Jaipur food safety checks have been intensified ahead of Diwali, with Rajasthan health authorities focusing on mawa, ghee, edible oil, sweets and other high-demand food products amid a seasonal surge in supplies entering the city.
The Jaipur health department is preparing a special drive to prevent adulterated and poor-quality mawa from reaching sweet manufacturers and consumers. Officials said the rise in demand for traditional sweets before Diwali often results in large quantities of substandard mawa being brought into Jaipur from neighbouring districts.
Additional Commissioner Bhagwat Singh said enforcement had been stepped up across the food supply chain. Teams will inspect manufacturing units, storage facilities, transport routes, wholesale markets, sweet shops and other points where food products are handled or sold.
The checks will cover suspected adulteration as well as misleading labelling. Officials said suspected mawa and other food products would be sampled and sent for laboratory testing. Suppliers, traders and manufacturers found handling unsafe or substandard material could face seizure of products, suspension or cancellation of licences and prosecution, depending on the nature of the violation.
The enforcement action is being carried out under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and related rules. The department has not stated how many inspections or samples will be completed in Jaipur under the special drive.
The wider campaign has already led to a major edible-oil seizure in Bikaner. The food safety department seized around 22,000 kg of edible oil from a warehouse in the Beechwal Industrial Area on Sunday under its “Shuddh Aahar–Milawat Par Vaar” campaign.
Officials seized Nepal-manufactured “Choice” brand sunflower oil and “Baba Ramdev Chhap” mustard oil from the warehouse of M/s Laxmi Narayan Bhanwar Lal. Three edible-oil samples were collected for testing. The department is also examining the labelling and promotion of the “Choice” sunflower oil for possible misleading claims.
A food safety team inspected three establishments in Bikaner and collected six samples in one day. These included a sample of coconut peda from Nagad Narayan Agro Industries and two samples from the manufacturing unit of Shri Bishanlal Babulal in the Rani Bazaar Industrial Area.
Officials said improvement notices would be issued to firms where deficiencies were found. The Jaipur inspections and the Bikaner seizure show that the pre-Diwali checks are covering both finished food products and the warehouses, manufacturers and distribution channels through which festival supplies reach consumers.
The department’s next steps are to continue inspections, collect samples for laboratory testing and take action against suppliers, traders and manufacturers where violations are established.
