PUNJAB CM ASKS OFFICERS TO EXPLORE WAYS TO STRENGTHEN FOOD ADULTERATION LAW

Chandigarh, August 21, 2018: Taking serious note of the recent seizure of spurious milk and dairy products from a Patiala factory, Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday directed the concerned officers to explore ways of amending the law on food adulteration to make it more stringent.

The directive came during a meeting of the state cabinet, which took serious note of seizure of adulterated food in Patiala and other places, and mooted stringent punishment for such offences.

Noting that the subject of food adulteration was covered by a central legislation, the Chief Minister asked the officers to work out the best possible ways to deal more strictly with such cases. The state should find its own ways of ensuring stricter punishment for those playing with the lives of people, especially children, through adulteration of milk, milk products and other food items, the Chief Minister said during the informal discussion on the issue.

Even preservatives used for storage of fish were poisonous and dangerous for human consumption in the long run, it was pointed out during the discussion by the cabinet members, who were unanimous in underlining the need for strong measures to check such offences.