Tamil Nadu has ordered intensified food safety inspections and surprise checks at shops and markets ahead of the Navaratri and Deepavali festive season, with particular attention to sweets, savouries, dairy products, cooking oil, ghee, khoa and paneer.
The directive was issued by Food Safety Commissioner Laalvena to district designated officers through a circular from the Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration Department. The department has been instructed to conduct special festive-season inspections across the state and ensure that food sold to the public meets safety and quality requirements.
Demand for sweets, savouries, cold drinks and dairy products typically rises during the festive period. The department’s action follows complaints that counterfeit and adulterated products are being sold in markets at lower prices, according to the report. The inspections are intended to identify such products and prevent their sale to consumers.
The inspection programme will cover shops selling sweets and savouries, outlets dealing in dairy products, oil mills and market areas. Officials have been asked to conduct repeated checks and collect samples of food products for examination. The instructions apply to both retail locations and parts of the supply chain where ingredients and finished products are handled.
The department has also been directed to deploy mobile food testing vehicles to major markets and locations considered suspicious. These vehicles are expected to support immediate testing of food items during field inspections, allowing officials to examine samples at or near the point of inspection rather than relying only on later laboratory processes.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has advised state authorities to take steps to ensure that consumers receive quality food during the festive season. Tamil Nadu’s inspection order follows that guidance and requires details of inspections and samples collected to be uploaded promptly to the FSSAI website.
The reporting requirement is intended to create a record of the special enforcement drive, including the locations inspected, samples taken and action initiated. District officers must submit a comprehensive report on the measures taken during the campaign by November 5, according to the commissioner’s instructions.
The order places the responsibility for implementation on district-level food safety officials, who will have to combine shop inspections, sample collection, mobile testing and online reporting during the seasonal increase in food sales. The department’s next formal milestone is the submission of the district reports by the November 5 deadline.
