Bizman held for running ‘adulterated’ spice paste unit
Berhampur: A 25-year-old businessman was arrested on Friday for allegedly making adulterated garlic and ginger paste in unhygienic condition at Laxmi Nursing Street here.
A huge quantity of paste, ready to be packed and supplied to the market, and packing machines, worth over Rs 6 lakh, were seized from the illegally run unit.
The accused, identified as E Ritik Patra of Hanuman Bazar Sahi, was making the spice paste for the last few months and supplied it to markets across the state and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of police personnel and food safety officials of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) raided the unit on Thursday evening.
They found the paste, suspected to be adulterated, in 14 plastic containers of 25 kg each, and 41 cartons of pouches. Each carton contained 200 pouches, and each 50 g pouch was priced at Rs 5. “We also seized five packing machines from the unit,” said Baba Shankar Saraf, inspector in-charge, Badabazar police station.
“The accused did not have any valid documents like a trade licence and food licence from the BeMC to manufacture and market the spice paste. The unit has been sealed. Samples will be sent to the state food testing laboratory for tests,” said Liza Mishra, food safety officer of BeMC. She said they did not find any other ingredients at the spot.
In Nov last year, Telangana police seized around 3,800 kg of contaminated garlic and ginger paste from different places and arrested nine persons involved in their manufacturing and marketing. Police said they would investigate if Patra had any link with the Telangana accused.
A huge quantity of paste, ready to be packed and supplied to the market, and packing machines, worth over Rs 6 lakh, were seized from the illegally run unit.
The accused, identified as E Ritik Patra of Hanuman Bazar Sahi, was making the spice paste for the last few months and supplied it to markets across the state and neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of police personnel and food safety officials of Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC) raided the unit on Thursday evening.
They found the paste, suspected to be adulterated, in 14 plastic containers of 25 kg each, and 41 cartons of pouches. Each carton contained 200 pouches, and each 50 g pouch was priced at Rs 5. “We also seized five packing machines from the unit,” said Baba Shankar Saraf, inspector in-charge, Badabazar police station.
“The accused did not have any valid documents like a trade licence and food licence from the BeMC to manufacture and market the spice paste. The unit has been sealed. Samples will be sent to the state food testing laboratory for tests,” said Liza Mishra, food safety officer of BeMC. She said they did not find any other ingredients at the spot.
In Nov last year, Telangana police seized around 3,800 kg of contaminated garlic and ginger paste from different places and arrested nine persons involved in their manufacturing and marketing. Police said they would investigate if Patra had any link with the Telangana accused.
