Berhampur: In a crackdown on food adulteration racket, police have unearthed an illegal sauce manufacturing unit at Pichpichia Nagar in Bada Bazar area of Odisha’s Berhampur city.
The illegal operation, run under the guise of Anmol Food Products, involved use of spurious and potentially hazardous substances in sauce making.
Acting on a tip-off, a team of Bada Bazar Police Station in coordination with Food Safety officials from Berhampur Municipal Corporation (BeMC), raided a two-storied building stocked with a huge quantity of fake tomato sauce, chili sauce, soya sauce, vinegar, pickles, and spice products.
Police said the unit was littered with drums of artificial colouring agents, acidic liquids, jerry cans filled with suspect tomato pastes, and packaging materials bearing the name ‘Anmol’.
The factory owner was identified as Prasanta Kumar Panigrahi (48) of Jagannath Vihar under Bada Bazar area. During the raid, he failed to produce any legal license or document in support of his operations.
Preliminary investigation revealed that the food products were being manufactured in blatant violation of health and safety standards, involving non-edible, harmful substances disguised as food ingredients.
The entire stock of suspicious goods has been seized and samples were sent to the Food Testing Laboratory for chemical examination and expert opinion. The accused has been arrested and will be forwarded to court. Further investigation into the supply chain and distribution network is currently underway.
This major bust has raised serious public health concerns, and authorities have urged citizens to remain vigilant against such illicit food operations poisoning the market under the guise of familiar brand names.
