The Uttar Pradesh Food Safety and Drug Administration inspected 1,133 sites linked to the production, storage and sale of sweets across the state, suspending 27 establishment licences and seizing food items estimated to be worth Rs 1.32 crore. The action followed inspections focused on hygiene and food-safety compliance at sweet shops and related units.
Officials said teams seized approximately 54 quintals of food items during the drive. The FSDA also issued improvement notices to 78 establishments, suspended the licences of five units during inspections in specified districts and shut one establishment that was operating without a licence.
The enforcement operation involved 32 mobile food squads in Bareilly and Moradabad, according to an FSDA spokesperson. Separate teams inspected 98 establishments in Kasganj, Etawah, Hamirpur, Mahoba, Kushinagar and Shahjahanpur.
The inspections reported serious hygiene and safety lapses at several locations. In Bareilly, officials found extreme filth at a manufacturing unit where a toilet was located next to a furnace. The unit also had a broken floor and accumulated dirty water, the officials said.
At another shop in Bareilly, inspectors reported that old and mouldy sweets were being stored and prepared in unhygienic conditions. The findings relate to establishments involved in the manufacture, storage or sale of food products and formed part of the action taken during the statewide drive.
In Moradabad, officials said a sweet shop was using expired material and had rat droppings and inedible colours on its premises. A separate unit was found operating without a licence and had a rodent infestation, according to the department.
The action highlights the responsibilities of food businesses that supply products through local markets and commercial establishments. Licensing, storage conditions, premises hygiene and the suitability of ingredients are among the areas examined during food-safety inspections, with violations leading to notices, suspension of licences, seizure of products or closure.
The FSDA’s inspection figures also show the scale of the operation across different parts of the state. While 1,133 locations were inspected statewide, the department separately identified 98 establishments for checks in six districts and deployed mobile squads in Bareilly and Moradabad. The department did not provide further details in the supplied report about the duration of the suspensions, the disposal of the seized food items or the next compliance deadlines for establishments that received improvement notices.
The immediate enforcement measures announced by the department include continued action against units found violating food-safety requirements, compliance improvements at establishments served notices and legal or administrative action against businesses operating without the required licence. Further proceedings will depend on the inspections and the responses of the establishments concerned.
