THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a statewide crackdown, the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) on Monday unearthed huge quantities of low-quality food items in surprise raids conducted at Consumerfed godowns. The raids were held in the wake of widespread complaints about substandard pulses being sold to the public.
The raids, which began around 11 am in the presence of food safety officers, were held under the direct supervision of Vigilance Director BS Mohammed Yasin. The samples collected from some outlets have been sent for scientific examination.
The inspection conducted at a godown in Palakkad district led to the seizure of 68 sacks of substandard Bengal gram, 22 sacks of giant beans and a sack of small beans. It also emerged the pulses stocked at the godowns in Kozhikode and Wayanad districts were of low quality. The Vigilance sleuths found that 2,475 kg of giant beans stored in a godown at Mathiyani in Kasargod and 750 kg of giant beans stocked in a godown at Puthanangadi in Kottayam were of low quality. The inspection also led to the discovery of 130 kg of low-quality giant beans from a godown at Perinthalmanna in Malappuram.
Another major flaw which came to light was the poorly maintained stock register. At several godowns in the capital, there is simply no system of maintaining the stock register. Stringent action will be initiated on the basis of the scientific examination, Vigilance Director BS Mohammed Yasin said in a release here.