Chennai: Action plan to soon curb adulterated edible oils

Madurai: The Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Drug Administration has introduced a 'WhatsApp' number 9444042322 to enable the public to complain about adulteration in edible oil, poor quality or even labeling defects.

Ms. P Amudha, commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA), Chennai has made this submission in their counter-affidavit filed before a division bench comprising Justices K K Sasidharan and G R Swaminathan which heard the petition against oil companies for selling adulterated edible oils to the public on Monday.

The petitioner Ravichandran from Orathandu village in Thanjavur district also contended that as the companies printed the information that a certain batch of oil product was unfit for human consumption in very small letters on the packets, that people were unable to see or read it. Hence they begin to use these inedible oils for cooking, he said.

When the case came up for hearing today, Ms. Amudha submitted the counter-affidavit stating that a state level committee has been formed to monitor the quality of edible oil based on FSSA standards and to prevent adulteration of edible oil. The labeling committee will be headed by the deputy director and designated officers as members in Salem, Erode, Namakkal, Virudhunagar, Madurai and Thoothukudi districts, she said.

Instructions would be given to the district officer to lift samples of all major oil brands and send a report to the state committee on the test results and labeling discrepancies, said Amudha, adding, the committee would soon come up with statewide recommendations and action plan to curtail adulteration and mislabeling of edible oil and to create awareness among the FBOs and consumers within three months. Stringent action would be taken against the violators as per Tamil Nadu Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the officer assured. Recording this submission, the High court disposed of the writ petition.