Team Goemkarponn
VERNA: The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) on Tuesday seized 1,780 kg of boneless raw chicken from Agarwal Cold Storage in Verna after detecting multiple labelling violations, including the absence of mandatory manufacturing dates, expiry details and information about the transporting company. The entire seized stock will be destroyed, officials said.
According to FDA officials, the raid was conducted following a complaint and a subsequent investigation into the transportation of chicken consignments into Goa.
An FDA official said the department had initially intercepted a chicken consignment that arrived by train at Margao railway station. Samples from the consignment were collected and sent for laboratory testing, with the results still awaited.
“After we started conducting raids on chicken consignments arriving by train, the brokers involved in this trade became alert and started transporting the stock by road. We subsequently received information about the movement of such consignments, informed our seniors and conducted a raid at Agarwal Cold Storage in Verna,” the official said.
During the inspection, FDA officials found that the seized chicken stock carried different labels and lacked essential details, including proper manufacturing and expiry dates and FSSAI licence numbers.
The official also expressed concern that the stock could have been stored as early as July, raising questions about its freshness and suitability for human consumption.
“These stocks may have been dumped in July and the decaying process may have already begun, making the chicken unfit for consumption. We have seized the entire quantity of boneless chicken and will dispose of the stock,” the official said.
The seizure forms part of the FDA’s efforts to track questionable chicken consignments entering Goa and prevent potentially unsafe meat from reaching consumers.
The department is also awaiting laboratory test results of samples collected from the earlier consignment intercepted at Margao railway station as part of its ongoing investigation.
