- A sweet shop worker in Hamirpur, UP, refused to taste his own sweets during a food safety raid
- Complaints included adulterated sweets, unhygienic conditions, and use of banned silver leaf
- Officials confiscated food samples and promised strict action if adulteration is confirmed
A video showing a sweet shop worker refusing to taste his own product has sparked a buzz on social media. The incident was reported in Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, last week at Jai Bhawani Sweets. Food safety officials asked the worker to taste the sweets being sold at the shop after raiding the establishment following complaints of adulterated products and unhygienic conditions. There were also reports of the use of a banned form of silver leaf, an edible foil-like covering commonly added to sweets. One woman fell sick after eating sweet from the shop prompting food safety team's action.
In the video, one of the officials is seen giving sweet to the shopkeeper, identified as Anni Baba online, but he shows reluctance to taste it. The official insists but the shopkeeper refuses to taste the sweet.
Social media users were shocked by the shopkeeper's refusal.
"And they feed that to locals, sentence them to 10 years," commented one user. "This is the perfect punishment, for people selling stale/adulterated food. Make the owner and his family members to eat the adulterated food in its entirety," said another.
Others said his refusal proves the sweets were adulterated and wanted to know what action was taken after adulteration was found.
On District Magistrate's instructions, officials confiscated food samples from the shop. SDM Karanveer Singh told reporters that strict action will be taken if investigation proves the shop owner guilty of selling inferior quality food.
This incident it the latest in a string of such cases that have been reported from across the country ahead of the festival season. On Sunday, Uttar Pradesh Food Safety Administration seized and destroyed approximately 300 kg of paneer from a dairy in Garhi Chaukhandi, Noida.
The Maharashtra FDA too has been carrying out inspections at restaurants, hotels, roadside eateries and other places serving food, including establishments supplying food through online delivery platforms. The department has taken action in cases of food safety violations, including license suspensions and improvement notices.
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