Food safety authorities now checking quality of packaged drinking water

BENGALURU: After cracking down on use of plastic in preparation of idlis and artificial colours in fried green peas, the Food Safety and Drug Administration Department has launched a special campaign to check the quality of packaged drinking water. In February, the authorities collected 288 brands of drinking water bottles for analysis and testing is under way, it said.

Also, 106 samples of fried green peas were collected and subjected to laboratory analysis of which tests on 31 samples have been completed, five samples were found safe and 26 are reported to be unsafe. Analysis of the remaining samples is in progress and legal measures will be taken based on the analysis results, a press release said.

In February, inspection of 681 hotels, restaurants and street business points was carried out to verify the use of plastic paper in the preparation of idls and notices have been issued to 52 outlets which using plastic sheets.

In February, 2,543 food samples were collected for analysis of which eight were declared as unsafe and five were of poor quality. Last month, 3,608 food samples were collected of which 26 samples were found to be unsafe and 28 samples are declared as poor quality, the release said.

A special drive was conducted in January to check the quality of snacks, including cakes, as per the Food Safety and Quality Act 2006 and the use of approved artificial colours and seven samples (1.16%) were found to be unsafe.

In August last year, 295 samples were analyzed for the use of artificial colours in the preparation of cakes, and 12 samples (4.06 per cent) were found to be unsafe. Bakery entrepreneurs were made aware of the use of natural/synthetic colours in the manufacture of snacks, including cakes, as per the Food Safety and Quality Act 2006. In the next few days, bakery entrepreneurs will be made aware of natural/synthetic colours/approved artificial colours within the prescribed limit and re -analyzing will be carried out, the release said.

The Food Safety and Drug Administration Department also said that 1,133 drug samples were collected in January of which 938 were declared as standard quality and 106 as substandard. In February, 1,841 drug samples were tested and so far, 58 drug samples were found to be substandard.

In December last year, 262 samples of cosmetics samples were checked of which 120 were found to be of standard quality while the rest are under analysis. In December 2024 and January 2025, 75 cases have been permitted to file under the violation of Drugs and Cosmetic Act, 1940, and Rules thereunder .

A special drive was conducted to recall approximately Rs 17 lakh worth of substandard drugs from the market. In January, a special drive was conducted to prevent the misuse of drugs under the NDPS Act and 488 medical shops were investigated while 400 showcause notices were issued for violation of rules. Apart from this, 231 licences were suspended and three were cancelled.

A special drive was conducted from February 17-19 in the entire state on the misuse and sale of antibiotic drugs in all medical stores. The drive found that 52 medical shops sold antibiotic drugs without valid prescription. Investigation is in progress and cases will be filed, the release said.

Food Safety and Drug Administrative officers also drew tattoo ink samples for analysis from the market. The analysis revealed the presence of 22 heavy metals (Selenium, Chromium, Platinum, Arsenic, etc.) in the samples. Heavy metals and micro-organisms enter the body through the tattoo ink and can lead to skin diseases, bacterial, viral infection or fungal infection, and many other diseases, it said.

In the month of January, a total of 1,983 drugs samples were collected and 259 drug licences suspended while seven were cancelled. Another 1,608 drug samples are drawn for analysis. In the case of Ringer Lactate solution, 113 samples have been declared as substandard and nine cases have been filed in various courts. In another 25 such cases, permission has been granted for filing of cases in the respective courts.

In order recall substandard drugs from the market in a more effective manner and prevents its use, a software is being develop with details of retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers and their authorized agents so as to trace the available stocks at every stage, which will be implemented very soon, the release added.