The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s food safety raid has sealed a namkeen factory in Naroda after officials found no proper arrangement or records for disposing of used cooking oil, while 1,000 kg of namkeen, gram flour and refined flour was detained for further action.
The action was carried out by the AMC Food Safety Department on October 26 as part of inspections ahead of Diwali, when demand for sweets, savouries and other prepared food products rises across the city. Officials collected 29 samples from food units in different areas and sent them to a laboratory for testing.
The sealed unit, Jain Super Namkeen factory, is located at Madhusudan Business Park in Naroda. According to the food safety department, the factory used approximately 125 kg of cooking oil every day. During the inspection, officials found that the unit did not have the required records showing the storage and disposal of used oil through an authorised agency.
Samples of used cooking oil and gram flour were collected from the factory. In addition, 1,000 kg of prepared namkeen, gram flour and refined flour was placed under suspension, meaning the stock cannot be used or moved until the department completes the required process. The department said further legal action would follow after the laboratory report on the used-oil sample is received.
The 29 samples collected during the wider inspection included kaju katri, mohanthal, peda, kalakand, barfi, rasgulla, gram flour and used cooking oil. Samples were taken from establishments including Bhavnagari Sweet Mart, Krishna Sweet Mart, Shri Nagar Chavana and Sweet Mart, Gwalior Sweets, Amrut Mithai Junction and Hira Misthan, according to the report.
The AMC has said that businesses using more than 50 kg or litres of cooking oil a day must maintain records of daily oil consumption, the quantity of used oil generated and its disposal. Used oil must be stored separately in properly identified containers and handed over to an authorised agency. The requirement places record-keeping alongside food preparation and hygiene as part of the inspection process.
The department also released details of earlier laboratory findings. Samples collected on October 15 from MJF Food in Behrampura found synthetic colours and a positive result in a starch test in a product identified as Snack Touchup. The sample was declared sub-standard and unsafe, and 2,000 kg of Snack Touchup, tomato powder and other raw materials were seized before the unit was sealed.
Similarly, samples collected on October 17 from Aai Shri Khodiyar Gruh Udyog in Gota found the Snack Touchup sample to be unsafe, while tomato paste and potato paste were declared sub-standard. The department has warned food manufacturing units that violations found during the festival period will invite action under the applicable law.
