Chennai: When you hop from one sweet shop to the other during Deepavali make sure that you check the colours on the sweets before buying. If the colour is too dark, don’t buy; instead, point it out to the owner.
Food safety officials are on an overdrive to ensure that the sweets and savories you buy this Deepavali are unadulterated. Campaigns and drives have been undertaken across the city. According to a food safety official, pamphlets are being distributed all over Chennai in all sweet shops.
He said, “We have asked all manufacturers to maintain hygiene and sanitation. They have to use only permitted food colours monitored by FSSAI. They should not use used or adulterated oils and ghee.”
He added that people who are working should use head caps, apron, hand gloves and masks while they are preparing such sweets. “They should also be free from communicable diseases,” he said. Last year, checks were conducted in 700 to 800 shops. Some were found to be using non-permitted colours and adulterated materials. “Last year, shops from Aminjikarai, Mylapore, Virugambakkam, Velachery and Washermenpet were found using adulterated materials. Sometimes the color on the sweets is very dark which indicates the use of non-permitted colours. In the case of milk products, rancid smell is an indicators of adulteration,” said the food safety official. He also added that last year a famous sweet shop from Virugambakkam was found using non-permitted colours on a halwa.
Sweet shops are also known to replace milk powder in sweets with starch made from tapioca. But it is very difficult to identify this without tasting. “We take samples from the manufacturers and send it to Guindy Government laboratory,” he said. While inspecting sweet shops Tuesday he found in many shops, manufacturers were preparing sweets bare chest without wearing any apron.
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