Food Safety Raid: Dates Inflated With Gas, Sweetened With Saccharin Seized In Gorakhpur

A Food Safety Department team has seized five quintals of suspected adulterated dried dates near Nausarh, part of a crackdown on adulterators selling poor-quality dates disguised as products from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The consignment was being transported to the shop of Raju Sonkar in Maheva. Officials reported that adulterators are puffing up these poor-quality dates with gas, adding hazardous saccharin for sweetness, and using artificial colour to make them resemble real dates. It is also suspected that the dates have been cooked in dirty molasses.

The seized packets did not have a manufacture date listed, only stating that they should be used within 18 months. Furthermore, the packets lacked both a licence number and an address. It was noted that the shop owner, Raju Sonkar, also does not have a licence from the food department.

Assistant Commissioner Dr Sudhir Kumar Singh stated that the dates were discovered during an inspection of a private bus that was stopped near Nausarh. The bus was arriving from Delhi. Suspecting adulteration with sugar, saccharin, and colour, the team collected samples, seized the entire consignment, and handed it over to Raju Sonkar with instructions that the dates cannot be sold until the lab report is received.

Dr Singh advised the public to be cautious of unlabelled and cheaply sold food items and to purchase food only from licensed establishments.

In separate actions, the team also:

Took a sample of khova from the shop of G Chaudhary on Cinema Road in Golghar, which has been sent to a laboratory for testing.

Stopped and searched a bread van coming from Lucknow near Nausarh, based on information that it was also transporting adulterated food items.

During the search of the bread van, officials found more than 10 quintals of spoiled sweets and snacks (such as patisa) hidden between boxes of bread. A preliminary examination revealed the presence of aluminium foil and non-edible colour, leading to the seizure of the items.

Following the seizure of the sweets from the van, a person approached the officials claiming ownership, stating that the sweets, gajak, and other items had been ordered from Charbagh in Lucknow for a wedding. However, when the Assistant Commissioner asked for the shopkeeper's mobile number, the individual was unable to provide it.

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Later, three sweet shop owners from the Gorakhnath area also claimed some of the sweets as their own. The department took samples and handed the seized sweets over to them pending the investigation.

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