On-Site Testing Kits To Be Set Up At Ahmedabad's Sweet Shops, Mandatory 18-Point Protocol Issued Ahead of Festive Season

In a bid to curb food adulteration during the upcoming festive rush, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation has directed all sweet and farsan shops across the city to prominently display rapid on-the-spot testing kits for public use.

The civic body’s Health and Food Department issued instructions requiring merchants to make testing gear accessible on counters, allowing buyers to screen products before making purchases. The portable kits enable immediate primary checks for starch in mawa, khoya, and paneer, adulterants in silver foil (chaandi vark), synthetic dyes, fake saffron, and vegetable fats mixed into pure ghee.

Instant Quality Checks for Consumers

Standing Committee Chairman Kamlesh Patel confirmed that food safety inspectors are currently conducting checks across commercial zones to enforce the mandate. Customers who spot adulterated produce can log complaints directly with the civic administration via the official helpline (155303) for immediate legal action.

"The necessary chemicals and testing materials are inexpensive and easy to handle," Patel noted, adding that the Ahmedabad Sweet and Farsan Association has been instructed to ensure full compliance across member outlets without delay.

However, the initiative has raised questions over enforcement ground reality. A previous AMC directive mandating Total Polar Compound (TPC) monitors to check re-used cooking oil in farsan shops saw minimal implementation, with machines missing from most kitchens today.

Mandatory 18-Point Protocol for Hotels and Restaurants

Simultaneously, the AMC issued a comprehensive 18-point hygiene charter to the Ahmedabad Hotel Owners Association to regulate food preparation standards. The mandate mandates installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras in commercial kitchens alongside live video displays in dining areas so patrons can monitor cooking conditions directly.

Hotels and restaurants must submit a binding timeline to the AMC regarding their CCTV installation schedules. Key operational rules in the 18-point guideline include:

18-Point Hygiene Charter for Hotels and Restaurants

1. Kitchen & Premises Cleanliness: Conduct regular cleaning and sanitation of the kitchen, food preparation areas, storage sections, floors, walls, ceilings, and drainage systems.
2. Potable Water Usage: Use potable water for drinking, cooking, washing, and food preparation, ensuring strict compliance with applicable quality standards.
3. Food Handler Hygiene: Ensure all food handlers wear clean clothing or uniforms, aprons, and head covers. Exclude any personnel exhibiting symptoms of illness or infectious diseases from food-handling duties.
4. Segregation & Storage: Store raw food, cooked food, vegetarian, non-vegetarian, and ready-to-eat items separately to prevent cross-contamination.
5. Temperature Control: Maintain required temperature conditions for storing perishable items, dairy products, paneer, meat, poultry, and frozen or chilled items.
6. Pest Control System: Implement an effective and regular pest control system to keep the premises free from cockroaches, flies, rodents, and other pests, and maintain updated service records.
7. Waste Disposal: Maintain covered dustbins and a proper drainage/waste disposal system for hygienic waste collection and disposal, ensuring it does not lead to contamination or pest breeding.
8. Cooking Oil Regulation: Avoid the repeated reuse of frying oil. Do not use cooking oil where Total Polar Compounds (TPC) exceed 25 per cent, and properly dispose of or hand over used oil as per FSSAI regulations while maintaining disposal logs.
9. Approved Food Additives: Use only FSSAI-approved food colours, preservatives, and additives within the strictly prescribed permissible limits.
10. Raw Material Sourcing: Exercise due diligence regarding the quality and origin of raw materials, milk products, paneer, cheese, khoya, ghee, edible oils, and spices.
11. Supplier Records: Procure raw materials and food items from registered Food Business Operators (FBOs) wherever possible, retaining bills, supplier details, and purchase records.
12. Safe Storage Elevation: Keep all food articles off the floor in clean, elevated, and secure storage spaces.
13. Stock Rotation & Expiry Monitoring: Do not use, store for sale, or serve expired, spoiled, or unsafe food items; adopt a reliable First-In, First-Out (FIFO) stock rotation system.
14. License & Display Boards: Prominently display the valid FSSAI license/registration and the applicable Food Safety Display Board (FSDB) inside the premises.
15. Staff Training: Conduct regular training for food handlers and staff on food hygiene, safe handling practices, sanitation, and personal hygiene.
16. Sanitation Schedules: Maintain a strict cleaning and sanitation schedule for the kitchen, utensils, equipment, chopping boards, refrigerators, and storage racks.
17. Protection of Prepared Food: Keep prepared and ready-to-eat food properly covered and protected from dust, flies, insects, handling, and environmental contamination.
18. Record Keeping & CCTV Transparency: Maintain complete records for cleaning, pest control, water quality tests, temperature logs, raw material procurement, and used cooking oil disposal. Ensure operational transparency by installing kitchen CCTVs and providing live displays for customers.