Chennai corporation and the food safety department have cautioned the public to be alert while purchasing meat and food products, as unhealthy and expired food items are being sold in departmental stores and food outlets across the city.
In two separate incidents, officials of the Chennai corporation and the food safety department seized food products worth Rs 10,000 at a Purasawalkam store and two tonnes beef at Chinthadripet on Thursday.
A team of four public health officials led by Dr Mani, health officer of zone 5, raided a storage facility in Chinthadripet, and confiscated about two tonnes of uncertified beef smuggled from Naidupet in Andhra Pradesh via road. Four places have been raided and sealed under the Public Health Act 1939.
Meanwhile, a team of five food safety officials led by designated officer Dr S. Lakshmi Narayan conducted raid at a popular retail outlet on Purasawalkam high road and seized expired and unlabelled food products worth Rs 10,000. The officials acted on a complaint received by the city corporation.
When contacted, Dr Mani, zonal health officer, told DC, “Following the seizures made last month at the railway station, smugglers have begun importing unhealthy foods through alternative routes.
The owner of the facility had been supplying unsafe meat to leading hotels in the city at cheaper rates,” he added.
It may be recalled that corporation officials last month had seized nearly 10 tonnes of unhygienic meat smuggled from neighbouring states.