GUNTUR: The chilli yard committee sought the government’s intervention to initiate measures for the closure of 18 chilli powder mills on the basis of laboratory reports.
Committee chairman M. Subba Rao, on Saturday, stated that 18 chilli mills, manufacturing powder, were found to be adulterating it and so the committee wrote a letter to the government for closure of the mills.
Addressing the media in Guntur, Mr Subba Rao said that on October 23, 2016, food and safety, vigilance and other government departments conducted raids on chilli mills and cold storages and seized 20,000 bags of adulterated chilli powder.
He said that samples were collected from chilli powder mills and sent to laboratory for test. The tests revealed that chilli powder from 56 mills was sub-standard and that from 18 mills was not safe to public health.
Mr Subba Rao said they lodged a complaint with the food safety state commissioner Ms Sujatha Sarma demanding sealing the 18 chilli powder mills.
Mr Rao said the adulterated chilli powder was damaging the global image of Guntur red chillies and so the food and safety department began checking the quality of chilli powder from the mills.
He sait that the officials conducted raids on Lakshmi Ganapathi chilli powder industry and collected samples from it.
The surprise checks would continue to maintain standards and also for the safety of public health, he said.
