Gandhinagar, Sep 1 (IANS) In a statewide crackdown on adulterated and substandard food products, the Food and Drug Control Administration (FDCA) of Gujarat seized 46 tonnes of inedible items valued at around Rs 1.8 crore in August.

The raids, carried out across multiple districts, primarily targeted ghee, palm oil, cooking mediums, and silver foil.

Officials said the action was taken to ensure that citizens have access to safe and pure food, particularly during the holy Shravan month. According to FDCA Commissioner H.G. Koshia, nearly 10 raids and 28 samples were collected as part of routine inspections and a special state-wide drive.

Additional seizures worth Rs 1.77 lakh were made during this campaign, with authorities destroying around 32 kg of unsafe stock. The crackdown covered Surat, Ahmedabad, Banaskantha, and Mehsana, among other districts.

Among the biggest hauls, 10 tonnes of ghee worth Rs 65 lakh were seized from Surat’s SRK Dairy Farm, while samples tested later were found substandard.

In Ahmedabad, over 11 tonnes of ghee worth Rs 10 lakh were seized from Mahadev Dairy, along with stocks of palm oil and cooking mediums from multiple units, including Shivam Oil Industries (Daskroi) and Happy Oil Industries (Chhatral).

In Banaskantha, 824 kg of suspicious ghee worth Rs 5.6 lakh was seized, while in Mehsana, raids at Vijapur’s Divine Food yielded 649 kg of paneer and 238 kg of refined palmolein oil.

Authorities said the campaign will continue, with strict action planned against those involved in the manufacture and sale of spurious food products. “The FDCA is committed to ensuring that citizens of Gujarat get access to pure and safe food,” Koshia said.

Earlier in the year, the agency also seized 2,700 kg of suspect ghee and related products from a manufacturing unit in Surendranagar, valued at Rs 13 lakh, and 4,000 kg of adulterated ghee worth Rs 17.5 lakh from a dairy facility in Banaskantha.

These actions are part of a broader crackdown: in the 2024–25 fiscal year, the FDCA carried out over 190 raids, recovering 351 tonnes of suspicious food items worth Rs 10.5 crore, ranging from ghee and sweets to grains and other festive essentials.

–IANS

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