ACTION AGAINST THREE VANASPATI MANUFACTURING
UNITS FOR IRREGULARITIES
Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and
Public Distribution proposes to cancel the licences of three vanaspati-manufacturing
units for not conforming to standards laid down under the Vegetable
Oil Products (Regulation) Order, 1998. The Units are S.S.D Oil Mills
Co. Ltd. Chennai, Kurele Paper Mills, Kanpur and Shri Om Vanaspati
Udyog, Kanpur Dehat. The units have been served with show cause
notices preparatory to cancellation of their licences.
On the directions
of the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution,
Shri Sharad Yadav, five inspection teams comprising high level
officials of the ministry were set up to carry out surprise visits
to vanaspati units/SEO plants/refineries for quality control and
drawal of samples. Some of the common irregularities noticed in
the manufacture of vanaspati include under-utilisation of indigenous
oil in the manufacture of vanaspati vis-à-vis the mandatory
requirement of 12 per cent; use of rusty tins for packing vanaspati;
absence of TLC kit for testing presence of argemone oil as well
as lack of trained chemists for performing tests and under statement
of weight of the content being declared on the label.
Shri Sharad Yadav
has urged all the state governments to initiate stringent action
under the Essential Commodities Act against units which are not
conforming to the standards under the VOP (Regulation) Order as
the enforcement agencies of the Act. He has also urged consumers
to contact the Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oils and Fats;
CGO Complex, New Delhi in case of instances of non compliance
of the stipulated standards in vanaspati manufacture by units
in the country for appropriate remedial action.
The inspecting teams
had drawn 40 samples from 16 units during the current year.
