Jaipur: Chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma Sunday said that 9.23 lakh kg of adulterated food material was seized and 4.94 lakh kg destroyed across Rajasthan between Jan and July, as the state stepped up its crackdown on food adulteration ahead of the festive season.“There will be no compromise on adulteration,” govt said, underlining its Shuddh Aahar-Milawat Par Waar campaign.Data released by CMO Sunday showed that for the first time, Rajasthan initiated “prohibition and recall” action against unsafe food products. Of 514 products found unsafe during Jan-July, prohibition orders were issued against 94. Licences of 146 food business operators were suspended and three cancelled.The quantity seized and destroyed was nearly four times higher than the previous year, govt said.During a special festive-season drive from Aug 18 to 28, officials conducted 1,065 inspections and 1,001 enforcement actions, besides 630 surveillance checks. More than 14,000 kg/litre of food material was destroyed and around 43,000 kg/litre seized.Till July, officials conducted 7,766 inspections and collected 8,672 samples. Action was initiated in 2,408 cases involving substandard samples, with 2,312 cases presented before courts, resulting in Rs 7.89 crore in fines.The state also seized more than 7 lakh cans and 64,580 bottles in a statewide crackdown on incorrectly labelled caffeinated beverages across all 41 districts.Govt said it had completed regular recruitment for 298 food safety officer posts, taking the total number of officers in the state to 314. Of the new recruits, 226 have completed induction training.A Food Safety Training and Certification programme held in March trained 47,878 participants and received recognition from World Book of Records, London.Eat Right School initiative has also been expanded, with 435 schools certified against a target of 100 and 3,477 govt schools brought under the programme. More than 7 lakh students have been sensitised on food safety, nutrition and hygiene.Govt has set a target of taking the initiative to 10,000 schools and said enforcement drives would continue through the festive season.
