The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has asked state enforcement authorities to ensure strict vigilance on circulation of foods wrapped in newspapers and manufacturing units of of silver warq that are not complying with its standards.
In a bid to ensure that the food served is safe and adheres to the Food Safety and Standards (FSS) Act, 2006, the state enforcement authorities are inspecting street food stalls to prevent the use of newspapers to wrap the items sold by them.
Simultaneously, the regulator has initiated regular inspections of the sweet marts to ensure that the silver warq (an edible material used by mithaiwallahs to decorate the sweets) complies with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The Madhya Pradesh Food and Drug Administration (MPFDA) has identified areas and allocated teams of food safety officers, especially at the weekends, when the markets are packed.
Devendra Kumar Verma, a food safety officer from the central state, said, “We had launched campaigns earlier with regard to silver warq to educate food business operators (FBOs) who are involved in the manufacturing of the same.”
“These campaigns aimed at making these FBOs aware of the new technology of manufacturing of silver warq. All states have been asked to ensure that the silver warq is manufactured in compliance with the regulations,” he asked.