The Hindu 23.02.2010
Adulteration: raids in Coimbatore, Tirupur
Special Correspondent
| Products that passed their expiry date seized in Tirupur |
COIMBATORE: Teams from the Department of Public Health and the City Health Department of the Coimbatore Corporation carried out raids on tea stalls and tea stockists in the city and rural areas as part of a State-wide crackdown on adulteration.
Led by Deputy Director of Health Services S. Senthilkumar, health officials raided these establishments in the suburbs and rural areas. They seized 270 kg of tea valued at Rs.120 a kg. The official said 20 samples would be sent to King Institute at Guindy in Chennai for tests. If the adulteration was proved, charges would be pressed against the stalls or stockists, he said.
The City Health Department’s teams carried out raids within the Coimbatore Corporation limits and found that two brands of tea were mixed in order to provide colour and taste.
Assistant City Health Officer said that inquiries with tea stalls revealed that one brand was known for its colour and the other for taste. Both brands of the dust tea were mixed to provide both these qualities. Most tea stalls said they resorted to this practice. The health wing was trying to find out whether even one of these brands was adulterated.
In Tirupur
The Corporation health officials seized about 100 kg of tea dust, wheat flour and ragi flour, which passed their expiry date, as well as tea dust suspected to be adulterated, in raids in shops on Monday evening. City Health Officer K. R. Jawaharlal said that the products that crossed the expiry date were seized from five shops out of the 40 shops raided.
“We have served show-cause notices on shops, before imposing fines on them,” he added. The raid was conducted based on widespread complaints from specific areas regarding the quality of food products sold.
Dr. Jawaharlal said that tea samples from two shops were lifted after it was suspected to be adulterated.
“We have sent them immediately to government-run laboratories in Chennai for confirmation,” he added.
The health officials also served a notice on a big grocery situated along Tirupur-Mangalam road after it was noticed that the show owner kept wheat flour in open gunny bags in its store house without taking any precaution against rat infestation.
