Food and Drug Administration review meeting
Prevent food adulteration – Food and Drug Administration Minister Dr Rajendra Shingane
Pune: In view of the large scale production of sweets and other food items on the backdrop of Diwali, the Food Administration Department should be vigilant to prevent adulteration, said Food and Drug Administration Minister Dr Rajendra Shingane.
He was speaking at a review meeting of the Food and Drug Administration held at a government rest house. The meeting was attended by Shivaji Desai, Joint Commissioner, Food Administration, SB Patil, Joint Commissioner, Drug Administration and Assistant Commissioner, Food and Drug Administration, District.
Dr Shingane further said that during the festive season, the demand for food items, sweets, milk and dairy products, cosmetics, etc. increases tremendously. At such times, some individuals try to make a profit by resorting to fraudulent means. He should be restrained by the department officials. Samples should be taken for inspection by making sudden impressions at the place of manufacture of these products. Strict action should be taken against such producers immediately if adulterated samples are found.
Complaints have been lodged against jaggery growers recently and action has been taken against some of them. Department officials should hold meetings with jaggery growers as well as other food producers to inform them about the importance of maintaining product quality as well as the provisions in the law. He also said that state-of-the-art technology should be adopted to detect food adulteration.
The National Drug Price Regulatory Authority (NPPA) has been directed to launch a public awareness campaign on drug prices. In that connection, the Drug Administration should undertake a special campaign across the state to ensure that the prices of drugs do not exceed those fixed by the NPPA. Producers should be prosecuted if prices are higher than fixed. An effective public awareness campaign should be launched to disseminate the provisions of NPPA to the masses. Dr Shingane also instructed the citizens to go to government hospitals, government offices, drug stores and other places where they can lodge complaints if the prices are higher than the stipulated limits.
