CUTTACK: Soft drinks may provide relief from the scorching heat but spurious concoctions made of harmful substances pose a grave health risk for people.A day after an illegal soft drink manufacturing unit was busted in Sutahat, health officer of Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) Satyabrat Mohapatra said steps would be taken to check sale of ‘goli soda’ in the city.
‘Goli soda’ has become one of the most favoured drinks for the residents during summer owing to its affordability and availability in different flavours like lemon, orange, ginger and strawberry. While a bottle of ‘goli soda’ costs just Rs 10, the drink made at units that lack quality certification poses a risk for human health.
Sources said due to huge demand for carbonated drinks, several manufacturing unit have come up on the outskirts of the city and in rural areas of the district. As per government guidelines, bottles of any soft drink should carry certification of Bureau of Indian Standards. Apart from a trade licence by competent authority, a food safety licence is also mandatory for all units manufacturing and selling the soft drinks.
Similarly the name and address of the manufacturer, manufacturing lot number, date of manufacture and expiry or use before date must be mentioned on the bottle. However, a majority of the manufacturers are not printing the information. Mohapatra said raids would be conducted soon at units making and selling the drink sans the mandatory licence and certification.