6,500 litres of adulterated ghee, raw material seized during raids in Delhi, Haryana

New Delhi, June 18 (IANS) In a major crackdown on a food adulteration network, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) seized more than 6,500 litres of adulterated ghee and related raw materials during a series of enforcement operations across Delhi and Haryana. 

The FSSAI inspectors raided and busted two ‘desi ghee’ manufacturing units -- one in Delhi’s Dwarka and another in Haryana’s Sonipat -- recovering more than 2,500 and 4,000 litres of spurious ghee from the two locations, respectively. The entire stock of ghee was ready for market distribution and was busted in the nick of time by the officials.

The FSSAI officials worked in close coordination with local police authorities and Central Food Safety officers to dismantle the inter-state supply chain, involved in the manufacture and distribution of the suspected counterfeit ghee.

In Delhi, FSSAI officials uncovered mass-scale adulteration during its raids at a clandestine facility in Dwarka’s Dhulsiras village. An estimated 1,020 litres of unidentified oil, suspected to be used as raw material in the production of counterfeit ghee and 1,500 litres of suspected adulterated ghee were located and seized.

In Haryana, the food officials came across an even bigger illegal facility involved in making counterfeit ghee. More than 4,000 litres of suspected adulterated ghee packaged for market distribution were seized from M/S Bala Ji Food Products, Plot No. 29A, Sector 53, Phase V in Sonipat.

All seized materials were secured under the regulatory custody of the Food Business Operators (FBOs), and an FIR was registered against the miscreants for required legal action.

How the spurious ghee network was busted

The investigation into large-scale illegal ghee manufacturing began after the FSSAI identified digital and print advertisements promoting premium cow ghee and regular ghee. The company advertisements, however, lacked mandatory FSSAI licence details and labelling information, prompting the officials to smell a rat and initiate a probe.

The CFSOs initiated a decoy operation, posing as consumers to contact the seller through the advertised mobile number and procure samples of the products.

The collected samples were sent under a prescribed chain of custody to the NABL-accredited laboratory for detailed analysis. The findings revealed that the samples did not conform to the standards prescribed for ghee and contained a mixture of vegetable oils and other non-dairy constituents.

Based on the findings, the FSSAI intelligence teams mapped the illicit network engaged in manufacturing, storage and distribution of adulterated ghee. A coordinated operation was conducted on Wednesday at multiple locations across Delhi and Haryana, thereby resulting in recovery of more than 6,500 litres of spurious ghee and associated raw materials.

--IANS

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