ Regulation 2011.
Three persons ~ Punwashi Lodhisingh, Ramchandra Lodhisingh and Ramkaram Lodhisingh were detained for questioning and on detailed interrogation they revealed that they had purchased the consignment of farsan from one food establishment situated at Honda.
The FDA then located the manufacturing establishment and found that one Tribhuwan Dasrat and other Dulchand Lodhi preparing farsan at a temporary shed at Narayan Nagar, Honda without food safety licence.
“The temporary premises had a plastic on the roof and surroundings were very unhygienic and dirty. Both premises were directed to shut down and stop their manufacturing activity as they did not possess any food safety licence,” Veljee said.
In total, the FDA has seized 11 bags containing 2020 smaller polyethylene bags of mixed farsan food articles worth Rs 20,000 at Panjim and food material including the stocks of raw unfried farsan material worth Rs 45,000 at Honda.
A case under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 and the Rules/ Regulation 2011 has been booked against the above defaulter food vendors and manufacturers for dealing in food articles without food safety licences and which food articles did not carry any label declaration and which were misbranded.
FDA director has asked food business operators in the State not to sponsor, use, procure, purchase, etc such food articles which are being sold and made available in the market without labels and declarations and whose quality cannot be vouched for.
