Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s food department will inspect fafda, jalebi, farsan and sweet shops across the city on October 19, ahead of Dussehra, with teams also checking temporary roadside stalls and festival mandaps. The inspections will focus on food quality, samples and the use of burnt or repeatedly used cooking oil.
The civic department has already checked around 80 shops during the past week and collected about 55 food samples, according to Dr Tejas Shah, an officer with the AMC food department, as reported by Divya Bhaskar. Separate teams will visit different parts of Ahmedabad during the next inspection round.
The checks are being conducted as demand for traditional Dussehra food rises sharply. Ahmedabad residents commonly consume fafda and jalebi during the festival, and vendors are expected to begin distribution from Monday night. The AMC said its teams would inspect both established shops and temporary stalls where the snacks are prepared or sold.
The use of burnt oil will be a specific focus of the inspection. The department has said action will be taken if fafda is found to be fried in such oil. Officials will also collect samples of fafda and jalebi for laboratory testing, while traders have been instructed to ensure that food supplied to residents is clean and of acceptable quality.
The inspection process highlights a practical limitation in festival food-safety enforcement: immediate checks and laboratory results operate on different timelines. According to the report, sample results can take around seven days because the material must be sent to a laboratory and examined before the department can establish the outcome. This means that some enforcement decisions may follow after the festival demand has peaked.
The AMC food department has warned that strict action will be taken against traders found compromising public health. The authority’s teams are expected to continue inspections across Ahmedabad on October 19, including at fafda-jalebi shops and temporary festival mandaps.
