Gurugram’s food safety department and chief minister’s flying squads, in a joint operation on Monday, destroyed around 125kg of paneer found unsafe for consumption and collected eight samples of paneer, khoa and sweets during inspections at markets and dairy outlets in Gurugram on Monday, officials said. During the inspections, officials found paneer at two shops to be foul-smelling and unfit for consumption. (HT_PRINT)The action was carried out in Sadar Bazaar Mandi, Pataudi Chowk and the Bhagwan Parshuram Vatika areas amid concerns over the sale of substandard and potentially adulterated food products.Foul-smelling paneer foundDuring the inspections, officials found paneer at two shops to be foul-smelling and unfit for consumption.

The paneer was seized and destroyed on the spot to prevent it from being sold, according to the information provided by the department.The team also collected four samples of paneer, one of khoa and three of sweets for laboratory testing. The samples will be sent to the state food testing laboratory to determine whether they meet prescribed quality and safety standards.Also Read: Delhi HC seeks response from Centre, FSSAI on plea seeking ban on sale of analogue products as paneerOfficials said further action against the establishments concerned would depend on the laboratory reports.

If the samples are found non-compliant, proceedings may be initiated under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.The latest action comes amid increased scrutiny of food products sold in the city, particularly dairy products and sweets, ahead of the festive season. Food safety teams have been inspecting shops, dairies and food outlets to check the quality of products and prevent the sale of unsafe food.Also Read: Why is non-dairy paneer called analogue paneer and not fake paneer?The department has maintained that inspections will continue and warned food business operators against selling products that do not meet safety standards.

However, the results of the eight samples collected during the latest operation are awaited.