Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Mahesh Zhagde informs DNA’s Ninad Siddhaye that it is very difficult to identify spurious mawa.
With Diwali a week away, Mumbaikars are placing bulk orders for a variety of sweets, mostly milk-based. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) commissioner Mahesh Zhagde informs DNA’s Ninad Siddhaye that it is very difficult to identify spurious mawa.
How can a consumer know that the mithai he is buying is of the best quality?
Even experts in the field of manufacturing of mawa can fail to find out whether the mawa is of the best quality or spurious. There are many ways in which this milk-based product can be adulterated. Therefore, we advised consumers to buy mithai only from reputed, licensed manufacturers.
What precautions should one take while buying sweets or mawa?
While buying not just mawa or mithai, but any perishable food product always check the “best before” tag on the packing. As per the law, this tag is mandatory. However, it has been observed that during festive season, many small-time manufacturers and distributors do not adhere to the rules. We continuously monitor such manufacturers. But, we also need a lot of support from the public.
After the recent raids conducted by the special squad of Mumbai police, is FDA also on an alert?
During the festive season, our officials are always on a high alert. We have a separate vigilance squad and I have formed teams of food inspectors as well as drug inspectors who keep watch on specific areas.
There is also a special team, which counter-checks the information and inputs given by informers and our officials and directly reports to me.
We are doing our best to keep spurious products out of the market.
If a consumer has doubts about the quality of a food item, what can he do?
He can file a complaint with the FDA during office hours on 022-26592207 or send an email to comm.fda-mah@nic.in. Consumers can also file a complaint with the nearest police station, ward office or the FDA headquarters at Bandra-Kurla Complex.
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