Team Goemkarponn
THIVIM The Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), Goa, conducted a surveillance drive in Tivim and Karaswada in Bardez, uncovering food safety violations at a tiffin service and a chocolate manufacturing unit.
During the inspection at a tiffin service operating at Auchitwaddo, Tivim, officials found that the food business was being run under unhygienic and unsanitary conditions. The unit supplies tiffins to various offices and construction sites.
According to the FDA, the establishment was a repeat offender and had been inspected and booked earlier for similar violations. The Food Business Operator (FBO) was directed to immediately stop all food business operations. Further action will be initiated under the provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, including possible suspension of its licence.
In another inspection, a chocolate manufacturing unit at Karaswada was reinspected following a complaint about a metal fragment allegedly found in a chocolate.
During the inspection, officials found that the manufacturer was using defective moulds containing loose and corroded parts for chocolate production. The products were also found to carry misbranded information and incorrect manufacturing address details on their labels.
In the interest of public health, officials destroyed 140 boxes of chocolates valued at approximately Rs 40,000, along with the defective moulds.
The surveillance drive was conducted by Food Safety Officers Amit Mandrekar, Darlane Diukar and Lenin D’Sa, along with support staff member Sainath Chari, under the guidance of FDA Director Shweta Dessai.
