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Hindustan Times
6 days ago
- Health
- Hindustan Times
FDA launches festive campaign to ensure food standards in the state
Mumbai: The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Monday launched a special campaign titled 'San Maharashtracha, Sankalp Anna Surakshathika Abhiyan,' to ensure hygiene and safety standards in the food sold during the upcoming festive seasons of Ganeshotsav, Eid, Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali in the state from August 11 to October 25. The campaign includes sudden inspections of eateries to keep in check food adulteration and ensure compliance with hygiene standards. The authority is also set to organise workshops to spread awareness about the standards to be met. FDA launches festive campaign to ensure food standards in the state The initiative was launched on Monday by the FDA secretary Dheeraj Kumar, along with FDA commissioner Rajesh Narvekar and senior department officials at the Yashwantrao Chavan Centre, followed by a training session for food professionals, aiming at educating traders on hygiene practices and legal compliance during the high-demand festive period. 'During festivals, the demand for sweets, modaks, faral and prasad skyrockets. This is when the risk of adulteration increases, as some traders may cut corners due to supply shortages,' FDA secretary Dheeraj Kumar said. Food businesses should strictly follow food safety standards, avoid malpractices, and ensure products are wholesome and hygienic, he added. 'We are increasing the number of food testing labs in the state. We are also working on providing manpower for the department.' FDA commissioner Rajesh Narvekar said, 'Adulteration is often detected when market demand exceeds supply. Through our training, we hope traders will comply fully with the law so that festivals can be celebrated without compromising health.' As part of the campaign, workshops on food hygiene will be conducted for those handling mandals, sweet manufacturers, and women's self-help groups that prepare festive foods. The authority will also carry out surprise inspections of food outlets, sweet shops, street vendors and production units across the state, including Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
Time of India
6 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
FDA ropes in confectioners, consumers in food safety inspection drive for festive season
Mumbai: Ahead of the festive season, the Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched an inspection campaign to ensure hygiene and quality of food items, like sweets, and roped in confectioners and consumer representatives in this exercise, its top official said on Wednesday. Festive season in Maharashtra will kickstart with the 10-day Ganesh festival from the end of this month. It will be followed by the Navratri festival, Dussehra and Diwali in September and October. Talking to PTI after a meeting here, FDA commissioner Rajesh Narvekar said such an exercise was being carried out for the first time. "Till last year, FDA implemented such drives through regulatory inspections conducted by our officials. This time, we have ensured that producers and consumers participate in our training sessions so that they also understand and adopt good practices," he said. The first phase of the 'San Maharashtracha, Sankalp Anna Surakshecha' (Festival of Maharashtra, resolution of food safety) campaign began on August 11 and it will continue till October 25, during which at least 3,000 inspections are planned, Narvekar said. With the support from Nestle's corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, the first training session was held on Wednesday for food makers and consumer representatives, he said. The festive inspection campaign aims to ensure that citizens get pure, clean and high-quality food during Ganeshotsav, Eid, Navratri, Dussehra and Diwali, when demand for sweets, modaks, snacks and prasad surges. The FDA will also hold hygiene workshops for sweet manufacturers, modak makers, women's self-help groups and Ganesh mandals, he added. FDA secretary Dheeraj Kumar urged food business operators to strictly follow the law and appealed to citizens to report complaints about food quality to the agency's toll-free helpline 1800-222-365.>
