Delhi’s Food Safety Department seized and destroyed around 7,000 kg of suspected unhygienic khoya during a raid at Mori Gate Khoya Market on Tuesday, after 35 of 44 samples failed preliminary screening ahead of Diwali. Chief minister Rekha Gupta visited the market and directed officials to prevent suspected food products from entering the supply chain.
The operation was part of the department’s festive-season enforcement campaign against food adulteration. Officials used the Food Safety on Wheels mobile laboratory to conduct preliminary tests at the market. The department said the screening indicated the presence of milk powder, vanaspati and binding agents in the suspected material.
The failed preliminary results do not represent the final outcome of laboratory testing. Two additional samples were collected and sent for detailed analysis, while further investigation is underway to establish the extent of adulteration. The source report did not specify whether legal proceedings had been initiated against particular traders or suppliers.
Gupta said officials had been instructed to ensure that products suspected to be unsafe did not enter the market supply chain. She also warned of strict legal action against those involved in food adulteration, regardless of their influence, according to the report.
Tuesday’s action was the fourth operation conducted by the Food Safety Department at Mori Gate Khoya Market during the current enforcement campaign. The department said the total quantity of khoya destroyed in the crackdown had reached 10,660 kg.
The earlier destruction figures were 2,830 kg on September 4, 610 kg on September 8 and 520 kg on October 23. The latest seizure therefore represents the largest single quantity reported in the campaign so far, accounting for roughly two-thirds of the total material destroyed during the four operations.
The enforcement action illustrates the role of municipal and state food-safety machinery in monitoring high-volume festive markets, where products move quickly between wholesalers, retailers and consumers. In this case, officials relied on on-site screening to identify material for destruction while sending additional samples for detailed laboratory analysis.
The department’s stated objective is not limited to detecting suspected adulterated products at the market. It is also to prevent them from reaching consumers through the wider supply chain. The next formal step will be the detailed analysis of the additional samples and further investigation into the suspected material and those responsible for bringing it to the market.
