Adulterated food items detected in Kokrajhar; FTO warns adulterators

OUR CORRESPONDENT

KOKRAJHAR: In a first of its kind, the Food Safety Office, Bongaigaon and Kokrajhar zone comprising eight districts, including four from Bodolan Territorial Council (BTC), carried out sudden food testing and examination in Kokrajhar town and created awareness at Kokrajhar Girls' HS School.

Talking to this reporter, the Senior Food Officer of Kokrajhar, Bilifrang Brahma, who is also in-charge of Bongaigaon zone comprising Kokrajhar, Bongaigaon, Chirang, Baksa, Udalguri, Dhubri, Goalpara and South Salmara, said a laboratory in-built vehicle with capacity of spot testing/examinations for essential food items like milk and milk food products, water, rice, dal, atta, edible oils, salts, spices, pickles conducted inspection and examination of food items of restaurants, hotels, shops and sweet stalls assisted by the chemists, analysts of Assam State Public Health Laboratory. He said that 'Food Safety on Wheels' carried out inspections, checking and awareness programmes in Kokrajhar town markets on Thursday and collected samples of some local milk and milk food products from sweet stalls and restaurants, essential food items like edible oils, dal, atta, maida, salts, spices and drinking water samples. He also said that packaged drinking water for 'On Spot Testing' (instant examination) had been conducted by the expert chemists and lab assistants through the laboratory in-built vehicle. He further said that other programmes of food testing and examination of food items of all the restaurants, sweet stalls, wholesalers and retailers would be held at Government HS and MP School field in Kokrajhar.

Brahma said that altogether 34 different food samples had been tested and some of these items were declared as sub-standard. He revealed that they had detected some contaminated packaged water and powder mixed milk, non-permitted colour and edible oil palmolein oil mixed in channa bhujia. He also said the milk supplied and used in well-known restaurants of Kokrajhar town was detected adulterated and harmful for health. He further said that many food items prepared from milk were found to be adulterated. He warned that necessary action against the adulterators would be taken in near future.

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