Dehradun (Uttarakhand) [India], April 3 (ANI): The Uttarakhand government issued strict guidelines regarding the sale of buckwheat flour, which is prominently used in fasting during Navratri.

The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has decided to implement strict rules to ensure the quality of buckwheat flour and prevent incidents of diseases caused by adulterated and contaminated flour.

Health Secretary and Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration Department Dr R Rajesh Kumar spoke about the new guidelines that have been issued regarding the sale of buckwheat flour in the state. Health Secretary Dr R Rajesh Kumar said, 'As per the instructions issued by the department, no food businessman will be able to sell buckwheat flour in the open. It will be sold only in sealed packets. Apart from this, it has been made mandatory to follow the labeling rules as per the Food Safety Act 2006 on the packet.'

He further added that, according to food safety standards, the date of grinding buckwheat flour, the date of packaging, and the expiry date on the packet will need to be clearly mentioned. In addition, it has been made mandatory to enter the seller's food license number on every packet.

'Buckwheat flour and seeds cannot be sold without a valid food license. All food traders will have to keep a written record of purchases and sales. Strict action will be taken against selling buckwheat flour in the open without permission,' Kumar said.

It is worth noting that in the last few years, incidents of many people suffering from diseases like food poisoning due to the consumption of adulterated buckwheat flour have been coming to the fore in Dehradun, Haridwar, and other districts. To prevent the recurrence of such incidents in the future, the government has already decided to take strict action.

Commissioner Dr R Rajesh Kumar said that the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has directed the officials of all the districts to ensure that the new rules are strictly followed and regular checks and inspections are done. If any seller is found violating these rules, legal action will be taken against him.

He said that while purchasing buckwheat flour during Navratri, consumers should also buy only sealed-pack flour and carefully check the manufacturing and expiry date, license number, and other details mentioned on the packet.

Commissioner Dr R Rajesh Kumar said that many samples of buckwheat flour had been found unsafe in the investigation. Under the campaign, intensive inspection and sample collection are being done in various districts of the state. Samples of buckwheat flour taken from many establishments were found unsafe. These samples were tested in the State Food and Drug Testing Laboratory located in Rudrapur.

In the Dehradun district, the sample collected from M/s Lakshmi Trading Company, Vikasnagar, was found to be unsafe. It was found to be toxic due to insects and fungus.

Samples collected from Blink Commerce Private Limited Rishikesh, Nataraj Agency, Peeth Bazaar, Jwalapur in the Haridwar district and Ashish Provision Store, Khedi Mubarakpur, Laksar, were also found unsafe. Mycotoxin toxicity has been found in them. Apart from this, the sample collected from the Shiva Store located in Grain Market Roorkee was found to be substandard.

At the same time, mycotoxin was found in the sample of buckwheat flour taken from the Jai Maiya Kirana Store located in Sisona, Sitarganj, in the Udham Singh Nagar district. Commissioner of Food Safety and Drug Administration, Dr R Rajesh Kumar, said that regarding these adulterated and unsafe samples, the Food Safety and Drug Administration has issued instructions to file a case in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006.

The Food Safety Department has instructed all food traders not to sell buckwheat flour in the open and to keep only sealed packs and products conforming to standards for sale.

In addition, it has been made mandatory for all food sellers to keep records of purchase and sale. (ANI)