The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation sealed a food-processing unit in Gota and seized 10,630kg of finished products and raw materials after officials allegedly found a product resembling tomato sauce being prepared without tomatoes, with laboratory tests now set to determine whether the stock violated food-safety and labelling rules.
The AMC health and food department raided Shed No. 43/A at Meldi Estate on Saturday and sealed the premises of I Shree Khodiyar Gruh Udyog. The seized material was valued at nearly Rs 4.20 lakh, according to the civic authorities.
Officials alleged that the unit was preparing a tomato-sauce-like product using water, sugar, starch powder, potatoes, salt, food colours, acetic acid, preservatives and stabilisers. The unit was also manufacturing products identified as ‘R K Fruit Cordial’ and ‘Fruit Squash’.
A senior health department official said the product visually resembled tomato sauce even though tomatoes were not used during production. The official said this appearance could mislead consumers about the ingredients in the product. The allegation is subject to the outcome of the laboratory analysis and further investigation.
Labels found at the premises listed ingredients including water, fruit pulp, sugar, chilli powder, stabiliser E1422, salt, acidity regulator E330, spice extracts, preservatives and synthetic food colours E122 and E110. However, civic officials said the operator could not produce bills verifying the purchase and use of the ingredients listed on the labels.
The AMC collected five samples for testing. These included starch powder, synthetic food colour, potato paste, the product presented as tomato paste and fruit squash. The samples have been sent to a laboratory for analysis, and the seized stock cannot be sold or distributed until the test results are received, officials said.
The raid places the municipal corporation’s food-safety enforcement role at the centre of the case. In addition to examining whether the products contained the declared ingredients, the investigation will determine whether the product presentation and labelling created a misleading impression for consumers.
The civic body has alleged possible violations involving misbranding and misleading labelling. If those charges are established, the products could attract action under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, and the Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations, 2020.
The AMC said the unit’s FSSAI licence could also be cancelled after due notice and an opportunity for the operator to respond. The final action will depend on the laboratory findings and the outcome of the investigation.
