Bhubaneswar: Fifteen kilograms of paneer (cottage cheese) and sweets were trashed by food safety teams of Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation during surprise checks at famous pahala rasagola stalls in the capital on Tuesday.As many as 27 suspected samples of chhena (cottage cheese) and rasagola were collected during the drive. Designated food safety officer Satyajit Patel said the inspection was carried out at Mancheswar, Chakeisinai and Satya Vihar apart from Pahala, which has mostly sweet stalls along Bhubaneswar-Cuttack national highway.“We had been receiving a lot of complaints about adulterated chhena and sweets. We collected 27 samples for laboratory testing to ascertain what additives and supplements were mixed to adulterate chhena and sweets and the level of adulteration. We instantly discarded the ones we found stale and unfit for consumption,” Patel told TOI.Food safety squad said local farmers supply milk to sweet-making vendors, who allegedly mix different supplements that are unhealthy to increase quantity of chhena and sweets. “To the naked eye, it doesn’t look adulterated. Even while consuming, one doesn’t feel the adulteration if the additive mixed is of small quantity. Particularly, pahala sweets are in great demand and people don’t take pain to verify the authenticity while buying during travel,” said a food safety squad member.BMC officials said for public interest, the food safety team would soon come out with the findings of the lab tests.On Monday, the food safety squad dumped nearly 100 kg of stale paneer from exclusive shops and hotels located at five places in city. BMC have lodged cases under the Food Safety Act and served improvement notices on shops. “On Monday, we had collected a fine of Rs 12,000 and on Tuesday, we fined Rs 2,500 on rasagola stalls at Pahala,” Patel added.The crackdown is part of a larger food safety drive that has been continuing since April. Between April and June, BMC seized and destroyed 132 kgs of stale food during surprise raids. Of 19 food samples sent for lab testing in that period, all returned positive for contamination and were deemed unsafe for consumption. In total, 288 samples were collected during 207 inspections across Bhubaneswar.
