18 units sealed during Gujarat’s anti-adulteration campaign

The Gujarat government on Saturday reviewed the ongoing ‘Khorakh Shuddh Abhiyan’ (Clean Food Campaign) and reiterated its zero-tolerance policy against food adulteration during a meeting with the Food and Drugs Control Administration.

State Health Minister Praful Pansheriya chaired the meeting and directed officials to further intensify the special statewide drive against the sale of adulterated and misleading food products.

He specifically cautioned food business operators against selling analogue dairy products falsely labelled as paneer, saying violators would face stringent legal action.

According to officials, the campaign carried out in April involved inspections at 4,193 establishments, including manufacturing units, restaurants, roadside eateries and hawkers across the state.

During the inspections, authorities reportedly seized and destroyed around 1,018 kg of suspected paneer and analogue products valued at approximately ₹1.83 lakh.

The administration also issued notices to nearly 270 units for alleged serious violations, while 118 suspicious food samples were sent for laboratory testing. Officials said further legal action would be initiated once the test reports are received.

Municipal corporations across the state have collected fines amounting to ₹2.84 lakh from firms found violating food safety norms, while 18 units accused of serious negligence were sealed during the drive.

The minister further said that special inspections had also been carried out keeping in view the summer season. Under the ‘Food Safety on Wheels’ initiative, inspections were conducted at 1,576 locations selling sugarcane juice, mango juice, ice golas and watermelon products, with 1,705 samples tested so far.

The state government warned that strict action would be taken against those involved in food adulteration.