FDA raids panipuri making units in Bhayandar slums

Mumbai: Officials from the Thane unit of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raided two ‘panipuri’ (street snack) — manufacturing units in Bhayandar on Wednesday afternoon. The action followed complaints against the unhygienic conditions at the units.

The FDA team found that the puri manufacturing units functioned out of dingy, smelly rooms in the slums, where hygiene standards were completely missing and the working condition was worse. The puris were made on dirty floors. According to food safety officer, Manek Jadhav, raids were conducted at Sunil Puri Utpadan and Chandrajeet Chauhan Puri Bhandar located in the Ganesh Deval Nagar- a sprawling slum cluster in Bhayandar (west).

“The manufacturers not only neglected basic hygiene standards, they did not have the valid licenses to run their business. We have shut the establishments and invoked action under the relevant sections of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations against the operators.” said Mr Jadhav.