Days after Punjab Food and Drug Administration (FDA), warned against mustard oil adulteration, FDA’s food safety teams have conducted raids across the state to check mustard oil adulterators.

Divulging into details, FDA commissioner KS Pannu said the Fazilka Food Safety Team in a raid at NG Oil Mill, Abohar found impure mustard oil to the tune of 725 litres and 352 litres of edible oil.

Samples were taken for further investigation and the stock was seized. The manufacturer was selling adulterated edible oil as mustard oil. The teams sealed the packaging part of factory and oil tanker was also sealed. The team also seized 46 litres of Royal Taj cooking medium being sold as desi ghee, from Abhey Trading Company being run from domestic premises.

Earlier, a team in Ludhiana inspected and sealed an oil manufacturing unit near Ahmedgarh. The manufacturing unit located was in district Ludhiana but a misleading packaging address was given of district Sangrur.

Entire packaged material which was nearly 168 litres of mustard oil was seized and the unit was sealed. Misbranded mustard oil was also found in a factory at Khanna.

Pannu said Faridkot team inspected Subhash Flour Mills Jaito and found two different brands of mustard oils in the quantity as 18 boxes of Dhann brand mustard oil weighing 159 kg and 10 boxes of Aniya brand, amounting to 96 kg. Samples of the suspected material were taken from each brand and stock was kept in custody.

Inspection done at Krishna traders, Hoshiarpur unearthed 180 kilogram of adulterated desi ghee made from vanaspati (six tins found on the spot of 15 kg each) and essence of desi ghee. The stock was seized and sample of desi ghee and vanaspati were taken for investigation. Also sample of cooking medium was taken from Mannat foods and samples have been sent to lab for analysis.

Food Safety Wing Pathankot inspected oil repacking units namely Arora Oil & Flour Mill and Laxman Singh & Sons. 200 tins of Rasoi brand mustard oil and 200 tins of Sunehri Koran mustard oil were found at Laxman Singh and Sons.

At Arora Oil & Flour Mill about 50 boxes of Waiter brand mustard oil and 200 boxes of Mashal mustard oil were found. Sampling was done and owners were sensitized to maintain good hygiene. Both the Mills did not possess license.