Officials from the Food Safety Department raided a shop at Arulmigu Vadapalani Andavar temple in Vadapalani on Wednesday and discovered that snacks and sweets sold as prasadam were prepared in unsanitary conditions.
Following complaints, officials performed a surprise check at the location where the prasadam is prepared and found out that the facility had been operating without a Food Safety and Standards Authority of India license (FSSAI).
Officials then went to Sastri Nagar in Vadapalani, where the snacks were being cooked, and searched the kitchen.
“The manufacturer does not have the necessary permits to manufacture and sell these items. His products and components were of poor quality. He used non-iodized salt, for example, which is used for preservation," Dr. Satheesh explained.
Products like ladoo, murukku, thattu vadai, adhirasam, and panchamirtham were found to be sold past their expiration dates at the booth, and the expiration dates for a few items were not marked.
The health status of the kitchen crew was unknown because they had not undergone the required tests for numerous infectious diseases.
The kitchen was sealed, and the manufacturer was charged with violating food safety regulations.
The samples taken from the kitchen and the shop were then sent for chemical analysis.
Dr. Satheesh Kumar, the designated officer of the Food Safety Department, said that they had recovered expired products worth Rs 15 lakh.
"In February, we did a similar investigation and discovered they were manufacturing these things without a license. We issued a warning and shut down the factory. We warned them about preparing these foods in an unauthorized manner. They claimed they would get the license right away, but they proceeded to manufacture without one," he added.
Chemical analysis was performed on the samples taken from the kitchen and the shop. "If the lab finds that these items are unsafe for human consumption," he warned, "these cases will be changed to criminal cases."
