Ahead of Rakshabandhan, SMC steps up mava checks | Surat News
Surat: With demand for mava and milk-based sweets set to rise ahead of Rakshabandhan, the Surat Municipal Corporation’s (SMC) food safety department intensified inspections across the city on Wednesday, checking 12 mava-selling shops and collecting 23 samples for testing.The checks are part of a special pre-festival drive that has been underway for the past two days, with food safety teams inspecting outlets selling milk products that are in high demand during the festive season.Earlier in the drive, SMC teams had collected 16 mava samples from shops across the city on Sunday. Tests found samples collected from Nandkishore Mavawala on Coatsfill Road and Jay Ma Vaishnvi Sweets in Khatodara to be substandard. The civic body has initiated action against both establishments under applicable food safety provisions.The mava inspections are being carried out alongside SMC’s broader citywide campaign to improve food safety and hygiene at restaurants and other food outlets. Since Aug 18, the civic body has destroyed 6,463 kg of poor-quality food during inspections.The wider enforcement drive was launched following the death of a five-year-old girl, allegedly after consuming food from a restaurant. Since then, SMC teams have inspected 1,506 hotels and restaurants and 482 dhabas across the city.Officials said notices have been issued to 1,018 establishments, while administrative expenses totalling Rs 38.51 lakh have been recovered. As many as 87 establishments were also ordered to shut down immediately over poor cleanliness, inadequate hygiene and other violations.The civic body said the closed establishments will be allowed to reopen only after they respond to the notices, rectify the deficiencies and clear follow-up inspections.
