Over 20 quintals adulterated sweets seized in Punjab

CHANDIGARH - With the festival of Diwali round the corner, over 20 quintals of adulterated sweets were seized from a wholesale sweetmeats manufacturer in Punjab’s Jalandhar district Tuesday, health officials said.

“Working on a tip-off, we raided the premises of a leading sweets manufacturer. We seized over 20 quintals of spurious sweets which were later destroyed by our officials,” said R.L. Bhasin, district health officer of Jalandhar, some 150 km from here.

“We will continue our raids in the coming days. Many sweet manufacturers use sub-standard ingredients to meet the increasing demand for sweets in the upcoming festival season,” he added.

Besides, over 25 quintals of adulterated milk products and sweets were seized from Patiala town, around 70 km from here, Sunday.

In another raid in neighbouring Haryana state, health officials recovered more than three quintals of spurious milk products from Jind district.

“These milk products were supposed to be used in the manufacture of sweets for Diwali,” a health official said Tuesday.