Lucknow, February 28 The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) has seized 4,16,494 litres of edible oil of questionable or substandard quality, estimated to be worth approximately Rs 6.43 crore.
The FSDA has launched an inspection drive to ensure that quality edible oil is available to the general public ahead of Holi, and notice to correct deficiencies were issued to 37 manufacturing units, the department said in a post on X.
The department said that 58 inter-district teams were formed and deployed in the field, and 64 edible oil manufacturing units were inspected.
"Eight units were found to be closed during the inspection, while 56 units were found to be operational, against which enforcement action was taken," the department said, and added that 206 samples of edible oil were collected for testing.
The department seized 4,16,494 litres of edible oil of questionable or substandard quality. The estimated value of the seized oil is approximately Rs 6.43 crore, the department said.
On February 25, the FSDA team seized and destroyed 9 quintals (900 kg) of contaminated khoya at Panki Railway Station in Kanpur. The khoya, brought by train, was found to be in extremely unhygienic conditions. The seized contaminated khoya was disposed of at the waste disposal plant in Govindnagar.
In Barabanki, the Food Safety Department destroyed 60 kg of khoya, 250 litres of milk, 60 kg of spices, 370 kg of kachri-papad, and 90 kg of chenna. Ten samples were sent for testing.
On February 22, in a major crackdown on food adulteration in Deoria district, the FSDA team raided a mustard oil manufacturing unit. Suspected adulteration materials seized, including 400 litres of refined soybean oil found on the premises. Production was immediately halted, the department said on X.
In Lucknow, Ghaziabad, the FSDA raided an illegal tea leaf warehouse in Lucknow. The warehouse was operating without a valid license. The department seized approximately 8.5 quintals of adulterated tea leaves, the department said.
On February 23, the FSDA team took major action and seized a consignment of cheese in Ghaziabad district. About 1,200 kg of cheese worth Rs 3.84 lakh was destroyed on the spot. Three samples of cheese have been taken for testing.
On Thursday, police in Ghaziabad arrested two traders of Devendrapuri for selling counterfeit household brands. The traders, identified as Sumit and Rakesh, were the owners of a provision store, police said.
A complaint was filed by Lalit Kumar, an official representative of a company under the Copyright Act. During the raid, 750 counterfeit packets of Tata salt, along with 480 bottles of Harpic and 218 units of All Out mosquito repellents were recovered, police said, and added that the recovered items have been sealed.
"We are currently investigating the supply chain to determine where these duplicate goods are being produced," ACP Modinagar Bhaskar Verma said.
