Patna health officials destroyed 260 kg of expired and improperly labelled food ingredients worth Rs 80,720 and seized 160 kg of butter valued at Rs 43,000 during inspections of ice cream and dairy outlets across the city on Monday. The department also halted the sale of ice cream products that did not carry batch numbers and manufacturing dates.
According to a health department press release, the inspections covered Golden Dairy Products, Snow Ball Ice Cream, Mother Dairy stockist Maa Bhadrakali Traders, Saloni Enterprises and Popular Snowman Cold Storage. Officials collected food samples from several establishments for laboratory testing.
At Golden Dairy Products in Patliputra Industrial Area, officials destroyed 442 ice creams after finding them unfit for consumption. The stock included 244 Choco Bars and 198 Amar Bars. The inspection also identified lapses related to hygiene and storage, the department said.
At Snow Ball Ice Cream’s manufacturing unit in Maner, officials destroyed 260 kg of ingredients, including expired mango pulp, dried blackcurrants, chocolate substitute and unlabelled skimmed milk powder. The action removed products and inputs from the food-supply chain that officials found non-compliant during the inspection.
The sale of ice cream manufactured by Saloni Enterprises in Khemnichak was stopped after officials found that the products did not carry batch numbers or manufacturing dates. At Popular Snowman Cold Storage in Kumhrar, officials seized 160 kg of butter because it lacked batch numbers.
The department issued improvement notices under Section 32 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, to the establishments inspected. The notices direct the businesses to rectify the identified deficiencies within 14 days. The department said failure to comply may result in suspension or cancellation of the establishments’ licences.
The inspections place the focus on traceability and storage conditions in Patna’s processed-food supply chain. Batch numbers and manufacturing dates allow enforcement teams to identify products, track their source and distinguish compliant stock from goods that may be expired or improperly handled. The health department’s release did not disclose the laboratory-testing results or any reported illness linked to the inspected products.
The next action will depend on whether the establishments comply with the improvement notices and on the results of the food samples collected during the drive. The department has stated that licences may be suspended or cancelled if the deficiencies are not rectified within the 14-day period.
