Bengaluru, 15 October

Notices were issued to 10 sweet manufacturing units and food business operators in Karnataka on Thursday for alleged food safety violations, including unhygienic preparation and failure to obtain FSSAI licences or registrations, the Food Safety and Drugs Administration said.

The development came following a special inspection drive conducted across Karnataka by the Food Safety Wing of the Department as per the directions of Minister for Health and Family Welfare, UT Khader, in the wake of the festival season, they said.

According to a statement by the Food Safety and Drugs Administration Department, a total of 125 food samples were collected from sweet manufacturing and sales establishments and sent to the respective government food laboratories for analysis to assess their quality and compliance with food safety standards.

The drive will continue until the end of Deepavali, and if any unit is found to be selling expired or substandard sweets, the licences of the unit will be suspended until then, Khader said. 

He also released a QR code of the Food Safety Wing of the Department of Health and Family Welfare and urged people to scan it and file a complaint directly if they come across any unhygienic food outlet, or places using adulterated products or artificial colours.