The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has directed the officials of its health department to launch a special drive to check the quality of sweets and mawa (solidified milk) used for making them to ensure that no incidents of food poisoning occur due to adulteration in these items.
The 10-day Ganesh festival, starting on September 19, kickstarts the festive season in the country as it is followed by Navratri, Dussehra, Diwali and Christmas celebrations. In a statement released on Thursday, the BMC announced that in preparation for the upcoming festive season, they have issued instructions to officials to conduct a special campaign running from September 1st to December 31st.
As part of this initiative, health officers and sanitary inspectors have been tasked with inspecting the quality of sweets and 'mawa' by conducting visits to sweet shops and cold storages, as stated in the release. The civic body also asked the establishments selling sweets and milk-based products to take special care during the festival season to avoid any incidents of food poisoning. It also urged people not to consume sweets if the colour or smell of these items change, and also asked them to report about it to the BMC in such cases.