Bhubaneswar: Food safety officials in Berhampur have launched a crackdown on adulterated dairy products, seizing and destroying over 350 kg of paneer, cheese, khoa and rabri from shops, lassi stalls and restaurants across the silk city in the last two days.
The drive began on Thursday with inspections in Aga Street and Khapsa Street. Officials of the Berhampur Municipal Corporation seized around 60 kg of adulterated paneer, chhena and khoa from five outlets. They also destroyed 25 expired milk packets of 500 ml each that were found during the checks.
The raids intensified on Friday. A team led by BeMC Food Safety Officer Liza Mishra inspected around a dozen lassi stalls in SNT Road and Girija Square. Nearly 300 kg of spurious milk products were found and destroyed on the spot, officials said. During the same drive, a popular restaurant in the city was also inspected. Officials found around 10 kg of stale, prepared food containing adulterated paneer. The restaurant owner was fined Rs 12,000 for violating food safety norms.
According to preliminary findings, traders were mixing maida and other powdery substances with paneer, khoa and chhena to cut costs. Samples collected from the seized stocks have been sent to the laboratory for chemical analysis. Officials said further legal action will be initiated once the test reports are received.
Mishra said the surveillance will continue in the coming days to check the sale of substandard and adulterated food items in the city, especially ahead of the festive season.
