How safe are the sweets you bring home for Diwali?

Increasing demand for sweets during the festive season increases the risk of counterfeit and adulterated food, especially in the Delhi-NCR region, which receives large quantities of khoya (milk solids), paneer (cottage cheese), and other food items from across the country. 

Despite ongoing raids by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the Delhi Food Safety Department, authorities continue to seize large quantities of adulterated and unhygienic khoya. In Delhi alone, 10,660 kgs of khoya had been destroyed by November 3. Yet, the practice of adulteration shows no signs of stopping.

How widespread is this business of adulteration, and how effective are the Food Safety Department’s actions? To find answers, we visited Ghaziabad, Gautam Buddh Nagar, and parts of Delhi.

We spoke with Suresh Kumar Mishra and Sarvesh Kumar, Assistant Commissioners of Food Safety for Ghaziabad and Gautam Buddh Nagar, respectively. They shared details of enforcement actions against adulteration over the past six months, including the food items seized, and advised consumers on what to look out for and which sweets to avoid.

Meanwhile, in Delhi, Chief Minister Rekha Gupta attended a major operation against adulterated khoya on November 3. Large quantities of unhygienic, foul-smelling khoya were destroyed: 2,830 kg on September 4, 610 kg on September 8, 520 kg on October 23, and approximately 7,000 kg on November 3 at the Mori Gate khoya market in North Delhi.

According to the department, this was the fourth major operation conducted at the Mori Gate khoya market. Of the 44 samples collected, tested on-site using a ‘Food Safety on Wheels’ mobile laboratory, 35 failed the preliminary tests, and two others were sent to a laboratory for detailed analysis.

Initial findings suggest that the suspicious khoya contained adulterants such as milk powder, vanaspati (hydrogenated vegetable fat), and other binding agents.

Watch our report.

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