In a decisive effort to protect public health, the Punjab Vigilance Bureau, under Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s directives, has launched a statewide campaign against adulterated dairy and food products. Joint teams comprising officials from the Health and Food Safety Departments and VB personnel have been deployed across districts for surprise inspections of dairies and shops to ensure food safety standards.
A state Vigilance Bureau spokesperson revealed that this initiative aims to tackle the rising concern of food adulteration, which poses a serious risk to public health. During inspections, samples of milk-based products like paneer, khoya, sweets, and ghee were collected from establishments in Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur, and Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar. These checks were conducted transparently in the presence of health department officials and government witnesses.
In Jalandhar, the ‘Cake & Bake’ shop at PPR Market, Mithapur Chowk, was sealed due to unhygienic kitchen conditions, while in Hoshiarpur, ‘Dilbagh Milky Sweets’ was shut down for poor sanitation. Similarly, surprise inspections in Nawanshahr led to the collection of sealed samples, which have been sent to the State Food Laboratory in Kharar, SAS Nagar, for testing. Legal action will be taken against businesses found guilty of adulteration based on lab reports.
The spokesperson reiterated the Punjab government’s commitment to ensuring citizens’ health and safety, emphasizing that strict actions will continue to eliminate food adulteration and hold offenders accountable.