Mathura (UP), Nov 6 (PTI) In a midnight raid, the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department in Mathura intercepted 2,500 kg of contaminated and suspicious paneer being brought into the border district from Rajasthan, officials said on Friday.
Ordering the destruction of the entire consignment, the officials sent samples for testing and arrested the driver of the vehicle transporting the product, they said.
Assistant Commissioner (Food) Jatin Kumar Singh said that given the high demand for khoya and paneer for sweets prepared during the Diwali season, large quantities of substandard khoya, paneer and other food items are being brought into Mathura from neighbouring states — Rajasthan and Haryana as well as from other districts.
Singh said that on Thursday, the department received information that a large quantity of substandard, synthetic paneer was being transported to Mathura from the Kaman tehsil of Rajasthan’s Deeg district.
Acting on the information, two teams were deployed along different routes and around 1.30 am (on the intervening night of Thursday and Friday), they intercepted a suspicious pick-up van near Bathen Gate in the Kosi Kalan area on the Delhi-Agra National Highway.
A search of the vehicle revealed 2,500 kg of suspected paneer, which appeared to be synthetically produced and was being unhygienically transported.
The driver of the accused vehicle, Salim, has been arrested, officials said, adding that the paneer was worth over Rs 5 lakh.
Singh said that once the test results are received, appropriate action will be taken against the accused businessman who ordered the paneer. PTI COR NAV
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