Cuttack: Food safety officials and police on Thursday raided several khaja shops and manufacturing units near Shree Jagannath Temple in Puri and destroyed four quintals of khaja.The joint raid exposed serious violations of food safety norms, including use of low-quality ingredients and unhygienic surfaces for preparing the traditional sweet, which is widely consumed by devotees as Lord Jagannath’s prasad.Puri city DSP Rashmiranjan Mahapatra said the khaja was being prepared in extremely unhygienic conditions. Four major shops and manufacturing units were raided near the entry gates of Jagannath Temple. “During the raid, we found that the ingredients being used were of very low quality and did not meet food safety standards. We seized and destroyed four quintals of khaja. Notices have been served to four shops and manufacturing units, and a fine of Rs 45,000 has been imposed,” added Mahapatra.“The wooden platforms on which the khaja was being rolled were also being used by workers to stand on. Food items and materials used in preparation were kept on these surfaces. This is a clear violation of food safety norms,” added Mahapatra.Food safety officer Bedashree Sahoo said, “The raid also revealed shocking unhygienic practices at the manufacturing units. The wooden surfaces used for rolling and preparing khaja were being used as standing platforms by workers. Food items and other materials were also kept on the same surfaces; there are several low-quality ingredients which were seized and sent for laboratory tests,” informed Sahoo.She said the conditions under which the sweets were being prepared posed a serious risk to consumers, particularly devotees who buy khaja believing it to be a traditional offering associated with Lord Jagannath. Penalties were also imposed on the shopkeepers.The raid has raised concerns over the quality and hygiene of khaja sold in the temple vicinity, where thousands of devotees buy the sweet every day.“People consume khaja as Lord Jagannath’s prasad with deep devotion. Those who prepare and sell it in such unhygienic conditions are playing with the faith of devotees. This is a breach of trust; stringent action must be taken against such violators; the authorities must continue the raid across the year,” said Shankar Das, a resident of Puri and devotee.
