Daijiworld Media Network - Mangaluru

Mangaluru, Sep 16: Stepping up quality control in public welfare schemes, Dakshina Kannada District designated food safety officer Dr Praveen Kumar C H carried out a surprise inspection of the Mangaluru taluk and urban supplementary nutrition manufacturing unit at Moodushedde Grama Panchayat on Tuesday, acting on the direct orders of health minister U T Khader.

During the rigorous onsite check, Dr Praveen Kumar closely scrutinised the production line of vital supplementary food items—such as the Pushti millet laddu mix distributed to Anganwadi children—while schooling the management thoroughly on all mandatory compliance norms under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

Cracking down on quality standards, officials lifted food samples of the Pushti millet laddu powder and sambar powder straight from the production floor, dispatching them swiftly to a state laboratory for forensic food testing. Dr Praveen Kumar warned that strict legal action will follow hot on the heels of the lab test results.

Strict directives issued on packaging and labelling

The inspection also exposed glaring gaps in packaging protocols, prompting immediate corrective orders. The facility has been directed to shift away from manual methods and adopt proper machinery for hygienic packing.

To ensure total compliance, a formal directive letter is being dispatched to the deputy director of the Women and Child Development Department.

Furthermore, authorities laid down the law regarding product presentation, ordering the unit to use premium food-grade plastic for packaging. They insisted that critical data — including manufacturing dates, expiry dates, batch numbers, and standard labelling details — must be clearly and professionally printed using appropriate mechanical equipment rather than slipshod methods.