The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s food department will inspect farsan and sweet shops, including roadside stalls and temporary mandaps, across the city on October 19 ahead of Dussehra, with officials focusing on fafda and jalebi prepared for the festival. The checks are intended to ensure that food sold during the high-demand period meets quality and safety requirements.
AMC food department officer Dr Tejas Shah said separate teams had already begun inspections a week before the festival. During the past week, officials checked around 80 shops and collected about 55 food samples, according to the department.
The next round of inspections will cover different areas of Ahmedabad and will specifically include shops and mandaps selling fafda and jalebi. Officials will examine whether fafda is being fried in burnt or repeatedly used oil, and samples of both fafda and jalebi will be collected for laboratory testing.
The inspections come as Ahmedabad residents prepare for the city’s traditional Dussehra consumption of fafda and jalebi. The AMC has issued instructions to food traders to ensure that residents receive food that is safe and of acceptable quality during the festival period.
According to the food department, distribution of fafda and jalebi is expected to begin from Monday night, leading to inspections at farsan shops in multiple parts of the city. The timing of the checks is intended to cover outlets as production and sales increase before Dussehra.
The inspection process does not produce immediate laboratory results. Officials said samples must be sent to a laboratory and examined before their quality can be established, with results expected to take about seven days. This means that enforcement based on laboratory findings may follow after the festival sales period rather than at the time of purchase.
The AMC has said action will be taken against traders if food safety violations are found or if residents’ health is compromised. The department’s inspections will therefore combine on-site checks with sample collection, while laboratory testing will determine the findings on the collected products.
