Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s health department has warned traders at the Kalupur mava market of strict action after an inspection found that none of the traders had the rapid food-testing kits they had been directed to obtain. The inspection was conducted on October 29 following a report by Sandesh News, and traders have been given 24 hours to acquire the kits.
A special team from the AMC health department carried out a surprise inspection at the market to check whether traders had access to rapid kits for testing the quality of food products sold there. According to the report, the team did not find a single trader with a rapid kit during the inspection.
The absence of the kits came despite instructions issued by the civic body about a month earlier. AMC had directed traders to procure the equipment, but the inspection indicated that the instruction had not been followed. The civic response has now shifted from advisory directions to a short compliance deadline.
The health department has said that it will return to the Kalupur mava market on the evening of October 30. Traders who still do not possess the required kits could face legal and strict punitive action, according to the warning reported by Sandesh News.
AMC has distributed around 300 rapid kits so far, the report said. The inspection has therefore raised questions about whether equipment distributed or mandated by the civic body is reaching regular use at food markets. The immediate enforcement action is focused on the availability of testing kits with individual traders, rather than on a reported laboratory finding concerning a particular product.
Rapid testing equipment is intended to help traders and enforcement teams conduct preliminary checks on food quality. However, the report does not specify the brands or types of kits involved, the food parameters they are expected to test, or whether any products were seized or found unsafe during the October 29 inspection.
The Kalupur market is one of Ahmedabad’s known commercial areas for mava, a key ingredient used in sweets and other food products. Compliance at such markets is part of the wider responsibility of municipal health authorities to monitor food businesses, enforce safety directions and respond to risks before they reach consumers.
For traders, the immediate requirement is to obtain the rapid kits before the follow-up inspection. For the civic administration, the next check will establish whether the 24-hour warning has resulted in compliance and whether penalties or other legal measures are necessary. The AMC health department’s October 30 inspection is the next stated enforcement milestone.
