Food Safety Alert: Substandard Golgappa Water, Coffee, And Misbranded Mustard Oil In Una

After samples of 'rotes' sold at Hamirpur's temple trust shop failed, samples of 'golgappa' water and coffee have been found to be substandard while those of mustard oil have failed the test in Himachal Pradesh's Una district. A total of 17 samples collected randomly from food shops and costermongers ('rehris') in Una town were sent for testing recently to the composite testing laboratory at Kandaghat in Solan district. Presence of colour was found in golgappa. According to the rules, colour cannot be used in water, officials said.
On Tuesday, samples of 'rotes' as 'prasad being sold at the Baba Balak Nath temple in Deothsidh in Hamirpur district were found unfit for consumption. The shop was closed on Wednesday by the temple management which maintained that the shop would be outsourced shortly. Meanwhile, report of three of the 17 samples has come from the Kandaghat laboratory. Out of these, two are substandard and one is "mis-branded".
"Action is being taken in this regard," said Assistant Director, Food Standards and Safety Wing, Jagdish Dhiman, on Wednesday. Questions are being raised on the quality of spiced water served with golgappa, which is a popular snack nationwide, among the people especially the young generation. Samples of golgappa water collected in Una by the Food Standard and Safety Wing were found to be substandard. The samples of mustard oil was found to be "mis-branded", which implies it was adulterated while the sample of ready-to-serve coffee was found to be substandard, the officials said, adding that further action will be taken in this matter, the officials maintained.
The state government has issued strict instructions to the Health Department to ensure that only quality products are sold in the markets and those violating the orders are booked according to the law of the land, the officials said.