The FDA is testing samples of mawa, edible oil and ghee from various sweet shops and eateries.(Representational image)

Mumbai: With Diwali merely a week away, the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Mumbai division has begun its drive to ensure that eatables, especially sweets, aren’t adulterated.

The FDA is testing samples of mawa, edible oil and ghee from various sweet shops and eateries. The officials have seized around 2.44 lakh kilograms of ingredients such as mawa, oil and ghee worth Rs 4.50 crore from shop selling adulterated eatables.

The FDA has teams and stationed them at various places, from where they will survey shops and stalls, track the trails of vendor and supplier, and then conduct a raid.

The checking of food items takes a good couple of hours, and the overall hygiene, quality of ingredients and the sanitation of the place of preparation are taken into consideration.

The officials are also keeping track of whether or not synthetic colours and flavours are being used beyond the permissible level.

These drives that usually start in August, right before the Ganpati festival and end after the Diwali celebrations conclude.

FDA commissioner Dr Pallavi Darade told The Asian Age, “This year, adulterated food seizures have gone up to 2.44 lakh kilograms and the goods are worth Rs 4.50 crore.

The seized items have been sent to laboratories for checking and we are waiting for the results.”

Dr Darade added, “Up till now, we haven’t found any harmful adulterants, but the offenders use starch in the mawa, which degrades the quality of the product.”