Ahmedabad’s municipal food department has seized more than 10,000 kg of allegedly adulterated tomato sauce and raw materials from a unit in Gota, where officials say papaya, potato, sugar and factory-grade colour were being used instead of tomatoes. The department sealed the Ai Shri Khodiyar Gruh Udyog facility at Meldi Estate near Gota railway station after collecting sauce samples and initiating legal action.
The enforcement action was carried out after the municipal food department received information that the unit was making imitation sauce. According to Dr Tejas Shah, the in-charge additional health officer overseeing the municipal food department, officials found the production process at the facility during their inspection. The seized material was valued at around Rs 4.5 lakh, according to the report.
The department said the unit was producing the sauce in bulk without using tomatoes. Officials identified papaya, potato and sugar among the ingredients, along with a factory-grade colour. The municipal team took samples of the sauce for further action and seized the finished product and other raw materials found at the premises.
Dr Shah said the sauce produced at the facility was supplied to fast-food businesses selling items including dabeli, vada pav, sandwiches and burgers. This places the enforcement action beyond the premises where the product was manufactured, as the seized material was reportedly intended for distribution through Ahmedabad’s network of street vendors, small shops, hotels and restaurants.
The municipal report also said that the same unit had previously been sealed by the solid waste department over cleanliness-related issues. The latest action by the food department follows a wider enforcement drive against food manufacturers and sellers accused of compromising public health standards. Dr Shah said three factories had been identified and sealed in Ahmedabad over three days as part of the campaign.
The action has also raised questions about checks on businesses that purchase and use such products. Municipal health department sources said enforcement should extend to fast-food centres and other outlets buying imitation food products, in addition to action against manufacturing units. The department’s immediate steps in this case are the sealing of the facility, seizure of the material, collection of samples and legal proceedings under the applicable food-safety process.
