Rajkot: The special operations group (SOG) of Gir Somnath police seized 16,000 litres of allegedly unsafe canned mango juice, which was nearly two years old, during a raid on a food processing unit in Talala taluka on Tuesday, officials said.Acting on a tip-off, a team led by SOG in-charge police inspector D M Kagda and PSI R H Suva, along with the district food safety officer, raided a unit named Ruchil Agro Food Product in Hadmatiya Gir village of Gir Somnath district. The unit, owned by Pravin Bhanderi, was searched along with an associated godown in Talala.The seized stock has been handed over to food safety officials for further testing and legal action.Sources said some units preserve mango pulp or juice with preservatives and store it for long periods to sell later at higher prices during the off-season. The season for the Kesar mango typically begins in mid-April and peaks in May, but demand for mangoes and mango-based products starts rising from March, particularly during the wedding season.
