Ahmedabad Sweet Shops Lag On Food Safety: Only 16 of 3,500 Shops Install Rapid Testing Kits
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Despite Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation's efforts to curb adulteration in sweets and farsan, only 16 of the city's estimated 3,500 to 4,000 sweet and savoury shops have installed rapid food testing kits so far, raising questions over the slow adoption of the system.
Just 68 Rapid Testing Kits Available
The civic body has instructed sweet and farsan traders to install rapid testing kits to conduct preliminary checks on food products. However, implementation remains limited.
The 16 units that have installed the kits have collectively obtained 53 kits. In addition, Gwalia Sweets has procured 15 kits for its 15 outlets.
This takes the total number of rapid testing kits available across the identified establishments to 68.
The AMC Food Department said traders operating sweet and farsan units are being repeatedly instructed and guided to install the kits.
Which Ahmedabad Units Have Installed Kits?
Unit | Area | Kits |
|---|---|---|
Mayur Dairy & Sweets | Nikol | 4 |
Bhogilal Mulchand | Ashram Road | 6 |
Ras Ranjan Food Pvt. Ltd. | Navrangpura | 1 |
Jai Hind Sweets | Navrangpura | 4 |
Saurashtra Gathiya | Navrangpura | 1 |
Praful Mithait Ghar | Sabarmati | 1 |
Dhanalakshmi Food Products | Sabarmati | 1 |
Praful Sweets & Namkeen | Sabarmati | 1 |
Chamunda Chavana & Sweet Mart | Thaltej | 1 |
ISKCON Gathiya | Prahladnagar | 9 |
Karnavati Dairy | Ahmedabad | 15 |
Mohanlal Mithaitwala | Navrangpura | 3 |
Shri Umiya Dairy | Gota | 1 |
Sagar Kothari Budhalal Dairy | Jodhpur Cross Road | 2 |
Sadvichar Chavana Kendra | Maninagar | 1 |
Sweet Raga India LLP | Satellite Road | 2 |
Gwalia Sweets has separately procured 15 kits for its 15 outlets.
Kits Can Detect Adulteration On The Spot
The rapid testing kits are intended for primary screening of sweets and savoury products.
They can be used to check certain aspects of food quality, including the presence of starch in mawa, sweets and paneer, artificial colours used in sweets, silver foil and ghee.
However, results from the rapid kits are only preliminary and cannot replace a final laboratory test, officials clarified.
Thousands Of Shops Yet To Adopt System
The response so far remains small compared with the estimated 3,500 to 4,000 sweet shops operating across Ahmedabad.
With only 16 units outside the Gwalia network having installed the kits, the civic body's push for on-the-spot food testing has yet to gain widespread adoption.
The AMC Food Department has said it is providing guidance and support to other sweet and savoury traders to obtain the kits.
The responsibility for regularly using the kits for preliminary checks and ensuring that food sold to customers meets safety and quality standards rests with the respective traders, according to the civic body.
