Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s food department collected 55 samples of fafda and jalebi from more than 80 shops before Dussehra, but laboratory results are expected to take 10 to 15 days—after the festival sales are over. The delay means consumers may not know whether the popular festive foods met quality standards until they have already eaten them.
The inspections were carried out on Sunday, October 18, ahead of the large-scale sale of fafda and jalebi associated with Dussehra in Ahmedabad. The samples were sent to a laboratory for testing, according to a report by Gujarat Samachar – Ahmedabad.
The festival brings heavy demand to sweet and savoury food shops across the city. In addition to established businesses, temporary stalls are commonly set up near residential societies, along roadsides and on footpaths. This creates a wider enforcement challenge for the civic authority because food is sold through both permanent establishments and temporary arrangements during the peak period.
The current sampling process separates inspection from the point at which enforcement decisions can be taken. Until the laboratory reports are received, the civic administration cannot establish from these samples whether any of the tested fafda or jalebi failed quality requirements. If the products remain on sale during the reporting period, buyers have no advance information about the test outcome.
The report also raises the need for checks on raw materials used in the preparation of these foods. This includes the oil used for fafda and the ghee used for jalebi, along with other ingredients handled by shops and temporary vendors. Inspecting only finished products may not provide the full picture of food quality if the inputs used during preparation are not examined at the same time.
The AMC food department’s sampling action establishes that pre-festival inspections have begun, but the available report does not provide the laboratory findings, the names of the establishments sampled or details of any immediate enforcement action. The next confirmed step is the release of the test results, which the report says may take 10 to 15 days.
