Major Food Safety Racket Uncovered in North Goa
The Directorate of Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) in Goa has exposed a significant food safety violation, leading to the shutdown of a unit in Porvorim. The authorities discovered a racket involving the repackaging of approximately 700kg of unlabelled paneer with false manufacturing dates before its distribution across the state.
Midnight Interception and Raid
The operation began during a routine restaurant inspection when FDA officials identified a suspicious paneer supplier. Following the lead, a team led by FDA-designated officer Richard Noronha intercepted the supplier's vehicle at the Patradevi check post at 1:30 am on Friday. The vehicle, arriving from Islampur in Maharashtra, was found carrying the large consignment of unlabelled paneer and other milk products with incorrect dates.
By 3 am, the team raided the Modern Dairy's Porvorim unit. There, they witnessed paneer blocks being repacked into smaller portions. The unit was using packaging labels from Goregaon, Mumbai, and stamping them with false manufacturing dates, including one for November 9.
Clear Violations and Consumer Deception
Richard Noronha clarified that the unit possessed a trading retail/wholesale FSSAI license but was engaged in repackaging without the necessary permissions. "This is a clear violation of the Food Safety and Standards Act," he stated. "The unit has a license only for storage and wholesale, but repackaging was also being done, misleading the consumers." The operation was carried out without adhering to proper hygiene norms, raising serious health concerns.
The repackaged paneer was being supplied to major food businesses across Goa, potentially affecting a wide consumer base. The FDA has sent samples of the seized paneer to its laboratory for testing and is currently awaiting the results.
The successful raid was conducted under the guidance of FDA director Shweta Dessai. The team included senior food safety officer Rajaram Patil and food safety officers Amit Mandrekar, Pritam Parab, Lenin De Sa, and Darlan Dukar, supported by staff members Sandeep Shelke, Gaurish Gaonkar, Babaji Korkankar, and Sainath Chari.
