Patna’s health department destroyed 260 kg of expired and improperly labelled food ingredients, seized 160 kg of butter and stopped the sale of ice cream products without batch numbers or manufacturing dates during a food safety drive across the city and nearby areas on Monday.
According to a health department press release cited in the inspection report, officials conducted checks at Golden Dairy Products, Snow Ball Ice Cream, Mother Dairy stockist Maa Bhadrakali Traders, Saloni Enterprises and Popular Snowman Cold Storage. Food samples were also collected from several units and sent for laboratory testing.
At Golden Dairy Products in the Patliputra Industrial Area, officials destroyed 442 ice creams after finding them unfit for consumption. The destroyed stock included 244 Choco Bars and 198 Amar Bars. The inspection also identified lapses related to hygiene and storage, the department said.
Officials found a larger quantity of ingredients at Snow Ball Ice Cream’s manufacturing unit in Maner. The department destroyed 260 kg of material, including expired mango pulp, dried blackcurrants, chocolate substitute and unlabelled skimmed milk powder. The action removed ingredients that the department said could not be used for food production because of their expiry or labelling status.
The sale of ice cream manufactured by Saloni Enterprises in Khemnichak was halted after officials found that the products did not carry batch numbers or manufacturing dates. At Popular Snowman Cold Storage in Kumhrar, the department seized 160 kg of butter valued at Rs 43,000 because the stock lacked batch numbers. The expired and improperly labelled ingredients destroyed during the drive were valued at Rs 80,720.
The inspections highlight the role of basic traceability information in the city’s food supply chain. Batch numbers and manufacturing dates allow regulators and businesses to identify products, track stock and respond to suspected safety problems. Their absence can make it harder to determine when and where a product was manufactured or whether it should remain in circulation.
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 correct the identified deficiencies within 14 days. The health department said failure to comply could lead to suspension or cancellation of the establishments’ licences.
The laboratory results from the samples collected during the drive and the establishments’ compliance with the improvement notices will determine the next regulatory steps, according to the action outlined by the department.
