25,000 Kg Suji, Substandard Edible Oil Worth Rs 6 Crore Seized In Uttar Pradesh Before Holi

Lucknow, March 1: Food safety has become one of the biggest concerns today, and the need of the hour is to take strict action against violations. Ahead of Holi, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), a statutory body under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, conducted major inspections at various factories and retail stores in Uttar Pradesh.

On February 26, FSSAI shared a series of pictures on X, revealing in the caption that the UPFSDA (Food Safety & Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh) seized 25,000 kg of suji (valued at Rs 10 lakh) from M/s Raj Sneh Agro Foods Pvt Ltd due to packaging regulation violations. The post further stated that samples of jaggery powder, gur, and suji have been sent for lab testing.

In the pictures, FSSAI officials can be seen in action. They were inspecting a large number of stored items before sending samples for laboratory testing.

In another post shared by the official X handle of the Food Safety & Drug Administration, Uttar Pradesh, it was reported that officials took major action ahead of Holi. A special enforcement drive targeting edible oil units was launched across Uttar Pradesh. Sharing a post, the caption read, “The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department, Uttar Pradesh, launched a large-scale integrated inspection campaign to ensure the availability of quality edible oil to the general public.”

As part of the food safety campaign, 58 inter-district teams were formed and deployed in the field to inspect 64 edible oil manufacturing units. During the inspections, eight units were found closed, while 56 were operational and faced enforcement action. As a result, 206 samples of edible oils were collected for testing, and 4,16,494 litres of suspected or substandard edible oil were seized. The estimated value of the seized oil is approximately Rs 6 crore 43 lakh. Several improvement notices were issued to 37 manufacturing units after deficiencies were identified.

Additionally, on February 25, in another X post, the official UPFSDA handle revealed that it had seized 6 quintals and 20 kg of coloured and rejected seeds from a warehouse in Gheror. Officials immediately took action under the Adulteration Act, and the UPFSDA Mainpuri team destroyed 75 kg of expired vanaspati and 200 packets of expired namkeen. “No compromise with public health!”, they wrote in the caption, highlighting their strict action to safeguard food safety.